Chris Gravett

On Saturday we decided to go for a walk for a number of reasons. We are walking the foothills of Mount Ventoux later in the year so need to get fit. It was a lovely frosty winters morning. I fancied taking some moody frosty and misty photos. Well by the time we got going the sun was well up and frost and mist were dissapperaing fast. I was begining to think it was a mistake lugging my gear around in bright sunlight and clear blue skies. However I was not to be disappointed. I managed this capture in the woods of Millbrook Warren.

Millbrook Warren

So that made the effort worthwhile. The walk was glorious as was the lunch at The White Hart at Maulden on the way home. The only negative was we got to see close up the impact that the new Center Parcs in going to have on the little countryside we have left in Bedfordshire. The majority of Millbrook Warren is now fenced off and closed to the public with threats of 24 hour security and dog patrols - the warren looks like a prison camp!. The footpaths and bridleways we planned to walk on have been diverted and now run more or less parallel to the A507 instead of going deep into the warren as they always have. Great swarths of pines have been uprooted and I guess the abundance of wildlife that frequented the area will soon disappear as the area becomes another holiday theme park. They say that Center Parcs will bring employement opportunity to the area but at what cost to our heritage, countryside and indeed our access to the countryside? Soon views like this will exist only in photographs.