Leighton Buzzard Railway & Walking in
Buckinghamshire: Holiday May 2017 - page 2
Just south of Leighton Buzzard in Bedfordshire there's
a quaint narrow gauge steam railway that trundles through three miles
of town and countryside from Page's Park station. Affectionately
known as the Buzz Railway, we took this delightful ride during our
Bucks & Beds holiday. We also enjoyed some wonderful
Buckinghamshire walks: an amble along the serene Grand Union Canal and
passing by the two infamous railway bridges of the great train robbery
- Sears Crossing and Bridego Bridge. Another walk took us along
the Ouse Valley Way trail from Newton Blossomville, a picnic by the
scenic River Great Ouse and on to Emberton Country Park at Olney.
This is page two of three.
Bletchley
Park | Buzz Railway &
Buckinghamshire walks | Shuttleworth
Collection
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The little steam locomotive and its equally diminutive vintage
carriages were ready and waiting as we boarded the Leighton Buzzard
Railway at Page's Park station in Bedfordshire for a ride along the...
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...narrow two-foot gauge track. Also known as the Buzz Railway,
the train chuffed along at a gentle pace through Leighton Buzzard,
stopping at road crossings where the train crew alighted to stop the
traffic...
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...for the train to cross. Then after climbing back aboard, with
a short puff of the steam whistle the train continued its 40 minute,
three-mile journey of sharp curves and steepish gradients to its...
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...terminus at Stonehenge Works to the north of Leighton Buzzard.
Here we alighted and enjoyed a coffee in the small cafe and craft shop
as the Buzz Railway crew loaded more coal and water...
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...and performed the run-round procedure to couple the steam locomotive
onto the other end of the carriages (er, like that's now the front) for
the return run to Page's Park station. But we remained at...
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...Stonehenge Works for the Stonehenge Trail open-air museum around
this old sand quarry. This former industrial area is home to
Leighton Buzzard Railway's engineering workshop and also displays...
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...numerous plant and artifacts from sand quarrying days along with
some industrial railway locomotives such as 'Penlee' and 'Nutty'.
Oh, and there's a fun miniature railway at Stonehenge Works...
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...for the kids to ride on. Our pic above shows the wee Buzz
Railway train just arrived at Stonehenge Works for the next return run
to Page's Park; this time we boarded and settled in to the...
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...cozy carriages which as you can see are rather basic. Well, it
sure was an enlightening day on Bedfordshire's Leighton Buzzard
Railway, please check out our tourist
resources for web links. Just...
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...before leaving this enchanting narrow-gauge railway we enjoyed The
Engine Shed Show, an illuminating guided tour of the locomotive sheds
at Buzz Railway's Page's Park Station. Our ride cost £9.
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Next up was our first walk day in the Buckinghamshire countryside; a
circular walk to the south-west of Leighton Buzzard in the Vale of
Aylesbury from/to Mentmore. We passed by (or rather over)...
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...Sears Crossing at Ledburn where fast trains hurtle along the West
Coast Mainline. In 1963 Sears Crossing was where the notorious
great train robbers stopped the mail train. Walking on then,...
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...and presently we came upon the peaceful Grand Union Canal at Church
Lock at Grove. Once a busy freight route during the Industrial
Revolution - the M1 of its day - it's now a leisure waterway.
So...
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...what an idyllic spot beside the canal to consume our picnic and
watch the canal boats negotiate the lock. The walk ambled south
along the Grand Union Canal towpath for a bit before turning west...
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...and leading under another bridge known for the great train robbery,
Bridego Bridge. Now called Mentmore Bridge, it was here the
robbers offloaded the loot from the train above into their truck
below. We thought there might be a few £20 notes...
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...still floating about but couldn't find any. Now, a quick look
inside our Buckinghamshire self-catering holiday cottage at Cold
Brayfield (near Olney). Looks like Belinda's prep'ing the evening
meal after our Mentmore walk, yum!
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The Ouse Valley Way trail ran very near our Cold Brayfield holiday
cottage. So for our second Buckinghamshire walk we crossed this
rather scenic footbridge over the River Great Ouse and on...
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...through Newton Blossomville, a quintessential adorable English
village. We aim to have at least one car-free day every holiday
to do our bit for 'green' tourism, and today was it! After
following...
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...the Ouse Valley Way through Clifton Reynes where it crossed another
major leisure trail route - the Three Shires Way - we crossed the River
Great Ouse again and found this gorgeously...
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...idyllic spot to enjoy our picnic by a watering hole. No canal
view this time, but plenty of wildlife to observe going about their
business as we munched our cheese rolls in the warm sunshine.
Suitably...
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...refreshed we carried on and soon reached Olney, and headed to the
large Emberton Country Park south of this Buckinghamshire town.
The park has many leisure activities such as sailing, nature trails
and...
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...this fascinating timeline wall depicting the Earth's history which
we studied to bag an Earthcache for our
Geocaching hobby. Well, after a pleasant day's walking along
the Ouse Valley Way to Olney...
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...and back to Newton Blossomville, after a quick freshen up at the
holiday cottage, a hearty meal had our name on it at the local pub, the
Old Mill. Hmmm, looks like Mike's had a pint or three, now take
care walking back over that River Great Ouse bridge!
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Another quick nose inside the Buckinghamshire self-catering holiday
cottage we rented, in the lounge this time. Postcard writing?
On our final page we venture into Bedfordshire
to visit the vintage aircraft of the Shuttleworth Collection.
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Bletchley
Park | Buzz Railway &
Buckinghamshire walks | Shuttleworth
Collection
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