Bardon Hill – 278m / 912ft – 11/03/2020
It took just less than an hour to drive to my next start point, where I parked behind the Old Thatched Inn in the village of Stanton under Bardon. I had decided this was going to be another run as the sun was out, evening was drawing in and I needed to go fairly quickly. So trail gear on I set off up the main village street and through a gap in the houses to pick up the Ivanhoe Way next to some allotments. I followed the path for about 1km crossing the village road again and then across a few fields past a farm to the A511 that I had driven along about 30 minutes before. Crossing quickly in the busy traffic at the roundabout I continued west then turned right along a track which led across fields towards Bardon Hill Wood….or so I thought! There was a path diversion in place around land that had been fenced off for quarrying or some other activity. Of course I followed the diversion around the muddy perimeter for about 500m before I realised that it was going to take me further out of my way than I wanted to go.
It was time to reassess so I consulted my paper map and OS app on my phone to decide on a new route, which meant heading back the way I had come then continuing along the noisy A511 for about 600m further west where I could pick up another footpath skirting fields past a couple of farms to get me back on track, assuming no more diversions were in place. I jogged comfortably along the road, found the path which evidently was going to take me around the other side of the quarrying operation, or whatever was going on.
As I continued along around the boggy perimeter fields I crossed what appeared to be a railway line and my first thought was that this is HS2 and work had already started. I have subsequently researched that Bardon Hill Quarry began an expansion plan in 2015 to triple in size. It is a source of granite and supplied materials for the construction of London Olympic Park. Further along I came to a gate after which I had to cross a mud “road” almost wide enough to be a dual carriageway – this was clearly an access route for some serious machinery (at the time it added to my HS2 suspicions). There was also a sign explaing the other side of the path diversion
I was now into the woodlands around Bardon Hill and followed a more rocky, interesting path as it climbed up gradually more steeply towards the top where I found the trig point on a pedestal rock and lovely clear views all around in the evening sunshine and a little bit of local geological history.
I sat and admired the panorama for a while then set off at a pace retracing my steps down the hill, through the woods and fields, quickly arriving back at the main road. Not relishing the 800m uphill at the noisy roadside I had found an alternative path a short way along on the opposite side between a row of houses and the strangely named Billa Barra Hill which led to a wooded track contouring around another quarry back towards the village. This part was almost as muddy as yesterday’s adventure in the Chilterns and not welcome so close to the finish. I soon rejoined the allotment track behind the houses and jogged back to the car in good time as dusk was approaching, determined to clean up and get in the pub for some food and a well earned pint. That was my 18th County Top done and dusted.
