Views of the River Great Ouse from the Grange Estate Perimeter cycleway
The 120ha Grange Estate, owned by the Forest of Marston Vale Trust lies at the heart of Bedford River Valley Park. The Trust has created a 2 mile multi-user route around the south bank of the River Great Ouse, and built a new bridge over the Elstow Brook at the confluence of the two waterways. In 2009, works were completed on a north-south connection that bisects the site, creating an excellent 4 mile figure-of-eight route for walkers and cyclists. More recently a grass path alongside the Elstow Brook has been added to the Trusts grass cutting schedule and provides pedestrians with a beautiful walk by the meandering brook where Kingfishers are often see.
The central cycleway at the Grange Estate with views of open grassland, woodland and Dovecote and Causeway Lakes
Things to do . . .
Since purchasing the Grange Estate the Forest of Marston Vale Trust have secured and delivered over £1.3million pounds worth of access and habitat projects within the Bedford River Valley Park. The projects have been varied but all have added interest and diversity for visitors to the area and particularly the Grange Estate where the Trust have delivered the following projects:
- 4 Miles of publicly accessible walking & riding routes with a mixture of sealed/unsealed and grass surfaces set in woodland, riverside and open grassland habitats
- 14.8ha of new native woodland comprising 5ha within the Grange and 9.8ha within the adjacent Octagon Wood site that is owned by Bedford Borough Council
- Habitat, wildlife and history interpretation boards
- A bird viewing screen made by BRVP volunteers from hazel and willow harvested from the Grange with bird identification board
- Tern raft where Terns and Oystercatchers have been seen nesting
- Pond dipping platform with information board
- Audio units with historical content on land use within BRVP
- Geocaching
- Riverbank and lake fishing (please contact Blunham and District Angling Club via the link below
- Wild camping and paddle sport fun (please contact CanoeTrail for further information)
Willow bird viewing screen constructed by BRVP volunteers under the guidance of Guy Lambourne from Wassledine
More Information:
Forest of Marston Vale Trust
British Waterways Marinas Limited
Great Ouse Boating Association
Blunham and District Angling Club
CanoeTrail