These will one day wake up and….

Am I the only person in the world who looks at these wind turbines and thinks that maybe, just maybe, they might wake up one day and take over the world?! I know it’s a little ‘War of the Worlds’ but every time I see one, I think that they are spying on us and biding their time until they receive some sort of signal to rise up from the ground and attack!

Ok, its just me.

 

Anyway, the reason I saw these today is because I went for a rather lovely walk in Bedfordshire that I thought I’d share with you, in case you are ever in the area and fancy a stroll (or a 6 mile hike!) I have a marathon to walk next year, so best to start the training early!

I woke up this morning feeling a little negative about life, so instead of letting that feeling linger, I set out to make myself feel better. Luckily, the weather was on my side as I know one of the best ways of doing this for me, is getting outside.

I looked up potential walks near me that I haven’t done before (I walk a lot, so have walked most of the local parks and fields around where I live) by googling ‘Walks in Bedfordshire’ as I live pretty much on the borders or Buckinghamshire, Northamptonshire and Bedfordshire and haven’t headed that way much before. I found the Bedford council site and chose a walk that started at a park I knew (with free parking – donations requested) but took me out of what I knew and a bit further afield.

There is a very handy print out you can take with you – here – or follow on your phone which guides you on the walk and also gives you some information about the areas you walk in.

I fueled up with porridge for breakfast, filled up a bottle with water and set out after messaging my Mum the walk and telling her when I was setting out and that I’d message when I was back at my car – safety first!

Parked up at Harrold Country Park and after a final read through of the instructions, headed off into the park and towards Odell. As the weather was so glorious, the park was pretty busy as its lovely and flat to walk around, has lots of birds to look at, bird-hides, a play park and a café, but I left everyone behind me as I walked out of the park and followed the directions to a bridleway in Odell.

Already I could feel my mood lifting as I took in a deep breath of the autumnal weather and congratulated myself on adding another layer before I left the house – there was a bit of a chill in the air. Already feeling invigorated and clearer-headed, the tang of freshly fallen leaves and damp bark surrounded me and the sunshine was warm on my face. There was a glut of blackberries along the bridleway and I kicked myself for not bringing a bag or container to put some in. I’ll need to come back before they are all eaten by the birds. There is still so much green around, but already, at the very start of October, the path ahead is covered in leaves fallen from trees and mud, instead of dirt tracks. I think that trees must be quite happy to shred all that extra weight towards the end of the year and flex their branches and twigs for a few months. Its funny how they shred their layers as we begin to add more – shows how much stronger nature is than us.

As I began to slip and slide my way along a clearly marked bridleway, I could hear a distant hum of racing cars as the wind threw Santa Pod sounds towards me. Perfect weather for a track-day – they must be loving it. Wasn’t quite what I expected on my country walk though!

I didn’t pass another human being on the entire walk but saw butterflies, dragonflies, rabbits and even the swift movement of a startled deer in the woods I was walking through. I felt entirely safe and invigorated – being outdoors always makes me feel better. Beautiful woods carpeted by deep green moss with sunlight beaming through the branches – gorgeous.

I eventually came to the now deserted Podington airfield that was used by the American Airforce during the Second World War to fly Flying Fortresses to and from. There’s only the concrete airstrips left and most of the field is now covered with wind turbines. I spent some time standing and taking in the noises (track-day cars!) and imagining what it would have sounded and looked like back then. I’ve found a website that has some information about this here.

Continuing on, along well-trodden paths, I see that humans, dogs and horses have enjoyed these lanes and was sad when these ended and concrete reared its not so pretty head. I went TOTALLY wrong towards the end of the walk and ended up alongside the road (luckily not a busy one) into Harrold, but that did mean that I saw some lovely buildings that I’ve never noticed when driving through before. Thatched cottages, old townhouses, beautiful double-aspect houses and old converted pubs.

Back in the park I started in, I headed straight to the Dragonfly café and enjoyed a restorative ham and cheese panini and hot chocolate. Nearly 10k down, so well earned, I think! I had packed a book so enjoyed reading in the sunshine (there is inside and outside seating) and after a final 20 minute stroll around the lake, headed home feeling much happier and healthier, inside and out.

If you follow the directions accurately (whoops) this is a gorgeous walk, but pack shoes you’re happy getting muddy and wear old trousers you don’t mind getting wet and muddy too! Its lovely to have a café to end the walk in and please don’t forget to make a donation at the car park – enjoy!