First of the popular “Lost Lanes” guidebook series focused on rides that were an easy escape from London. Thameslink trains to Bedford put you within reach of all the rides in this blog. It takes just an hour to reach Flitwick station from central London, putting you deep into ‘Lost Lane’ territory. Here are two rides that start and end at the station.

A road ride and a gravel ride, you chose based on your bike and the season, if you’ve ridden one, come back and ride the other one.

The rides are both quite long particularly the gravel route, but download the GPX and you will see that both combine smaller loops creating the opportunity for long or short rides.

There are some gravel sections that riders might find a little testing, a couple of steep descents and very short sections that can be muddy. Everything should be ridable with a little caution.

With the cafe’s in Cranfield, there’s the opportunity to refresh and so no need to bring too much for the day out.

Maximising the Gravel

The ride is directional, taking best advantage of the gradients for fun descending. The route follows the river Flit eastwards, then loops back through town on quiet roads, leaving the tarmac beyond Steppingley. It’s then largely off-road including the amazingly quick sector through Millbrook. We climb to Hulcote wood for another blast on route 51, gravel all the way here. A short link up on Cranfield high street and out the other side we follow gravel farm roads and bridleways to another descent which sweeps down towards Wootton.

An underpass is used to reach the Marston Vale country park after which we climb one of the steepest (and longest) Bedfordshire hills, but using the metal to ease the pain. At the top it’s back into the woods and a sandy lane return to Steppingley.

The final loop goes out to Eversholt, we link a few final gravel sectors and a pleasant bluebell trail before a short minor road route delivers us back at the station.

Sticking to the Road

I mapped this ride for friends in London. Put simply I wanted to show them some of the best bits, so it weaves about a bit but in so doing takes in some of the nicest country lanes you will find anywhere in England.

The ride is good for any time of year, but when the cow parsley is sprouting and the verges are in full bloom it’s the perfect way to while away your Sunday afternoon.

Footnote: The 8 or 12 carriage trains run by Thameslink have ample room for bikes, and there are at least two dedicated storage areas on every train. Whilst no UK train company makes the sort of effort we would like, Thameslink is not too difficult and no bookings are required. There are restrictions limiting carriage to folding bikes at busy commuter times but these are biased towards travelling into London in the early morning, so should not be a problem. A super off peak day return costs about £20 and is valid at the weekend.