Ouse Valley Way - Oakley to Carlton

Start: The number 25 Grant Palmer Rushden to Bedford bus stops at the crossroads on the edge of Oakley. Grid ref. TL 011 540
Ouse Valley Way waymarkers

(S) From the bus stop and junction, head down the High Street, then left into Church Lane at the bottom.

(1) Keep a look out on the right for a footpath which will lead between the houses and comes out by the river bridge. Proceed over the bridge and take the footpath on the right, following the river, before it heads right up to the road into Stevington. Here it meets the Ouse Valley Way.

(2) At the Stevington crossroads turn right and head down to the Church following the Ouse Valley waymarkers back down towards the river which it follows through to Pavenham. Here it goes up to the road.

(3) Turn right to pass through the village heading back towards Oakley.

(4) Once out of the village, the path leads off on the left by a playing field, then around a golf course and through to Radwell coming out opposite the old village pub.

(5) Turn right and bear to the left following the road out of Radwell. At the end of the houses on the left a footpath eventually takes you down to the river.

(6) Just past Brook farm and the caravan park keep a lookout in the trees for the path which leads across a series of footbridges across the Pinchmill islands and over to the other side of the main river. This is easy to miss and if you end up walking with the river on your left then you have gone too far.

(7) Once on the far side of the river turn right and through the fields to come out into Sharnbrook by the old windmill.

(8) At the road, turn left up through the High Street, then left onto Church Lane. Pass the church then turn right into Lodge Road, then at the end turn left onto Yellow Lane.

(9) As the road bends round to the right, keep straight on along the footpath. This eventually comes out to a road where you turn left to come out in Odell by the church. Turn right along the High Street.

(10) Then take the lane down by the Bell pub and keep straight on into Harrold Country Park.

(11) When this exits onto the road at Harrold, turn left, over the river bridge and continue into Carlton on the elevated walkway. (E)

Start: The number 25 Grant Palmer Rushden to Bedford bus stops at the crossroads on the edge of Oakley. Grid ref. TL 011 540
Ouse Valley Way waymarkers

Transport: Grant Palmer - bus Service. Grant Palmer 25 Service from Rushden to Bedford.
There is a bus linking Harrold, Carlton and Oakley and terminating in Bedford but the timetable that we downloaded from the Internet was totally wrong. Nonetheless, there was still an hourly service. Bedford was a little too far to walk for the time we had on this occasion so we walked to Carlton, got the bus to Oakley then walked back to Harrold.

Refreshments: Although many of the villages pubs have finally closed their doors for good in recent years, there are still convenient refreshment stops on route.
Bedford Arms, Oakley
Swan with Two Nicks, Sharnbrook
Muntjac, Harrold

Find more information at Griffmonster walks website here.

Harrold
Odell
St Mary the Virgin Church, Stevington
Pinchmill Islands
Harrold and Odell Country Park