3 humid cloudy then sunny Hadn't done this walk before so wore my fav. safari print shirt to help identify all the animals. One who had done it before tried to manage my expectations. Morning through the undulating woods seemed strangely hard work due to the humidity. 1 liked, 2 thought samey. Lunch in the posh pub (it was nice) as the cheaper ones were closed or had no food. (Found a 4th pub further on). On then to the deer and safari park. The deer were magnificent with their antlers, and close (even by Richmond/Bushy Park standards). Then along a fenced in path alongside the drive-through safari. We did see a fair number of wildlife (elephant, hippos, etc), but from a distance. It was interesting, rather than amazing. Having seem the car safari, none of us were tempted to do it. The deer park the safari was in was great, deer of course, redwoods, open vistas, wild goats as well as the deer. Leaving the parkland, we found a new footpath that avoided a section of road. Checking the time, we legged it through Aspley Guise to the station to catch the hourly train @ 6.17 with time to spare. The afternoon was a breeze compared to the morning, all 3 liked it much better. Will give GPX some TLC, and add the Aspley station, and Abbey view options.

Just 6 good natured adventurers on this somewhat epic exploration of Bedfordshire. For future reference the two walks do intersect nicely to make a long walk -- probably closer to 16 miles than the advertised 15.....though, it may be better to start at Aspley Guise which looks to have more direct access to the countryside....We saw some elephants, zebras and wallabies at the safari park, followed by some very exotic looking deer at the deer park....Five enjoyed a very educational lunch at the rightly popular Black Horse in Woburn during which we learned that the exotic deer were "pere david" deer -- originally from China where they were extirpated...However, German and French traders had brought some to zoos in Germany and France and the 11th Duke of Bedford acquired a few from the Berlin zoo forming the base of the significant herd at the woburn deer park. The 14th Duke then gave a number back to China where the population seems to be growing....The picnicker set off ahead of the pub lunchers and did the full walk as advertised whereas the 5 pub lunchers opted to try an "alternate route" bypassing Great Brickhill and possibly slightly shorter....with almost impeccable timing we reconnected with the picnicker in some woods almost exactly where the routes reconnected....and all walked together to the Globe Inn where all but one stopped for a very welcome rest and drink before setting off with a half moon and plenty of evening bird song (and owl hoots) on the final stretch along the canal. A fun long day out in mostly sunny conditions with a few brief-showers-before-lunch! Many thanks to those on walk for their willingness to test out this experimental route.

6 went into deep dark Back Wood on a sunny day. They got lost, were eaten by wolves and never heard from again. The end.

Except….. it wasn’t quite the end. A kindly GPS heard them crying and showed them the way out. Everyone was happy. Except the wolves, who went hungry.

And so they came to Woburn where the innkeeper of the Black Horse gave them something to eat and drink. The Bell was shut.

Then into Woburn Park where four went the right way and saw elephants and giraffes and probably other things. Two at the back, who weren’t paying attention, went the wrong way and just got deer and a squirrel. Big antlers though. Then they came out through the wrong gate.

The 4 who went the right way finished up at Woburn Sands where they were given a drink by another innkeeper.

Mr Google heard the other two were lost and very kindly showed them how to get back on the shining path to Aspley Guise. That path was not very nice because of the traffic. They were careful though. When they got there, they got the train because, by now, they were very, very late.

And guess what. It was the same train the others got and everyone was happy. The end.

7 of us for this walk on a lovely warm summers day , not oppressively hot as per the previous Saturday, just nice and warm, with the occasional breeze, T-shirt and shorts weather for some.

The paths in Back Wood have now recovered from the severe damage caused by tree felling operations two plus years ago, and for once we encountered no mud in the wood.

The going was good all day and there were not too many overgrown sections or nettles to trouble the shorts wearers.

Three of us dined at the Bell Inn in Woburn, with perfectly acceptable meals arriving promptly, and before the sandwichers joined us for a drink.

After lunch one sensible gent decided to proceed at a more leisurely pace through Woburn Park - we met him on the train home after he had diverted to Aspley Guise station.

The pink legs of the shorts wearers must have scared off the herds of deer usually to be seen in the main Park - we didn't spot any, until we stumbled into two large stags taking a siesta - magnificent chaps.

The footpath beside the Safari Park did not disappoint. Two inquisitive rhino came up quite close to the fence, to check us out, never having seen such pink legs before, and the elephants were showering themselves with dust, to cool off. The Rothschild giraffes were tending to their young, and the wallabies were enjoying themselves, again some with youngsters. Speaking of youngsters, my younger companions could not be persuaded to "Go Ape" and take to the hire wires, so instead we all left the Park by Crawley Lodge, to start the walk on the road uphill towards Aspley Guise. Entering the village two of our ladies upped their pace in order to catch the 16-23 hrs service from the local railway station: they just made it. Now down to a group of four, we headed for Woburn Sands, arriving just in time to have a cooling drink at the Station Hotel (pub) before taking the 17-12 hrs service back to Bletchley. The London bound train was packed but we all managed to find a seat and rest on the homeward journey.

Good travel, perfect summer walking weather, a lovely walk, good company, a good lunch stop, a Safari Park with inhabitants - I've had worse SWC days.....

9 on this walk with most of us having to take taxis from Bletchley to the start of the walk after our train missed the connection to Bow Brickhill. So it goes.

the forest route looked a bit different from my earlier recollections with some open spaces and new planting but the trails were in pretty good nick.

I set the bar pretty low for pub food and sadly on this occasion the Bell Inn easily sailed under it. My fish pie just reached the threshold of edibility but the broccoli did not. Another walker had a sandwich bereft of either butter or margarine. Not a good experience and lets hope it was just an off day.

We ambled round the perimeter of the safari park, glimpsing a black bear and meeting Rajah the bull Indian elephant who obligingly approached us for photos. A helpful park warden identified some deer we walked close to in Woburn Park as Pere David deer which almost became extinct in the 20th century. They look a bit like red deer but are grey in colour with larger pointy antlers.

I find the stretch after leaving Woburn Park a bit boring and when we reached Apsley Guise one went to the nearby station while the rest of us continued on to Woburn Sands and drinks at the nearby pub and Costa.

Back at Euston 3 of us enjoyed a delicious glass of dry cider at the Euston Tap whilst waiting for the commuter numbers to reduce. A fine day out with the weather w= cloudy-humid-and-dry.

for any newcomers to this fine walk the public right of way takes you past the fairly new Indian elephant enclosure so with any luck you should be able to get a rare SWC elephant photo.

6 on today's walk, intermittently sunny but warm and no rain . Paths through Back Wood were fine (some remedial work after last year's tree felling and demolition of paths having taken place) and mud levels nil to low. Onwards then into Woburn Golf Course and by Charle Wood to Woburn, where 4 of us enjoyed an excellent, good value lunch at the Bell Inn.

The sun came out again as we progressed through Woburn Park, where some fierce looking stags sun bathed in and around a pond. Further into the Park we came to the entrance to the Safari Park and its inhabitants (Asian and African elephants, rhino, buck, giraffe, zebra, wallabies and more) observed us walking along the public path next to their homes. I hope they enjoyed the view.

On reaching Aspley Guise one of us made straight for the railway station to catch the 16-23 hrs train, leaving the five to head for Woburn Sands and tea at the Station Hotel, before we caught the on-time 17-12 hrs train back to London via Bletchley.

A fine walk and lovely day on the glorious side of glorious.

4 walkers in cloudy with occasional drizzles conditions. The group almost immediately split up in 2 fast and 2 slow walkers. The fast walkers very soon got lost in Black Wood due to careless reading of the directions. The ingenious plan not to backtrack but to attempt to intercept the correct path led to an hour long search along various paths in the woods until finally and miraculously the Golf Club House appeared in front of them and the directions could be resumed. A delightful and speedily served lunch was had in the Black Horse before the walk passed through the grounds of Woburn Abbey where kites and red deer could be seen. Shortly afterwards, when following the perimeter of the safari park, zebras, water buffaloes, elephants (with baby), rhinos, wallabies and ostriches were sighted. A relaxing tea at the Station Restaurant concluded this nice walk. The fate of the 2 slow walkers in unknown.