P1012514
Thursday 22nd October 2020 A very pleasant autumnal walk with Roy starting near Barton Hills Farm about 10am when Shelagh dropped us off. We headed south towards the Icknield Way and when reached turned south west towards South Beds Golf Club, negotiating at first a very solid brick paved way that nearer the club became potholed with deep puddles. We crossed the A6 and walked up through Bramingham CWS towards the Keech Hospice where we veered north west across arable fields in fallow state and covered with white daisies and other flowers and a lot of Borage in flower. Leading to this we spotted a bracket fungus what was almost certainly Stereum hirsutum. Around 11am so we stopped for coffee in the only available seating a forked and previously coppiced Oak that was a tight fit. From there it was west again towards Lower Sundon and ultimately The Red Lion, Upper Sundon where Roy bought us a pint of Doom Bar. We only had a few fields that were freshly cultivated and very claggy . We went through several fields where there were large blue markers portruding from the surface that we guessed might mark the route of the M1-A6 Link Road. There had also been what looked like an attempt to rid the route of a badger set that had been covered in thick wire netting and soil with exit wooden doors in several places.We had lunch on the bench by Upper Sundon Pond before trudging down through Sundon Quarry across the railway and M1 before coming out east of Fancott NR and then crossing the Bridleway and back across some nice grassy meadows back into Toddington via Conger Lane. In those meadows we heard and then saw a 20+ flock of Fieldfares and noticed a big patch of freshly emerged Coprinus comatus. We walked up into the village in glorious sunshine and said our farewells outside "The Oddfellows Arms" about 3.15pm
P1012514
Thursday 22nd October 2020 A very pleasant autumnal walk with Roy starting near Barton Hills Farm about 10am when Shelagh dropped us off. We headed south towards the Icknield Way and when reached turned south west towards South Beds Golf Club, negotiating at first a very solid brick paved way that nearer the club became potholed with deep puddles. We crossed the A6 and walked up through Bramingham CWS towards the Keech Hospice where we veered north west across arable fields in fallow state and covered with white daisies and other flowers and a lot of Borage in flower. Leading to this we spotted a bracket fungus what was almost certainly Stereum hirsutum. Around 11am so we stopped for coffee in the only available seating a forked and previously coppiced Oak that was a tight fit. From there it was west again towards Lower Sundon and ultimately The Red Lion, Upper Sundon where Roy bought us a pint of Doom Bar. We only had a few fields that were freshly cultivated and very claggy . We went through several fields where there were large blue markers portruding from the surface that we guessed might mark the route of the M1-A6 Link Road. There had also been what looked like an attempt to rid the route of a badger set that had been covered in thick wire netting and soil with exit wooden doors in several places.We had lunch on the bench by Upper Sundon Pond before trudging down through Sundon Quarry across the railway and M1 before coming out east of Fancott NR and then crossing the Bridleway and back across some nice grassy meadows back into Toddington via Conger Lane. In those meadows we heard and then saw a 20+ flock of Fieldfares and noticed a big patch of freshly emerged Coprinus comatus. We walked up into the village in glorious sunshine and said our farewells outside "The Oddfellows Arms" about 3.15pm