The ‘Needs to Know’
Distance: 11.5 miles (18.5km)
Time to walk: With rests & photo taking this walk took almost 5 hours
Difficulty: There are quite a few slopes, but nothing too strenuous. Most of the walking is across fields, apart from one stretch mid walk. We walked this on a very hot day in mid May &, at some stages, the paths were quite overgrown & a struggle (so it might be advisable to wear long trousers)
Parking: Carefully & considerately on road in Odell
Public toilets: We’re walking through 7 villages so there’s pubs etc en route
Map of the route:
So what can we tell you about this walk…
Well, it visits the churches of 7 of North Bedfordshire’s most lovely villages situated around the River Great Ouse & known as ‘The Ouse Valley Villages’
Starting & finishing at the village green in Odell we visit the Anglican churches in Harrold, Carlton, Chellington, Pavenham, Felmersham, Sharnbrook & Odell, hence the title ‘The 7 Churches Challenge’. There’s some great views across the countryside &, at one point, all 7 of the churches can be seen (on a clear day)
This is a walk for taking your time to explore the villages as you go, perhaps going off route occasionally to have a look around. It also starts by passing through Harrold Odell Country Park
Let’s Walk!!
1. We’ve parked up outside The Bell in Odell which is a fine establishment where muddy boots & dogs are welcome…
The village of Odell is one of the smallest of the Ouse Valley villages situated near to the borders with Buckinghamshire & Northamptonshire. The influence of these counties can be seen in Odell’s old association with lacemaking & the leather industry
In his book “Down the River” HE Bates described the village as “half asleep…”inhabited by “…..soft spoken & soft thinking people – a village embued with a timeless natural beauty which is quietly cherished by all who live there”
We’ll come back & look at the church & castle when we pass them at the end of the walk
2. In the meantime, facing the pub, turn right & head down Horsefair Lane…
…to eventually arrive at the gateway into the beautiful Harrold Odell Country Park
3. It’s the first time we’ve visited the Country Park & today had to head straight through it as we were on a long walk. However it’s somewhere we’ll definitely go back & explore. Our path lies straight ahead…
4. Walk straight ahead between two lakes so it’s always worth a quick peep either side…
5. Many of the fishing pegs along here have names or sculptures which blend into the surroundings…
We loved this little bridge with the ‘tongue-in-cheek’ sign for the kids…
6. Keep heading straight, keeping the main lake called Grebe Lake on the right. It has some stunning views…
…& go through the overflow car park…
On the left’s one of the churches you’ll visit later…
7. Eventually the path emerges into the main car park…
…where on the right is the park’s cafe & visitor centre…
8. Exit the park passing another sculpture…
…& the route lies over the road through the gate ahead…
9. Enter Harrold & the cemetery of St Peter’s Church…
You don’t see a great deal of Harrold on this walk. It’s the second of the 7 villages
The village lies on the north bank of the River Great Ouse, & is the site of an ancient bridge, which you’ll cross soon, linking the village with Carlton. Harrold was recorded in the Domesday Book as a parish within the Hundred of Willey
An early medieval sword mount was unearthed by a metal detector in 2006. It’s believed the tiny decoration could have adorned the sword belt of a high-ranking Saxon warrior
10. Keep following the path around the churchyard & eventually you’ll come to St Peter’s Church itself – one of the few that were open today…
To find the entrance pass through the lych-gate below & turn left into Church Lane…
11. The wooden door leading into the church is very old & very heavy. Given its age it’s incredible
The building of this church began before 1200 using the foundations of an earlier Saxon church. There’s a great leaflet in the church which explains the history & showing the earliest records going back to 1193
12. Exit the church & turn right through the metal Barrier into Hall Close…
…& then bear left along the close to the junction with the main road…
…where we turn right…waiting for the traffic lights of course…
Carefully cross onto the fantastic Harrold bridge which crosses the Great Ouse river
13. This is a beautiful old bridge & you need to keep dodging into the gaps when traffic approaches…
Once over, keep to the right along the amazing flood defences…
14. Turn right at the footpath sign…
…& then immediately left into the field, keeping close to the hedge…
…passing through the kissing gate on the left…
Bear diagonally right to the gate…
…which leads into the allotments
15. These are Carlton’s allotments & they’re lovely. Continue straight ahead
Exit through the gate onto The Moor…welcome to Carlton!
16. So what can we tell you about Carlton…well after researching, not much actually, but it’s another lovely village & there’s lots to see…
Turn right along The Moor & follow the road to the junction with the High Street & turn left…
Keep straight up the High Street. On reaching Street Close on the left, stop & look across the road to your right…can you see the arch between the two houses? Well that’s your route, through there…
& down the right of the garages…
17. Continue along little alleys thinking where are you going, but trust us…you’ll emerge eventually…
Carry on to across the park..
…to pass through a kissing gate
Now walk along the narrow path…
Once out of the alley turn left & head towards another gate…
18. Finally you’re back out in the open fields where you can see Carlton Church…your next stop…
19. Exit through the gate on the right…
…where you’ll come to the gateway into St Mary the Virgin Carlton which dates from 950 AD…
20. Come out of the churchyard, turn left along the road & follow it round the left bend where there’s another bench with some great views if you fancy a break
Carry on towards the village…
21. On entering the village continue to the junction below of the High Street & The Causeway. The path is straight ahead down The Causeway
So what can we tell you about Carlton…this link will take you to the village site, but it’s hard to find much about the history of the place
It was recorded in the Domesday Book as a parish within the Hundred of Willey. In 1934 the separate parishes of Carlton & Chellington merged to become one as a parish named Carlton with Chellington
22. One thing we did notice immediately is it’s a very well kept village with lots of cottage gardens & some beautiful flowers…
On the left is Carlton’s local…The Fox
23. Just a bit further is Puddleducks Bakery… it’s a great local shop
24. The Causeway eventually comes to a T-junction with Bridgend…
At the T-junction turn left…
Now we’d heard that Carlton Village Shop was a little treasure & you’re not about to be disappointed…
Inside it’s like being in a really good French Deli with fabulous bread, cooked meats & cheeses. We were greeted by Will & also chatted to a few other locals about walks in the area
Look at the list of cheeses etc on the blackboard & you’ll see what a ‘treasure’ this is. Will made us up an excellent ham & mustard oven bottom muffin – superb
If you do this walk please go & use this excellent shop!
25. Continue along the street & then take the right fork & after about 20 yards turn right through a gate into a field. Goodbye Carlton – we like you!
26. Your exit from this field’s in the top left corner, but as it’s been roped off we had to make our way around the edge…
…& exit through the gate below
Head right up the track past the sewerage works on the left…
27. Ahead is your next church…St Nicholas…
On reaching the top of the hill pass through the gap in the hedge & turn left walking towards the church…
The views from here back across the valley are pretty spectacular!
Today St Nicholas’ Church is no longer a church & is now the Chellington Centre…
28. Be careful to keep inside the path between the fence & the wall to the right of the church to find your exit around & then over the stile…
Now the path lies diagonally left through the remains of an old gate & out through another one onto the road
29. In the non growing season the next stretch of our walk would be easy, but today it was tough. Cross straight over the road & through the kissing gate into the field on the left…
…& then walk up the right side of the field to another gate…
After passing through the gate the path now follows the hedge on the right uphill for about 1/2 mile…
We really struggled up here, battling between the rape on the left & the nettles on the right, getting either scraped or stung so, if you walk this in summer, maybe wear long trousers!
30. Eventually you’ll arrive at a stile out of this mess…
The path continues straight ahead towards the left hand side of the wood where there’s another stile to cross…
Head towards the left of the wood…
… cross the stile
31. The next bit simply follows the side of the wood to a T-Junction…
…where you turn left & head towards the small copse below…
32. On reaching the entrance to the copse life starts to get a little difficult as the path wasn’t that clear. Maybe this was because the crops were in full growth so it would be much easier at other times of the year
Enter the copse & look for a ‘plank’ crossing the ditch on the right which isn’t easy to spot…
33. Keep straight ahead with the hedge on the left until reaching the corner of the field to cross another bridge & stile…
…& then head straight on again to reach a bridleway where you turn left…
Pass through a metal gate & continue about 50 yards turning right at the footpath sign on the right…
34. Now head straight towards Pavenham. After crossing the first field go through the gap in the hedge & across TWO more stiles to the bottom of the field
Now we turn left through the gap in the hedge & continue ahead until reaching the white house…
…where you turn left & walk up the hill until reaching a footpath sign on the right…
Follow that path through the woodland & then into the field walking north-east across the field to a gap in the hedge to emerge on the Felmersham Road
35. The route should now be left up this road, but we’ve heard Paveham’s nice so decided to turn right down the hill & have a look around
Pavenham is another of the Great Ouse smaller villages. It was very quiet when we were there, but beautiful…
The local hostelry’s The Cock…
36. Retrace your steps to where you emerged from the field & head up the hill on the Felmersham Road passing St Peter’s Church on the right which is only normally open for services
Follow the road all the way to the next village so be careful as there are no footpaths
After about 1/2 a mile pass Pavenham Park Golf Club…
.37. Now it’s downhill all the way now into your next village…Felmersham
Have a look at this link for the village website which also tells the history. There’s evidence of life back there in Celtic times over 2000 years ago, but the name comes from Saxon times showing that the place was the riverside dwelling of Feolmar & his people.
At the bottom of the hill arrive at a T-junction &, if you fancy some refreshment, where better than straight over the road at The Sun
38. Turn right up the hill on Grange Road to the next T-junction & then head left down towards the church & river…
St Mary’s Church is now ahead. Have a look at the link for pictures of the inside & history
So that’s another 1 of the 7 ticked off…now let’s head across the fields to Sharnbrook
39. Continue past the church & the tithe barn on the left to arrive at the Great Ouse again & cross over the bridge…
The river is beautiful around here…
Just over the bridge is a footpath marker on the right so pass through the gate…
…& now you’re going to going to follow the river for a short while. It’s worth just stopping & having a look back at the stunning bridge…
40. Follow the river…
You can just make out the spire of Sharnbrook Church over to the left so, after passing through the broken gate, turn left & then right running parallel to a nature reserve…
50. After a couple of hundred yards cross over the concrete slab bridge & continue as before with the hedge on your left…
…before the path bears left through a gap…
Cross another field towards the tower of an old windmill…
…eventually emerging at a gate. The windmill tower’s ahead…
51. To get to the village all you have to do is walk up the bridleway past the windmill to the main road. It soon becomes clear though that the windmill is in the garden of a very impressive property!
52. So….welcome to Sharnbrook! Turn left along the High Street…
You’re now on The Ouse Valley Way, a 150 mile footpath running from the source near Syresham in Northamptonshire & exiting into The Wash near Kings Lynn…
So what do we know about Sharnbrook? Well it’s another village with Saxon origins with the name meaning ‘dung brook’
Sharnbrook was once home to 8 manors, only 3 of which remain today. You’re only going to touch a small part of the village today, so have a look at the above link for more details
Moving on down the High Street pass the Old Police Station…
…& the Old Chapel
The pub on the left has an interesting name…The Swan with Two Nicks…
53. Just past the Co-op turn left up Church Lane & there ahead of you on the right is Church No.6…
This is St Peter’s Anglican Church & it’s the oldest surviving building in the village dating back to Norman times. It was remodelled in later years…
It’s now time to head back to your starting point in Odell. The signpost says 2.5 miles by road, but you’re going to head across the fields again…
54. Continue past the Church up the Odell Road &, after 1/2 mile or so, arrive at a roundabout. The exit into the fields lies directly opposite on the right down a hard surfaced bridleway with a signpost…
55. Follow the hard track for a short while & it then heads straight into a dirt one – just keep straight on…
Across the next field…
56. Eventually you’ll reach a hedge & pass through the gap with the yellow marker…
Now follow the bridleway to the top of the hill. The grass was really long here &, 10 miles in, it was hard going!
57. Eventually shortly after going straight on through a gap in the hedge you reach a wood on the right with a fenced access showing the Ouse Valley Way…
Turn left away from the wood & head south-west across the field…
On reaching the hedge pass through it…
…& then follow the track keeping the hedge on the left. You start getting glimpses of Odell on the way…
58. Eventually the track changes into a well defined one which leads to the main road…
…where we turn left & head down Church Lane towards Odell…
59. On the outskirts of the village there are some lovely properties…
60. Further down the lane you spot our final No.7 church…
…another beautiful Great Ouse village…
Eventually you’ll arrive at the main road which is the High Street
61. We’re on the final stretch now, turning right at the junction & heading up the hill…
…where you now get a good view of All Saints Church…
Although there may have been earlier churches, the present one dates back to the 15th century & is built from Northamptonshire limestone
Continuing up the hill, on the left is Odell Castle which was originally an 11th century castle. Nowadays it’s a splendid Manor House although some of the original castle stones were incorporated into the building
62. And now it’s all downhill back to the start of our walk…
So that’s this walk done & you’ve achieved ‘The 7 Church Challenge’
This really is a great walk. The negatives of unkept paths (only a few) are by far out numbered by the positives of stunning villages, the Great Ouse & just the general peacefulness of this walk, mixed with the opportunity to see some wildlife
So on achieving the ‘Challenge’ how did we feel…
It’s great so…
Go Walk!!