Sandy Smith Nature Reserve, Clophill
On 16 April 2026, 9 walkers met at the Sandy Smith Nature Reserve Car Park and set off at exactly 10 am. We walked up a gentle incline away from the car park when a car hooter was heard and an additional member of the club had arrived. While we waited, a second late comer arrived. So now we were 11 walkers!
It wasn’t long before we entered a wood which was covered in bluebells. It was just a shame that a barbed wire fence was between us and the carpet of flowers. Then we came across many cowslips and they kept appearing throughout the walk.
The reserve was land used in the 1960/70s during the Cold War when a huge early warning system (named locally as the Elephant Cage) adorned the site. I am reliably informed that a couple from Eversholt called Sandy and Peter Smith bought the land in order for it to become a nature reserve.
We walked along various tracks and were kept away from military areas at Chicksands by large notices informing us not to trespass. We crossed a field and climbed a hill which had a pond at the top with lots of bullrushes. There we had ourrst coffee/banana stop. The views throughout the walk were amazing and we could see for miles and miles.
We could see Rowney Warren Wood on our left as we proceeded to Appley Corner where we turned right along the John Bunyan Trail. A second stop was held alongside a stream and a metal railing which was just the right height to sit on! After a climb back up a gentle hill we came to the fence of the Chicksands Military Base. We were taking some photographs when a member of the British Army with a huge dog came to have a chat. He told us that the camp was manned by the Army, Navy and Airforce.
It was all downhill from then on back to the cars. Many of the group said that they had never walked in the area before and did not even know it existed. (Just shy of 4 miles.)
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