The ‘Needs to Know’
Distance: 6 miles (9.6km)
Time to walk: Roughly 2.5 hours
Difficulty: A mixture of hard surface & grassy tracks. Mainly flat but one steep hill right at the end
Parking: If you’d like to buy a “thank you” drink at the end, park in the Three Fyshes car park which is about 50 yards past the pub
Public toilets: The pubs in Turvey
Map of the route:
Stated by some to be one of the most beautiful villages in England, Turvey lies literally just over the eastern border of Northamptonshire in neighbouring Bedfordshire, some 13 miles from Northampton
The Mordaunt family obtained the manor by marriage in 1197 & were ennobled as Barons of Turvey in the 16th century. Their family house, Turvey Old Hall, was replaced by Turvey House in 1792, by which time the estate had passed to the Higgins family. It was extended in the 19th century & still stands
Henry, the 4th Lord Mordaunt, was imprisoned in the Tower on suspicion of involvement in the Gunpowder plot. It’s known that the family did have extreme catholic views. At that time though, the Mordaunt’s were living in Drayton House, near Lowick, which we visit on Walk 162
There is a second large house in the village called Turvey Abbey, which we’ll see on this walk
The name Turvey means ‘Turf Island’ or ‘low lying land’ which you can see every time it rains heavily in the surrounding water meadows. The whole area is covered with springs. There is evidence of life dating back to the Bronze Age when the ‘Beaker’ people arrived in the area – they gained this name due to their habit of burying beakers with their dead
Although not a Roman settlement, there’s evidence of them in the area as was the case with the Anglo Saxons & Normans
Turvey has a strong history of lace-making & there is evidence of a 19th century lace-making school
There’ll be more to learn about this fascinating village on our walk so we gave 003.5 his mission route. Also a huge acknowledgement to the Turvey History website for their incredible knowledge
Let’s Walk!
1. Our walk starts at The Three Fyshes car park, which is about 50 yards past the pub. Walk towards it…
The current pub dates back to 1624, but it’s thought there was another building on this site that was also a pub built in 1487. There’s actually a stream that runs through the pub which meant that beer was also brewed on the premises
2. Head towards the pub & the bridge with its 11 arches. Have a look at the statue by the river on the left-hand side…
This is Jonah who mysteriously appeared here on 15 April 1844, having originally stood in the grounds of Ashridge House, a monastery. Since 1953 he’s had a friend known locally as Eve. Her body was found in a barn behind the mill, but was missing a head! Someone found a head & added it. She was placed in the mill pond to keep Jonah company
The only problem is Eve’s head is clearly that of a bearded man in a three cornered hat!
3. Head across the bridge to get your pictures & then double back on yourself towards the village, passing bridge cottage on your left…
The properties here were built on the site of the former gas works. Bear left into the High Street…
4. Pass another great pub, The Three Cranes & the butchers shop. Like The Three Fyshes, this isn’t the first pub that’s stood on this site…
In 1649 you’d have been stood outside The Chequers, which was demolished & rebuilt. It was renamed the Three Cranes after the Higgins Coat of Arms which featured the heads of three Cranes on the shield like it does today
5. Follow the road round past the Memorial Cross. This whole area is thought to be the centre of the village & has traditionally been known as ‘The Cross’…
Today’s Memorial Cross dates back to 1919. Continue past All Saints Church which stands beside the Manor. All Saints dates back to Roman times, although the oldest part of the current building is Saxon & dates from around 980 AD
An interesting fact is the church was expanded to the east by Victorian architect Sir George Gilbert Scott who was also responsible for the Albert Memorial in London
6. Pass the Police Community Surgery & the Corner Shop. This part of the village was once known as Stocker’s End. Some of the buildings here are the oldest in the village & it’s known from paintings that there’s been a shop here since the mid 1800s
Continue in the direction of Bedford. On the opposite side of the road’s the Village Hall & another shop. Look at the Roman numerals on the side wall of the Village Hall showing 1847. This building was originally the National School
7. Keep to the footpath, passing through the village. There’s lots of amazing, historical houses on either side such as the Reading Room, the Reformatory & the old Museum
Head towards the village boundary ahead where you get your first glimpse of Turvey Abbey on the right. The original part of Turvey Abbey was built in 1603 & remained a private house until 1980.
In 1980, the nuns of the Priory of Our Lady of Peace & the Monks of the Monastery of Christ our Saviour moved from Cockfosters in North London & Turvey Abbey became an Abbey in the sense of having residential nuns. Their move was precipitated by a desire to return to a more contemplative life
8. It’s now time to leave the village, so just after the speed signs in the picture below, carefully cross the road & head through the kissing gate on the right….
Keep fence on your right & pass under the trees towards a further way marker sign opposite…
9. Cross over the stone bridge & walk towards the little yellow way marker in the same direction…
Go through the small metal gate in the picture below & carry on up the grass path which the landowners have kindly provided
10. Follow the right fence line as it heads towards the woodlands…
Go through the next small gate & continue up the same path
11. Eventually the path arrives at a junction (as below). Turn right & follow the path…
…over the old railway bridge. Turvey used to have its own station on the Northampton to Bedford Line, the first train stopping on 10th June 1872. As with many stations, the line closed in 1962
12. At the end of the bridge bear left, in the direction of the white marker, keeping the small fence on your right…
…& then the hedge on your left
13. Continue to follow the track up the hill…the hedges are now either side of you…
On reaching the gap in the picture below, turn right & carry on with a hedge now on your right
14. This is a really simple walk to follow so far & easy to navigate, even though it was wet in parts during winter 2022…
At the end of these hedges, cross over the gap & continue along the track with the new hedge now on your left…
15. The track’s really easy to follow as it turns to more of a hard surface for a short time…
On reaching the junction in the picture below, walk ahead in the same direction
16. The hard surface ends & it’s back into the fields once more, but just keep heading in the same direction…
The path now starts to rise up the hill
17. That’s the end of this section of this walk. Bear right but don’t go through the gap…
Instead keep following the field edge with the hedge on your left
18. Eventually you’ll arrive at the fingerpost in the picture below at the edge of some woodland…
Bear right at the post, keeping the woodland on your left & then pass through the gap & continue in the same direction
19. At long last the field paths arrive at a country lane. Bear right…
Remember, although this is a country lane, cars do pass along it so please exercise care. The road is also part of the Milton Keynes boundary
20. Presently the lane arrives at a T-junction where we turn right…
And almost immediately follow the public bridleway way sign back into the fields…
…& continue straight ahead. At the gap in the picture below keep walking across up the track
21. At the end of the track, keep the hedges on your left & continue in the same direction…
Just keep following the field edge as the hedgerows become woodlands on your left…
22. And we promised you a hill, so look what’s ahead now. Start climbing & we’ll see you at the top!
Once you’ve made it, join the road & pass Church’s cottage on your left
23. This really is a beautiful walk, but after that hill it’s quite nice to be going slightly down hill again…
Pass over the bridge with the old railway line underneath which means you’re nearly home
24. Just before the cottage in the picture below, turn right through the gap, as indicated by the way marker, & head along the field edge towards Turvey which is directly in front of you…
Ignore all the left & right turns & head along the grass track towards the village once more
25. Go through the kissing gate & bear left to the next metal gate…
Walk through this & head directly opposite
26. Soon you’ll come to another gate. Negotiate that one & continue up the woodland path…
Eventually the narrow track arrives at the road
27. Turn right & pass Nells Well…
Nell’s Well is one of the best known monuments of Turvey & when mains water was introduced to the village many villagers preferred to still use the wells
Reference is made to “Nell” in the poem, ‘The Tinker of Turvey” the first known printed copy of which is dated 1630 & kept in the British Museum.,,
“The Tinker of Turvey, his dog and his staff, Old Nell and her budget, would make a man laugh”
28. Turn left at the village sign…
…& walk back to the pub car park & where we started this walk
So that’s the end of our look at this village & lovely surrounding area that’s literally just over our County border. With two fine pubs to choose from this is a terrific walk & we can imagine doing it on a warm summer’s evening
Go Walk!