Stony Stratford to New Bradwell and return

I have joined Newport Pagnell Singers and my first concert with them was this evening. The opportunity to combine a weekend visit to the Milton Keynes area for the concert with a walk on the Ouse Valley Way proved impossible to resist, especially since it was a glorious crisp and sunny winter day. We had to drive over from Norfolk, so it was about 10.45am when we parked the car to the north of Stony Stratford, in the same spot (SP784408) as last time we were here. We were pleasantly surprised to find parking this easily, especially on a busy shopping Saturday just before Christmas.

We crossed the Stony Stratford by-pass and took a path on the other side. We were soon walking alongside the river on a tarmacked path, with modern housing on the outskirts of Old Stratford on the opposite side of the river. It was easy walking and very pleasant, though a little on the cold side when we were not in the sun. We passed underneath the A5 and left the housing estates behind us. There were a reasonable number of other people about; we were unusual in that we had neither bikes nor dogs, but everyone seemed well-tempered and friendly.

We passed a weir and carried on straight ahead past an old mill and soon we reached the Iron Trunk Aqueduct, which carries the Grand Union Canal over the River Great Ouse. The aqueduct was built in 1811 following the collapse of an earlier brick-built structure. The footpath took us through a narrow tunnel underneath the canal.

We were approaching the railway (the West Coast Mainline) and watched many trains passing - until that is I wanted to photograph an attractive view of the river flowing beneath the railway viaduct that I thought would be nicely completed by a passing train; suddenly it went very quiet! We passed underneath the viaduct and crossed the surprisingly busy road from Wolverton to Haversham and slightly further on we stopped for lunch.

We parted company with the river on the outskirts of New Bradwell and walked through parkland back towards Wolverton Station. We had intended to head back to Stony Stratford from here, but we still had plenty of time, so we continued along the route of the Ouse Valley Way on a wide verge, until we reached the point where the Grand Union Canal crossed the road. We climbed up to the Canal here, close to Bradwell Windmill.

The route of the Ouse Valley Way turns left along the canal here, but we turned right, over the Grafton Street Viaduct then back through Wolverton, passing back under the railway line near Wolverton Station. This is, or certainly has been, an industrial area, but it was delightfully peaceful by the canal, and the derelict industrial buildings added to the atmosphere. Eventually we reached more open countryside and we were soon back at the Iron Trunk Aqueduct, now next to the canal up high above the river. We took photographs then descended to the river and retraced our earlier steps back to Stony Stratford.