Where Herons Nest – Rushmere Country Park, Rammamere Heath & Greensand Ridge Circular

Distance: approx. 9 miles (circular)

Terrain: SSSI forest reserve, conservation heathland and foot paths across fields with fine views across the Greensand Ridge

Pace: Moderate

Start/finish: Rushmere Country Park – Herons View Visitor Centre / Tree Tops Café, Bedfordshire

Refreshments: Picnic lunch; café at the end (if still open)

This varied circular walk explores the rich mosaic of woodland, heathland and lakes across the Greensand Ridge landscape in Rushmere Country Park and Rammamere Heath, a 900-acre country park managed by the The Greensand Trust for the benefit of wildlife and visitors. 

Starting at the Tree Tops Café, with views over Heron Valley, we may see the park’s heronry, where around a dozen grey herons nest high in the treetops each spring. The route then heads mostly off the beaten track to include some of the most beautiful and varied parts of this extensive landscape, passing through a succession of distinctive areas including Lord’s Hill, Stockgrove Lake, Rammamere Heath, King’s Wood and Bakers Wood. Bakers Wood lies within a landscape of dry valleys formed under periglacial conditions at the end of the last Ice Age, when frozen ground forced meltwater to carve the terrain roughly 10,000 years ago.

The return leg continues through the village of Great Brickhill and Shire Oak Wood, with a stretch along the long-distance Greensand Ridge Walk, one of the region’s most celebrated walking routes.

Along the way we will encounter areas of rare lowland heathland, one of the world’s most threatened habitats. Open heathland is now rarer than rainforest in the UK, with only a small fraction of its former extent remaining. At Rushmere, conservation work is underway to restore heathland at sites such as Lord’s Hill, Shire Oak Heath and Oak Wood by removing non-native trees and carefully managing woodland to allow heather and other heathland plants to return, creating important habitats for wildlife. 

The walk finishes back at the café overlooking Heron Valley – a perfect place to relax with tea or coffee while watching the comings and goings of the herons.

Please bring a picnic lunch. Hiking poles are recommended: although the paths are mainly sandy underfoot, some sections follow ancient forest trails and may be uneven or muddy in places.