Emma's Blog: Walk from Wolverton to Castlethorpe and back via Cosgrove, 7.3 miles

Sunday 16 August - my birthday! Low-key fun

While walking the well-used path along the Ouse Valley Way between Haversham Road and the Iron Trunk Aqueduct, I’d often noticed a footpath leading off to the right over a footbridge, signposted to Castlethorpe. I’d also found out that Castlethorpe used to have a railway station, closed at the time of the Beeching Axe. Obviously the combination of an unexplored footpath and something disused made a tempting prospect for a low-key expedition.

The Great Ouse from the footbridge at the southern end of the path

The path, looking back; railway embankment on left

The little path leading up to Castlethorpe follows the path of the railway for most of its route. It was very quiet but seems well kept. I passed this rustbucket of a structure, which is marked on the map as a water tower. There's a blog post about it here by the British Water Tower Appreciation Society. Good to know there is one ....

Old water tower near Castlethorpe

Eventually the path comes to a footbridge across the railway, which I crossed and walked into Castlethorpe village. Seems quite attractive. Left the village again at the north end via Station Road (giveaway there), walking towards Cosgrove. Stopped on the bridge over the railway to spot the old platforms – they are indeed there, though the wall’s annoyingly high and I had to stand on tiptoe.

The old platforms, looking south

There’s a detailed page here on the station closure – seemingly the station had only just been modernised when the closure was announced, which caused some annoyance locally. There are some old photos of the station here.

Continued along Station Road out of Castlethorpe, dodging cars, until I came to the bridge over the canal just before a pub called The Navigation. En route, passed over a little river – the Tove, I gathered from the map. Joined the towpath walking south towards Cosgrove.

Walking south along the canal towards Cosgrove

I stopped briefly at Cosgrove and ate a snack bar sitting by the canal. It had started to get hotter by this point.

Grand Union Canal at Cosgrove

Set off again passing the Buckingham Arm of the canal going off to the right. This is the Cosgrove end of the partly restored canal; Ray and I walked along the rewatered bit of the Buckingham end back in January. My friend Matt is a volunteer on the restoration of the Cosgrove end, which from his descriptions seems to involve having a lot of fun with concrete. Got to admire the spirit of the restoration attempt but as the original route was severed both by the A5 and by the A422 Old Stratford Bypass, it faces some severe challenges.

Buckingham Arm going off to the right

After passing the lock the canal continues south east to the Iron Trunk Aqueduct. I didn't photograph this today, but did on a walk in early July with Ray, so here's that picture (bluer sky than today!).

The Iron Trunk aqueduct

I left the towpath at the aqueduct and followed the path down to the river level, where I made my way home via the Floodplain Forest Nature Reserve and Big Hill Field.