Short Walks in Bedfordshire

Descriptions - Videos - Proper parking instructions

Barton Hills & Barton Springs

Description and Walk

Barton Hills are chalk hills and part of the Chilterns. At the foot of Barton Hills is Barton Springs, which starts life as a shallow, milky stream and becomes a chalk stream river. These rivers are typically very shallow and very clear, which is evidenced by much of the water at Barton once it is clear of the immediate foot of the hills.

This is a circular walk which begins at the end of Church Road, Barton. Take a look at the video, below, and see how you begin with the horse paddock to your right, and then pass through a gate to start the hill climb.

The ascent is not too arduous, as there is some hill climbing, followed by brief plateaus, and then sets of steps which help to mitigate the overall climbing effort.

At the top of the first hill, just follow the path along and around, until you can clearly see that the path begins to lead you back on the final leg of a U-shaped route. Then, if you want to go down to see Barton Springs you must descend via the worn hill path, as opposed to the main path that is accessed though the final gate on the hills. See the hill descent path at 2:59 in the video. This descent is fairly steep and there is a railing to assist for the final few metres.

The spring is not terribly majestic like the hot springs in Iceland of the geysers at Yosemite, but it is very popular with kids as a place to paddle around. If you intend to picnic at Barton Hills (lots of people do) with small children it would be remiss not to take wellies for them to splash around in. See the video for evidence.

Total walk time is probably 90 minutes or less, depending on how long you intend to spend sitting around at the top of the hills.

Short Video of Barton Hills

Note: The video is best viewed by clicking on the 'full screen' symbol that appears at the bottom-right of the video box once the video is playing. To exit full-screen hit your escape key or click on the symbol at the bottom-right again.

Parking

Parking addresses: Church Road, Barton-le-Clay, Bedfordshire, MK45 4LA. Or else park in: Old Road, Barton-le-Clay, Bedfordshire, MK45 4LB.

The walk starts from a path which is found just beyond St. Nicholas' church in Church Road, Barton-le-Clay, but you can park for free in either Old Road or Church Road. Whichever road you park in, spaces are quite limited and you park your vehicle on the opposite side of the road to the residents - who probably hate you for doing it. If all parking spots are gone, you can park further out in adjacent roads, but the moral of the story is to get there early enough.

If you park in Old Road (because parking space in Church Road is limited), you simply need to walk through the park entrance in Old Road, then across the park (100 metres), then through the alley opposite the park entrance. In other words, find your way to the parallel road via the park.

Google Map