The avenue leading to Houghton House, Ampthill, Bedfordshire

September 2011

... was the starting point for our 8 mile walk in Bedfordshire.

Ampthill is a Georgian Town with a rich history that includes the imprisonment of Katherine of Aragon.

Houghton House was built in c 1615 for Mary Sidney Herbert, Dowager Countess of Pembroke (born 27 October 1561) but she died of smallpox on 25 September 1621, not long after its completion.
In 1794, Francis Russell, 5th Duke of Bedford stripped the House of its furnishings and removed the roof.
He died in 1802 without an heir, by which time the house, now open to the elements, was already in decay.

It is said that the house was the model for House Beautiful in John Bunyan's The Pilgrim's Progress.

Its staircase survives in The Swan Hotel in Bedford.

Our walk was about 8 miles starting in Ampthill, up the hill to Houghton House then criss crossing Greensands Ridge, Kings Wood and refreshing ourselves at the Dog and Badger at Maulden where we were well served and which we can recommend.

This was a pleasant and varied rural walk and it marks the completion of our 18th county from the total possible 39.

To see those we have walked and those we have yet to do, visit the 39 Counties page or the 39 Counties map.