Lilley and the Galley & Warden Hills

START & FINISH: West Street, Lilley LU2 8LN. Grid ref: TL 118264

(S/E) From outside the pub head back to the road junction at the centre of (A) Lilley. Bear right along the road past the church for 160m to the entrance to the Cassel Memorial Hall and right into its car park. The route will now follow the (B) Chiltern Way for the next 3.5 miles. Walk past the hall, take the path to the right of the silver lion emblem and continue ahead for 100m to enter a field.

Stay in the same direction along the right-hand edge for 750m. Go through a strip of trees and continue straight ahead climbing across the field ahead just to the left of an oak tree on the horizon. At the top of the climb aim for the gate in a gap in the hedge ahead. Go through into the next field and, bearing slightly left of the direction you were walking, cross the middle of the field to the next gate and a lane.

(1) Turn right along the lane for 40m and fork left on a very wide bridleway with concrete tracks. Go past a metal barrier and stay on the track. At a 4 way junction of bridleways, continue straight ahead between the hedgerow and field and look out for a fork in the track where the hedgerow on the left ends,

At the hedgerow end, bear left on a wide grassy bridleway between fields. Follow it to the right of a hedgerow as it drops down and then sweeps right to a gate at the entrance to the (C) Galley and Warden Hills. Go past the gate and turn immediately left on a path following the lower edge of a wood for 250m to a footpath on the right, just before a set of steps.

(2) Turn right uphill, go over a crossing path and climb steeply through the wood to emerge onto the open hillside. Continue uphill, ignore the path bearing left and stay in the same direction to near the top of the hill. As the slope starts to ease, you'll see an area of short grass to your left. Turn half-left to the bank on the edge of the hill to enjoy the wonderful views over Luton and the surrounding area.

(3) To re-join the main route, bear right uphill and go through a gate at the top. Stay in the same direction to the left of a fence for 400m, passing the triangulation point on the right and through the next gate. Continue to follow the path round the hill and then down to a footpath fork. Do not take the footpath on the left that descends to a gate but stay on the path round to the right and down to a kissing gate. Go through to a bridleway and turn right uphill for 130m past the entrance on the left to the Galley and Warden Hills local nature reserve.

(4) A few metres after the entrance turn left on a wide field-edge bridleway. Ignore the gate on the left and follow the bridleway along the fence half-right for a further 180m. Here the fence swings to the right and you keep straight ahead through a gate.

Follow the bridleway as passes over (D) Galley Hill then drops down through the next gate to the edge of a golf course.

(5) Go straight over the fairway and to the right of a green to meet a rough track. Turn left along the track for 50m to reach a wide track - the (E) Icknield Way. Turn right along the Icknield Way for 300m to a major crossing track

Turn right on a broad track which you follow for the next 2km. This is part of the (F) John Bunyan Trail. The track swings gradually to the left then climbs and runs to the right of Ward's Wood.

(6) The track descends and turns left around the end of the wood before swinging right. Continue to follow the track for 120m and where it bears left, stay straight ahead on a grassy byway towards Lilley. At the surfaced lane, bear right uphill and along to finish the walk at The Lilley Arms. (S/E)

"We hope you have enjoyed your walk. Please remember to rate the walk and add comments. We are interested in how we could improve the instructions or the route and would like to hear about any issues with paths on the walk."

TERRAIN: Easy walking on good paths and wide bridleways with two short steep climbs. Fairly exposed in bad weather. Stile free and numerous gates.

START & FINISH: West Street, Lilley LU2 8LN. Grid ref: TL 118264

FOOD & DRINK: The Lilley Arms (currently closed)

PARKING: Lilley Arms car park if you are using the pub otherwise roadside in West Street. Be sure to leave plenty of space for large agricultural vehicles.

LOCAL TRANSPORT: Bus 101 runs between Luton and Stevenage all week and stops in the village 200m from Point 1 of the walk.

This walk was created for the book "More Great Walks in the Chilterns" available from the Chiltern Society or from Amazon.

(A) Lilley is a beautiful village set in stunning countryside. Many of the buildings seen today are at least 250 years old, but the area has been populated for much longer. It was recorded as Lillei in the Domesday Book, with 19 villagers, 6 smallholders, 6 slaves and 4 cottagers. St Peter’s Church dates from the 12th century but was rebuilt in 1871 using some of the old fittings. The manor of Lilley dates back before William the Conqueror. It passed through numerous hands before being conveyed to Thomas Docwra who lived nearby at Putteridge Bury. In 1788, the manor was sold to John Sowerby Esquire, a wealthy merchant of Hatton Garden. The lion from his crest can still be seen on many Lilley cottages – see how many you can spot. You will see the large crest from the closed Silver Lion pub next to the village hall.

(B) NORTH CHILTERN TRAIL / CHILTERN WAY: The Chiltern Way is a 177 mile circular trail around the Chilterns National Ladscape, designed by the Chiltern Society. This section is part of the North Chiltern Trail added in 2014, a 43 mile circuit of the best scenery at the north-eastern corner of the Chilterns.

(C) GALLEY & WARDEN HILLS: These hills were Luton Borough Council’s first nature reserve. They are one of the most important areas of chalk downland in Bedfordshire and are home to a wide range of wild flowers, many of which will only live on the thin poor soils. These flowers in turn attract over 20 different butterflies. In summer look out for wild orchids and Chalkhill Blue and Marbled White butterflies. The hills are also rich in history. Running below them are Drays Ditches, which are the remains of a substantial boundary earthwork first constructed in the Bronze Age.

(D) Galley Hill has two Bronze Age barrows.  Although these are barely visible today, in the Middle Ages a gallows was built on one of the barrows. Its height guaranteed it was seen by all the local population to deter them from committing crimes. The Luton magistrates ordered that the bodies of executed criminals be soaked in tar for three days, before being bound in chains and hoisted onto the gibbet. This was to ensure the bodies would swing in the wind for months before they rotted.

(E) THE ICKNIELD WAY - One of Britain’s most important ancient tracks; said to be the oldest road in Britain. It pre-dates the Romans and may have extended from Norfolk all the way down to the Devon coast.

(F) JOHN BUNYAN TRAIL - In his early years Bunyan lived in Elstow, near Bedford, and travelled widely in the local area, first as an itinerant tinker and later as a non-conformist preacher. He was imprisoned for nearly 12 years in Bedford Gaol, where he began his masterpiece, The Pilgrim’s Progress. The trail visits the places at which Bunyan preached and which formed the inspiration for the landscape in the book. At Lilley were several Dissenters' houses; one of these had a cellar where Bunyan could hide to preach in secret.