Bedfordshire Geology Group

Formed in 2004 by a group of amateur and professional geologists aiming

to encourage an understanding of the rocks and landforms of the county for

the benefit of all.

For more information, contact us through our website

www.bedfordshiregeologygroup.org.uk or by email to

secretary@bedfordshiregeologygroup.org.uk

Greensand Country Landscape Partnership (GCLP)

Launched in January 2017, and secured £1.66m National Lottery funding

from the Heritage Lottery Fund to support an array of exciting projects.

We’re working across Greensand Country – from Leighton Buzzard to

Gamlingay – to help manage and preserve historic parklands, woodlands

and heathland in the area.

We’re also working with local communities to celebrate the history and

heritage of the area. For more information, contact us through our website

www.greensandcountry.com

Dir

ecti

on

s fr

om

RS

PB

This

circ

ular

wal

k ha

s so

me

stee

p se

ctio

ns a

nd s

tarts

from

th

e R

SP

B’s

Gat

ehou

se c

ar p

ark

(par

king

cha

rge)

. Fol

low

the

Gal

ley

Hill

Tra

il, b

egin

ning

opp

osite

the

Gat

ehou

se, t

hrou

gh

heat

hlan

d. A

t the

T-ju

nctio

n, tu

rn ri

ght t

owar

ds S

andy

and

on

your

righ

t, lo

ok fo

r a s

mal

l for

mer

qua

rry

reve

alin

g an

out

crop

of

rock

(1).

Ret

race

you

r ste

ps, r

ejoi

ning

the

trail

pass

ing

the

head

of a

val

ley

(2) t

o re

ach

the

oute

r ditc

h an

d ba

nk o

f a

hillf

ort (

3), s

ituat

ed o

n a

vant

age

poin

t ove

rlook

ing

the

Ivel

va

lley.

Con

tinue

and

des

cend

into

and

out

of a

noth

er v

alle

y (4

) fea

turin

g m

anm

ade

pool

s. O

n th

e fa

r sid

e, jo

in th

e Q

uarr

y Tr

ail a

nd ta

ke s

teep

ste

ps o

n th

e rig

ht, c

ontin

uing

unt

il yo

u re

ach

the

old

quar

ry (5

). A

bove

it is

the

Lodg

e. A

fter e

xplo

ring

the

quar

ry, f

ollo

w th

e Tr

ail w

ith o

ccas

iona

l vie

ws

out t

hrou

gh

the

trees

(6).

Ski

rt th

e ba

ck o

f The

Lod

ge, t

hrou

gh a

gat

e an

d co

ntin

ue u

ntil

the

trail

reac

hes

the

acce

ss ro

ad a

nd fo

llow

it

back

to th

e G

ateh

ouse

car

par

k.

Lin

kin

g d

ire

cti

on

sFr

om th

e R

SP

B G

ateh

ouse

car

par

k, c

ross

the

B10

42 ro

ad a

t th

e tra

ffic-

light

s an

d fo

llow

the

brid

lew

ay a

head

. Adj

acen

t to

the

pylo

n (L

1), t

ake

the

right

fork

and

follo

w th

e pa

th to

war

ds

San

dy H

eath

Qua

rry.

At a

T-ju

nctio

n (L

2), t

urn

right

to p

ass

the

driv

e to

Oak

Far

m, o

n th

e le

ft. O

ppos

ite th

is, t

urn

right

thro

ugh

the

trees

tow

ards

the

boun

dary

fenc

e of

San

dy H

eath

Qua

rry,

fo

llow

the

boun

dary

fenc

e un

til y

ou s

ee a

mag

nific

ent v

iew

into

th

is w

orki

ng p

it (L

3). R

etra

ce y

our s

teps

bac

k to

the

mai

n pa

th,

then

turn

righ

t with

the

TV m

ast t

ower

ing

abov

e yo

u.

Eastern Geotrail

Earth Heritage of Greensand Country

This leaflet has been developed by Bedfordshire Geology Group in partnership with Greensand Country Landscape Partnership to bring our landscape and heritage alive.

At t

he c

urve

in th

e m

inor

road

(L4)

, tur

n le

ft to

Diro

k th

en tu

rn

right

and

follo

w th

e br

idle

way

eas

twar

ds in

to P

otto

n. T

urn

left

into

New

tow

n, ri

ght i

nto

Mill

Lan

e an

d co

ntin

ue a

head

into

E

verto

n R

d. J

oin

the

Pot

ton

circ

ular

wal

k by

turn

ing

right

at

the

junc

tion

into

Will

ow R

oad

(P5)

.

Dir

ecti

on

s fr

om

Ch

urc

h o

f S

t M

ary

th

e V

irg

inP

leas

e ta

ke c

are

whe

n cr

ossi

ng ro

ads

and

be re

spec

tful

arou

nd p

rivat

e dw

ellin

gs. P

ark

at th

e ch

urch

hal

l and

cro

ss

to th

e C

hurc

h of

St M

ary

the

Virg

in (P

1). H

avin

g ex

plor

ed

this

, ret

urn

to th

e ch

urch

hal

l (P

2) a

nd w

alk

alon

g C

hurc

h C

ause

way

(P3)

, cro

ssin

g ov

er P

otto

n B

rook

to re

ach

Kin

g S

t. Tu

rn ri

ght,

pass

(P4)

, at t

he fa

r end

, tur

n le

ft in

to

Eve

rton

Rd.

Con

tinue

stra

ight

on,

pas

t the

Ris

ing

Sun

pub

to

Will

ow R

d (P

5). T

o re

ach

the

RS

PB

circ

ular

wal

k vi

a th

e lin

k, c

ontin

ue s

traig

ht o

n he

re. O

ther

wis

e, tu

rn le

ft al

ong

Will

ow R

d, a

t the

end

, go

right

into

Sta

tion

Rd.

At t

he m

ini

roun

dabo

ut is

Rai

lway

Sta

tion

Hou

se (P

6). T

urn

arou

nd

and

retu

rn a

long

Sta

tion

Rd,

con

tinui

ng p

ast (

P7)

, and

turn

le

ft in

to C

hape

l St (

P8)

. Ret

urn

to S

tatio

n R

d an

d tu

rn le

ft,

cont

inui

ng in

to B

lack

bird

Sta

nd a

t the

cor

ner,

veer

righ

t in

to H

orne

Lan

e to

see

a g

arde

n w

all (

P9)

. Tur

n ar

ound

an

d re

turn

to B

lack

bird

St w

hich

runs

into

Sun

St.

Bef

ore

reac

hing

the

won

cen

tre, l

ook

left

alon

g C

hape

l Cou

rt (P

10).

Con

tinue

alo

ng S

un S

t and

imm

edia

tely

afte

r ent

erin

g th

e at

tract

ive

Mar

ket S

quar

e, tu

rn ri

ght t

hen

into

Bro

ok E

nd in

th

e co

rner

. Whe

re th

is b

ends

righ

t, co

mpl

ete

the

circ

ular

w

alk

by fo

llow

ing

the

Mill

enni

um P

ath

thro

ugh

to C

hurc

h C

ause

way

and

retu

rn to

the

chur

ch h

all.

GreensandCountry

GreensandCountry

The information here is believed to be correct at the time of publication (2018)

P1P2

P3

P4

P5

P6

P7P8

P9

P10

Intr

od

ucti

on

Usi

ng p

ublic

foot

path

s an

d pa

vem

ents

, thi

s tra

il ex

plor

es th

e ge

olog

y, la

ndsc

ape

and

natu

ral r

esou

rces

of G

reen

sand

C

ount

ry in

the

east

, con

sist

ing

of tw

o sh

ort w

alks

. The

firs

t (4

mile

s/6.

5 km

) beg

ins

at R

SP

B G

ateh

ouse

in S

andy

, map

re

fere

nce

TL19

1484

and

the

seco

nd (2

mile

s/3.

2 km

) at P

otto

n’s

Chu

rch

of S

t Mar

y th

e Vi

rgin

, map

refe

renc

e TL

2284

94. T

o co

mpl

ete

the

full

geot

rail

circ

ular

wal

k (1

2 m

iles/

19km

) the

two

circ

ular

wal

ks a

re li

nked

acr

oss

San

dy H

eath

(3 m

iles/

5 km

).

Ma

ps

no

t to

sca

le

Ge

olo

gic

al I

nfo

rma

tio

nG

ree

nsa

nd

Co

un

try e

xte

nd

s a

lon

g a

rid

ge

cro

ssin

g B

ed

ford

shir

e b

etw

ee

n

Leig

hto

n B

uzz

ard

in

th

e w

est

and

be

yond

Po

tto

n in

th

e e

ast

. Wo

bu

rn S

and

s Fo

rma

tio

n is

the

ha

rd r

ock

tha

t lie

s b

en

ea

th G

ree

nsa

nd

Co

un

try.

De

po

site

d

betw

ee

n 1

25

and

95

mill

ion

ye

ars

ag

o, i

t is

pa

rt o

f th

e L

ow

er

Gre

en

sand

G

rou

p, i

t re

sist

s ero

sio

n b

ett

er

tha

n t

he

cla

ys

of

the

su

rro

und

ing

va

lleys.

H

ere

in

th

e e

ast

, Wo

bu

rn S

and

s is

a b

locky

, ha

rd s

and

sto

ne

th

at

is e

asi

ly

fra

ctu

red

and

oft

en

se

en

in

loca

l bu

ildin

gs.

Fin

ally

, it

is a

ctu

ally

re

dd

y-b

row

n!

Wh

en

fir

st d

isco

vere

d, i

t w

as

con

fuse

d w

ith

a y

oun

ger

rock

wit

h s

imila

r ch

ara

cte

rist

ics

- exc

ep

t fo

r th

e c

olo

ur!

Pot

ton

is a

sm

all m

arke

t-gar

deni

ng to

wn

with

a w

ealth

of

sand

ston

e bu

ildin

gs a

nd a

her

itage

of i

ndus

trial

geo

logy

. D

urin

g Vi

ctor

ian

times

, Pot

toni

ans

enga

ged

in th

e co

prol

ite

indu

stry

. Cop

rolit

es (p

hosp

hate

nod

ules

) wer

e ex

tract

ed

from

aro

und

the

villa

ge a

nd e

xpor

ted

for u

se in

ferti

liser

.

The

gard

en w

all i

n H

orne

Lan

e sh

ows

som

e ve

ry u

nusu

al ir

on-r

ich

sand

ston

es th

at a

ppea

r al

mos

t bla

ck, i

ndic

ativ

e of

the

geol

ogy

arou

nd

Pot

ton.

The

iron

is th

ough

t to

be

from

a s

uper

plum

e ev

ent (

a m

assi

ve u

nder

w

ater

vol

cani

c er

uptio

n)

that

occ

urre

d 12

5 m

illio

n ye

ars

ago

depo

sitin

g en

orm

ous

amou

nts

of ir

on

into

the

ocea

ns c

reat

ing

iron

ferti

lisat

ion

and

a hu

ge c

hang

e in

glo

bal e

nviro

nmen

ts. H

ence

, iro

n-ric

h sa

ndst

ones

that

we

see

acro

ss G

reen

sand

Cou

ntry

.

Chu

rch

of S

t Mar

y th

e Vi

rgin

, firs

t men

tione

d in

109

4,

is b

uilt

from

an

asso

rtmen

t of

loca

l san

dsto

ne, p

ebbl

es a

nd

limes

tone

.

The

chu

rch

hall

show

s th

e di

stin

ctiv

e he

rrin

g-bo

ne p

atte

rn

of c

onst

ruct

ion

usin

g th

e th

inne

r be

ds o

f loc

al s

ands

tone

. Oth

er

build

ings

aro

und

the

villa

ge

show

this

pat

tern

, am

ongs

t ot

her m

ore

conv

entio

nal s

tyle

s

and

.

RS

PB

link

rout

e jo

ins

here

.

The

railw

ay c

ame

to P

otto

n as

par

t of t

he m

arke

t gar

deni

ng

and

copr

olite

boo

m o

f the

18

50’s

, whe

n th

e in

dust

ries

need

ed to

mov

e fru

its,

vege

tabl

es a

nd p

hosp

hate

no

dule

s m

ore

quic

kly

and

furth

er a

roun

d th

e co

untry

.

This

unu

sual

bui

ldin

g,

Cas

tle H

ouse

, loo

ks o

ld b

ut w

as

built

in th

e 19

th C

.

(1) R

SP

B g

eotra

il be

gins

with

a

smal

l out

crop

of W

obur

n S

ands

ex

pose

d th

roug

h hi

stor

ical

qu

arry

ing.

Bio

logi

cal w

eath

erin

g by

tre

es h

as k

ept t

he e

xpos

ure

visi

ble.

La

rge

cros

s-be

ddin

g ca

n cl

early

be

seen

ben

eath

the

tree

root

s

The

last

sto

p on

the

wal

k is

Con

greg

atio

nal H

all,

anot

her b

eaut

iful s

ands

tone

stru

ctur

e th

at is

dis

tinct

ly in

th

e P

otto

n he

rrin

gbon

e st

yle

of c

onst

ruct

ion.

Man

y qu

arrie

s ha

ve b

een

dug

in G

reen

sand

Cou

ntry

, but

S

andy

Hea

th is

the

only

act

ive

one

rem

aini

ng in

this

are

a.

(2) a

nd (4

) Cut

into

this

flat

pla

teau

are

dry

val

leys

. whi

ch

form

ed d

urin

g Ic

e A

ges

whe

n gr

ound

wat

er w

as fr

ozen

fo

rmin

g pe

rmaf

rost

, so

wat

er th

at n

orm

ally

soa

ked

into

th

e gr

ound

flow

ed a

cros

s its

su

rface

, for

min

g va

lleys

. Whe

n w

ater

cou

ld a

gain

soa

k in

to th

e gr

ound

; the

se v

alle

ys b

ecam

e dr

y. S

ever

al Ic

e A

ges

have

oc

curr

ed in

the

last

2 m

illio

n ye

ars,

the

Ang

lian

Ice

Age

(4

72,0

00 y

ears

ago

) cha

nged

G

reen

sand

Cou

ntry

the

mos

t.

(3) I

ron

Age

bui

lder

s us

ed th

e na

tura

l geo

logi

cal p

rom

onto

ry

over

look

ing

the

Riv

er Iv

el to

ere

ct th

eir f

ort,

Gal

ley

Hill

, whi

ch

was

eas

ily d

efen

dabl

e.

Visi

ble

from

the

view

ing

plat

form

at t

he b

otto

m o

f the

st

eps

is la

rge-

scal

e cr

oss-

bedd

ing

and,

with

bin

ocul

ars,

yo

u ca

n se

e m

ud d

rape

s an

d rip

ples

indi

cativ

e of

the

depo

sitio

nal e

nviro

nmen

t 120

m

illio

n ye

ars

ago.

W

obur

n S

ands

san

dsto

ne w

as d

epos

ited

in a

n es

tuar

y si

mila

r to

The

Was

h in

Nor

folk

toda

y. M

any

of th

e bu

ildin

g st

ones

of P

otto

n m

ay h

ave

com

e fro

m th

is q

uarr

y.

Thro

ugh

a ga

p in

the

trees

is a

vie

w o

f the

val

ley

of th

e R

iver

Ivel

whi

ch c

uts

thro

ugh

the

Gre

ensa

nd R

idge

, wes

t of

San

dy.

(7)

This

sec

tion

of th

e w

alk

skirt

s th

e w

orki

ng q

uarr

y of

San

dy H

eath

whe

re th

e ad

jace

nt w

oodl

and

exhi

bits

di

stin

ctiv

e “g

reen

sand

” flor

a an

d fa

una,

incl

udin

g m

any

rare

an

d sc

arce

spe

cies

suc

h as

ha

wfin

ches

, sev

eral

spe

cies

of

fung

i, pu

rple

em

pero

r but

terfl

y an

d m

any

othe

r pla

nts

and

anim

als

suite

d to

the

acid

gr

assl

and

and

woo

dlan

d of

G

reen

sand

Cou

ntry

1. C

ross

-bed

ding

: Thr

ough

out W

obur

n Sa

nds

ther

e ar

e si

gns

that

cur

rent

s an

d tid

es m

oved

the

sand

s ba

ck a

nd fo

rth.

Th

ese

mov

emen

ts b

uilt

up m

any

thin

la

yers

of s

and

to fo

rm d

unes

on

the

seafl

oor;

we

see

the

patte

rn o

f tho

se

laye

rs w

hen

cliff

s an

d qu

arrie

s di

spla

y se

ctio

ns th

roug

h th

e du

nes.

P1. S

t Mar

y’s

Chu

rch

P2. S

t Mar

y’s

Chu

rch

Hal

l sh

owin

g he

rrin

gbon

e sa

ndst

one

cons

truc

tion

P6. P

otto

n R

ailw

ay S

tatio

n,

now

a p

rivat

e dw

ellin

g.

P7. D

istin

ctiv

e 19

th C

entu

ry h

ouse

bu

ilt o

f Wob

urn

Sand

s sa

ndst

one,

a

priv

ate

dwel

ling

P9. C

opin

g st

ones

of v

ery

iron-

rich

loca

l san

dsto

ne.

P10.

Driv

eway

lead

ing

to th

e ol

d C

ongr

egat

iona

l Hal

l, no

w

priv

ate

dwel

lings

.

2. V

iew

dow

n a

dry

valle

y

5. E

xpos

ure

of W

obur

n Sa

nds

Form

atio

n

L1. S

tart

of t

he li

nk p

ath

acro

ss

Sand

y H

eath

1

P1 P2 P3

P4

P5 P6 P7

P8

P9

P10

L3L1

324

5 6

Map © Crown copyright. All rights reserved. RSPB licence 100021787.

Sa

nd

y H

ea

th

B10

42

B10

42

RS

PB

Sa

nd

y

Po

tto

nL1

L2

L3L4

1 2 3

4

5

6

LOD

GE

OA

K F

AR

M