Very nice walk today, although very much a walk of two halves. The first half, from Salford (no, not that one!) to Woburn Sands was nothing special, with about a mile of road walking at the start followed by a couple of sections through golf courses. Beyond Woburn Sands though it was great – this was the part of the MKBW that I’d been most looking forward to, and I wasn’t disappointed. The route climbed up into the woods on the Greensand Ridge, and then followed various paths through the trees for several miles. The sandy paths and mainly coniferous woods were quite different to what I’m used to on the chalk hills of the Chilterns. I saw four muntjac deer here (well, 3 and a 1/2 to be honest – only saw the rear end of one as it rapidly disappeared from view!). The last 1/2 mile or so of the walk coincided with the Greensand Ridge Walk, which I did about 15 months ago – so it was appropriate to see the Muntjacs as they are the symbol for that walk (they appear on the waymarks).
Not much in the way of wildflowers – both Red and White Campion, some Herb Robert. Did see and photo a Hollyhock though – it was very conspicuous at a road junction, so I suspect it was deliberately planted there.