Encouraging an understanding of the rocks and landforms of the county

Bedfordshire Geology Group

The Bedfordshire Geology Group was formed in 2004 by a group of enthusiastic amateur and professional geologists. We aim to encourage an understanding of the rocks and landforms of the county for the benefit of all. One of the main ways of doing this is by identifying and popularising Local Geological Sites, which are of scientific and educational importance.

Members enjoy field trips, clearing overgrown sites, lectures, workshops and social events – all aimed at getting familiar with local rocks and fossils. We also arrange guided walks in order to share our interest in the varied scenery of Bedfordshire.

We work closely with local companies, museums and country parks. Recently we have collaborated with The Wildlife Trust, The Greensand Trust, Natural England and English Heritage on different projects around the county.

Educational support for schools is arranged by request. This often involves classroom-based sessions that introduce pupils to exciting geological topics such as dinosaurs and volcanoes. Alternatively, we can organise outdoor visits to help students learn more about their natural environment.

Old St Mary’s and Clophill Lodge are managed by Clophill Heritage Trust.

www.clophill-lodge.com

For more information, contact us through our website or by email to

secretary@bedfordshiregeologygroup.org.uk

This leaflet has been funded by Clophill Heritage Trust

Dire

ctio

nsS

tarti

ng fr

om O

ld S

t Mar

y’s

Chu

rch,

whi

ch is

mad

e m

ostly

of

loca

lly q

uarr

ied

Wob

urn

San

ds s

ands

tone

, and

turn

ing

left

out o

f the

chu

rchy

ard,

wal

k do

wn

Old

Chu

rch

Pat

h un

til

you

reac

h th

e H

igh

Stre

et, t

urn

right

and

cro

ss th

e ro

ad.

Ret

urn

to th

e H

igh

Stre

et v

ia th

e fo

otpa

th, t

urn

left

and

cont

inue

unt

il yo

u re

ach

The

Cau

sew

ay.

At t

he c

orne

r of

this

sin

gle-

track

road

is C

loph

ill O

ld M

ill.

Wal

k al

ong

The

Cau

sew

ay a

nd p

assi

ng o

ver t

he le

at

befo

re h

eadi

ng to

the

mid

dle

of th

e va

lley,

whe

re y

ou

can

see

the

wid

e cl

ay v

alle

y st

retc

hing

Eas

t-Wes

t pe

rpen

dicu

lar t

o Th

e C

ause

way

. Fa

rther

alo

ng y

ou w

ill

once

aga

in c

ross

the

wid

er R

iver

Flit

. R

etur

n to

the

Hig

h S

treet

and

con

tinue

alo

ng to

the

A6.

Whi

lst w

alki

ng a

long

ther

e ar

e so

me

inte

rest

ing

old

build

ings

mad

e fro

m lo

cally

mad

e br

icks

and

spe

cial

gl

azed

bric

ks th

at, w

hen

new

, wou

ld h

ave

been

a d

eep

gree

n in

col

our.

At t

his

poin

t, yo

u ca

n re

turn

to th

e ch

urch

thro

ugh

the

villa

ge, f

ollo

win

g th

e H

igh

Stre

et.

Cro

ss th

e A

6 an

d tu

rn in

to C

loph

ill R

oad.

Con

tinue

al

ong

this

road

turn

ing

right

ont

o th

e P

ublic

Brid

lew

ay a

t th

e ju

nctio

n of

Clo

phill

Roa

d an

d M

auld

en.

Follo

w th

e br

idle

way

to th

e fo

ot o

f Mau

lden

Woo

ds, t

urn

left

and

track

the

tree

line,

not

ing

as y

ou p

ass

the

surfa

ce e

rosi

on

expo

sing

tree

root

s. A

t the

junc

tion

of th

ree

path

s, th

ere

is

a st

eepl

y in

cise

d dr

y va

lley

dow

n w

hich

flow

s a

seas

onal

st

ream

cut

ting

dow

n th

roug

h th

e ov

erly

ing

Oad

by T

ill, a

gl

acia

l dep

osit

cove

ring

the

Wob

urn

San

ds.

Wal

k up

this

dry

val

ley

follo

win

g th

e m

arke

d ro

ute.

At a

cr

ossr

oads

with

sev

eral

foot

path

s an

d br

idle

way

s co

ntin

ue

on, k

eepi

ng th

e st

ream

to y

our r

ight

han

d si

de.

A sh

ort w

ay

furth

er, t

he s

tream

ent

ers

a cu

lver

t and

goe

s un

der t

he p

ath

emer

ging

on

the

left.

At t

he n

ext c

ross

road

s of

pat

hs, t

urn

right

, wal

k up

the

ridge

to it

s hi

ghes

t poi

nt.

Con

tinue

stra

ight

up

the

risin

g rid

ge a

nd jo

in th

e m

ain

Woo

dlan

d C

entre

pat

h tu

rn le

ft an

d w

alk

until

you

reac

h Fo

rest

Lod

ge (k

eepe

rs c

otta

ge) a

nd th

e m

ain

inte

rsec

tion

with

the

Gre

ensa

nd R

idge

Wal

k (G

RW

).Tu

rn ri

ght,

follo

win

g th

e m

arke

rs fo

r GR

W a

nd h

ead

tow

ards

th

e A

6.

Cro

ss th

e A

6 an

d co

ntin

ue to

follo

w th

e G

RW

mar

kers

. Yo

u w

ill re

ach

a re

tain

ing

wal

l with

won

derfu

l loc

al s

tone

wor

k.

At t

he e

nd o

f the

reta

inin

g w

all,

turn

left

up a

ver

y st

eep

part

of th

e rid

ge a

nd c

ontin

ue to

follo

w th

e G

RW

mar

kers

. R

esum

e fo

llow

ing

the

GR

W m

arke

rs to

war

ds B

ack

Stre

et.

To y

our r

ight

, not

e th

e Vi

ctor

ian

quar

ry fr

om w

hich

man

y of

th

e lo

cal b

uild

ing

ston

es w

ere

extra

cted

, inc

ludi

ng th

ose

for

the

Sto

ne J

ug p

ublic

hou

se.

At t

he e

nd o

f the

pat

h tu

rn le

ft an

d Th

e S

tone

Jug

will

be

200m

furth

er o

n. T

his

is a

fine

ex

ampl

e of

loca

l bui

ldin

g st

one

cons

truct

ion

and

tradi

tiona

l re

al a

le!

Con

tinue

alo

ng B

ack

Stre

et a

nd b

ear r

ight

, the

n le

ft,

follo

win

g th

e si

gns

for t

he V

illag

e H

all.

Imm

edia

tely

on

your

le

ft is

a s

mal

l cul

-de-

sac

mar

ked

Nos

. 1, 3

and

5.

Con

tinue

up

Kiln

Lan

e, b

ear r

ight

and

upo

n re

achi

ng th

e G

reat

Lan

e ju

nctio

n tu

rn ri

ght.

Abo

ut 1

00m

on

the

left

is th

e G

RW

foot

path

that

lead

s ba

ck to

the

Eco

Lod

ges,

whi

ch a

re

nest

led

in a

n ol

d ga

ult a

nd m

arl p

it th

at c

ould

hav

e be

en

used

for b

rick

build

ing

or o

ther

use

ful r

esou

rces

, unt

il yo

u re

turn

to O

ld S

t Mar

y’s

Chu

rch.

Clophill

GEOTRAILS IN BEDFORDSHIRE

This leaflet has been developed by Bedfordshire Geology Group in partnership with Clophill Heritage Trust.Working together to bring our landscape and history alive.

TH

E G

RE

EN

HIG

H S

TR

EE

T

HIG

H S

TR

EE

T

A 6 B E D F O R D R D

A507

SH

EF

FO

RD

RD

J A C Q U E S LA N E

O L D C H U R C H P A T H

TOWN SHOTT

G R E A T L A N E

L I T T L E LA

NE

T H E C A U S E W A Y

M I L L L A N E

BA

CK

ST

RE

ET

T H E S L A D E

KIL

N L

AN

E

C A I N H O E R D

GRE

ENM

AN

THE

STO

NE

JUG

FLYI

NG

HO

RSE LO

CK U

P&

PO

UN

D

THE

OLD

FORG

E

CLO

PHIL

LH

OU

SE

CLO

PHIL

LW

ATER

M

ILL

MET

HO

DIS

TCH

URC

H

ST M

ARY

’SSC

HO

OL

ST M

ARY

’SCH

URC

H

OLD

CHU

RCH

Intr

oduc

tion

This

trai

l exp

lore

s th

e la

ndsc

ape,

geo

logy

and

land

use

s su

rrou

ndin

g C

loph

ill V

illag

e ov

er m

illio

ns o

f yea

rs, f

rom

the

Cre

tace

ous

(app

rox.

95

mill

ion

year

s ag

o) to

the

pres

ent w

ith th

e ch

urch

bei

ng b

uilt

in th

e 10

th

Cen

tury

. Th

e tra

il is

a s

tead

y w

alk

of a

ppro

xim

atel

y 9k

m o

r 5.6

mile

s. I

t be

gins

on

the

top

of th

e G

reen

sand

Rid

ge a

t Old

St M

ary’

s C

hurc

h, m

ap

refe

renc

e TL

1708

86.

N.B

. Tak

e ut

mos

t car

e w

hen

cros

sing

the

A6,

whi

ch is

a 6

0mph

road

.

In T

he n

orth

wes

t fac

ing

bank

of t

he R

iver

Flit

can

be

see

n sm

ooth

iron

ston

e ex

pose

d th

roug

h w

ater

er

osio

n.

The

lake

s at

the

end

of th

e fo

otpa

th a

re th

e flo

oded

Ful

lers

’ Ear

th

wor

king

s th

at w

ere

one

of th

e m

ajor

indu

strie

s in

Clo

phill

dur

ing

the

20th

Cen

tury

. Th

e ex

tract

ion

wor

ks c

lose

d do

wn

in 2

000.

You

can

hear

the

leat

tum

blin

g be

neat

h th

e m

ill w

here

the

unde

rsho

t whe

el w

ould

hav

e tu

rned

mill

ston

es to

grin

d w

heat

. A

lso,

on

the

corn

er o

f th

e m

ill b

uild

ing

is a

n ol

d O

S

mar

ker s

tone

.

The

Riv

er F

lit is

a m

isfit

stre

am, w

hich

mea

ns it

is m

uch

smal

ler

than

the

river

that

ero

ded

the

valle

y in

whi

ch it

sits

toda

y. D

urin

g pe

rigla

cial

con

ditio

ns, t

he R

iver

Flit

wou

ld h

ave

been

a m

uch

larg

er b

raid

ed s

yste

m o

f stre

ams

erod

ing

the

land

scap

e.

This

pat

h le

ads

you

past

sm

all p

onds

on

top

of th

e W

obur

n S

ands

cre

ated

by

hol

low

s in

the

Wob

urn

San

ds F

orm

atio

n pr

obab

ly

lined

by

the

impe

rmea

ble

Oad

by T

ill.

The

pond

s ar

e re

cogn

isab

le b

y th

e ch

ange

in

veg

etat

ion

and

the

tall

reed

-sw

eet g

rass

es o

n its

edg

es.

The

pond

s ar

e ei

ther

rem

nant

bom

b cr

ater

s fro

m th

e S

econ

d W

orld

War

, dew

po

nds

or p

ossi

bly

hist

oric

al p

its d

ug fo

r cla

y ex

tract

ion

to m

ake

bric

ks lo

cally

.N

ear F

ores

t Lod

ge is

a m

assi

ve fe

lled

tree,

evi

denc

e of

how

big

so

me

of th

e tre

es c

an g

row

on

the

nutri

ent-p

oor s

andy

soi

l.

Look

out

for t

he e

ngra

ved

ston

e de

pict

ing

the

insc

riptio

n “D

eadm

an’s

Hill

” and

a s

kull-

and-

cros

sbon

es, a

loca

l w

aym

arke

r sto

ne.

In a

dditi

on, y

ou c

an s

ee, i

n m

any

of th

e st

ones

, ge

olog

ical

feat

ures

incl

udin

g cr

oss-

bedd

ing,

gra

in

diffe

rent

iatio

n (1

), m

ud d

rape

s (2

) and

iron

-ric

h rip

ples

.

As

you

wal

k ac

ross

the

field

s no

te th

e ch

ange

in s

oil t

ype

and

vege

tatio

n re

late

d to

cla

y co

ver t

o th

e no

rth (O

adby

Ti

ll) a

nd th

e la

ck o

f cla

y to

the

sout

h (e

rosi

on o

f the

O

adby

Till

to re

veal

the

Wob

urn

San

ds b

edro

ck).

On

the

right

-han

d si

de o

f thi

s cu

l-de-

sac

is a

n im

pres

sive

, la

rge

and

beau

tiful

exp

osur

e of

Wob

urn

San

ds F

orm

atio

n sh

owin

g a

dist

inct

unc

onfo

rmity

, bed

ding

, ero

sion

and

ot

her g

eolo

gica

l fea

ture

s. T

his

expo

sure

is d

ue a

gain

to

quar

ryin

g, p

roba

bly

for s

and

extra

ctio

n an

d lo

cal b

uild

ing

ston

es.

Det

our 1

:Ta

ke th

e P

ublic

Foo

tpat

h on

the

left,

alm

ost o

ppos

ite

Tow

nsho

tt. A

long

this

pat

h, y

ou w

ill c

ross

two

bran

ches

of

the

Riv

er F

lit.

The

first

one

you

cro

ss is

the

dive

rted

leat

, w

hich

you

will

see

late

r in

the

wal

k, a

nd th

e se

cond

is th

e riv

er it

self:

a g

reat

pla

ce to

pla

y P

ooh-

stic

ks!

In th

e no

rthw

est f

acin

g ba

nk o

f the

Riv

er F

lit c

an b

e se

en

smoo

th ir

onst

one

expo

sed

thro

ugh

wat

er e

rosi

on.

The

lake

s at

the

end

of th

e fo

otpa

th a

re th

e flo

oded

Ful

lers

’ E

arth

wor

king

s th

at w

ere

one

of th

e m

ajor

indu

strie

s in

C

loph

ill d

urin

g th

e 20

th C

entu

ry.

The

extra

ctio

n w

orks

cl

osed

dow

n in

200

0.

Gui

ded

Det

our 2

:A

guid

ed to

ur c

an b

e ar

rang

ed th

roug

h th

e Tr

ust i

nto

the

sem

i-wor

ked

quar

ry o

n th

e A

6.