Harrold Odell Country Park

It actually took us longer to get to Harrold Odell Country Park than it did to walk around it! 2 lovely lakes set in 144 acres, we did the longest walk around Grebe Lake. The parking was quaint, a £1 suggest donation that you don't have to pay if you don't want to. They have their very own poo collectors, and bags on the sides of the bins! There is a gravel path around the lake that is full of swans, ducks and geese. It's definitly the geese migration day, there were so many of them! Very few hello's on this trip compared to Priory Park in Bedford where we said hello all the way around. There is a nature area, skate park, mountain biking, fishing and tea shop. It has very few people and all the facilties, but if we are travelling that far we might go elsewhere, still pleasant enough though. I did like the honesty box with bird food, on a chair with a baking tray on top of it.

Hinchingbrooke Park - the park that has everything!

Hinchingbrook Park, just 2km west of Huntingdon, with 170 acres of land. It pretty much has everything you would want in a country park. It has a kiddies playground, a café, visitor centre, large open playing fields, BBQ areas, picnic benches, an ornamental lake, a main lake, a woodland and an outdoor gym! I’ve never seen adults use outdoor gyms, but the children certainly like them. A mixture of paved, unsurfaced and the soggy bridleways added a lot of variety to the walks. In fact, we had a Forrest Gump experience, we did one walk, did another, added a bit to another and then we were done, having walked all of the paths in the park. £2 for 6 hours of car parking but it was worth it for such a stunning park, well kept with lots of dog bins (always appreciated by dog owners) and lots of friendly faces. We will be back.

Blowing a gale at Priory Park, Bedford

Priory Park, Bedford is just a mile outside Bedford but it feels like you are in the middle of the countryside. 360 acres, it has a large fishing lake with gravel walk surrounding it. I prefer gravel but Ali is missing the mud. It's a nice circuit, there was a windsurfer on the lake covered head to toe in wetsuit and hundreds of dog walkers. Sailor was looking longingly at the others off the lead, but he still doesn't know his name. We passed the old Franciscan Priory walll, rebuilt after the Priory was destroyed. Three quarters of the way around, the rain started and it started blowing a gale. Luckily we werent too soaked before we returned to the car. A nice walk, free parking. http://www.priorycountrypark.co.uk/

The forest of Marston Vale

What gems you find when you look. All this while, we have overlooked the beautiful countryside in East Anglia. But no fear, we are now exploring it thanks to Sailor. Today's walk was to the Forest of Marston Vale, found just by chance while on route to Aspley Woods yesterday. Yet again, free parking. As mentioned yesterday, I do believe that parking should be free to enjoy the beauty of the UK. Grafham water cost £3 to park, this country should be encouraging people to enjoy a healthy lifestyle. We made our decision on which trail to do, an 8km walk around Stewartby lake.

The trees cover a 61 square miles between Bedford and Milton Keynes repairing a landscape scarred by decades of clay extraction, brickmaking and landfill. As you approach you smell the brick factory and see the gas pipes from the landfill, then you come to an oasis in the middle of it. A large lake, fully accessible gravel trails and a lot of people taking advantage of such a wonderful place. We saw numerous families on bikes and wheelchair users. On the downside, we also found a number of screaming children which spoilt the tranquility, along with the dog that yapped at Sailor and the dog owners that didn't pick up the mess of their dogs...but what an amazing place. We will be back to do the other trails.

http://www.marstonvale.org/index.html

Exploring Aspley Woods

It's amazing the beautiful areas you can find when you look. We now have a long list of places to visit in cambridgeshire and Bedforshire. Today's visit was Aspley Woods, just north of Milton Keynes, not renowned for being the most spectacular place in the UK, but Aspley Woods is a treasure. Free car parking (this is how it should be, no parking fee to enjoy the countryside). On the downside there is no signage or maps so you pretty much have to leave a breadcrumb trail as there are so many possible paths to take. But, it was full of dog walkers. Due to the number of trails you can go for a long time and not see anyone, and miraculously it has slopes. You wouldn't call them hills, but there were mounds. The crisp winters day was gorgeous. Even in th emiddle of the day there was still frost on the ground. The sun was so bright and the sky was such a deep colour. Winter sun is so much nicer than summer sun.

Aspley Woods is one of the largest woodland areas in Bedfordshire, and we will definitly be back.

http://www.visitolney.com/Aspley-Woods

Winter at Grafham water

I do love travelling in winter, you avoid people. Ali and I have turned into doggie mums too so our weekends are now spent investigated where we can take Sailor. It's also improving our fitness. So on a cold January day, we visited Grafham water just North of St Neots, home of the killer shrimp and heavy plants that like to cross apparently! It's amazing how your eyes miss things. For example, your eyes glimpse over all of the 'for sale' signs on houses until you are looking to buy a house. For years my eyes have avoided the amount of dog poo in bags thrown on the side of the path by their owners...until now. I'm turning into a grumpy old dog owning woman! But Grafham water was lovely, a nice gravel trail, cafe and dog bowl. We shall definitly visit again...if only to visit the heavy plants as they cross!

http://www.anglianwater.co.uk/leisure/what-to-see/water-parks/grafham/

Punting in Cambridge

We do love Cambridge, it's our regular haunt for any visitor to St Neots but this time was to try punting. We have never done it before, and there was no way we were going to do it ourselves so we had a guide. Getting in the boat was actually easier than we thought but gosh we were close to the water level. We saw Kings college, the ugly building of Queens college, Magdalen college. It's like a walking museum, can't wait to do it again. A great way to start 2012. Now to eat 90 susage rolls we have in the freezer...