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Ashley Walks
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Ashley walk 1 Crown Pub Dalham Gazeley. 1.5 hours, 3.5 miles (5.6k)
- Turn left out of the Crown Public house and walk up Church Street. The village pond is on the right hand side and further up the road you'll see the Victorian St Mary's church on the right hand side with the graveyard on the left.
- When you reach the end of the road after the sharp right-hand bend, take the right fork down Dalham Road. You will see eight semi-detached houses on the left.
- After about a quarter of a mile on the left hand side, you will see wooden steps leading down on to the field with a footpath running across it up towards the Culvert. There is a footpath sign on the right hand side of the road pointing left towards these steps. Please ensure that you stay on the footpath and do not walk on the farmers crops.
- At the top of a hill in the woods on the right hand side lay the ruins of St Mary's Church. This was the original church for Ashley and was used before the existing Victorian church.
- The footpath then goes to the next field through a gap in the hedge where there are more ruins of the old upper windmill. This was also called the Ashley Windmill.
- Follow the path down the side of a hill towards Dalham and then walk alongside the road until you reach the footbridge that goes over the river. There is a very nice pub on the right hand side called The Affleck Arms.
- After you cross the river which is normally dry, take the left-hand road for about a quarter of a mile until you see another footpath sign on the left hand side leading across a white bridge
- Take this footpath across the bridge and follow it to the right alongside the river until you reach the Gazeley Road which is about a mile across the fields
- Turn left at the Gazeley Road towards Ashley, across the crossroads and follow the road up the hill until you reach the village again
- You'll find that you arrive back at the fork on the road and follow it back down Church Road towards the crown pub where the walk terminates.
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Ashley walk 2. Mill Road, Ashley to Heath Stud. 2 hours, 4.5 miles (7.2k)
- Park up at the beginning of Mill Road alongside the pond.
- This walk starts and ends at the Wavier Pond in the middle of Ashley
- Head northward up Mill Road. On the left hand side of the road, 200 yards before the “No Limit” sign and just after the last big house on the right, you will see a footpath sign on the left next to a wooden gate and stone wall
- Follow the foot path to the other side of the field, pass through two gates and turn right
- Follow the footpath to the corner of the field and go through the gap in the hedge on the left . Turn right and walk down to the corner of this field where you will see a gate in the hedge
- Go through the gate and turn left behind the hedge and follow the path for quite a distance before it joins the main road . Turn left and walk up the road towards Cheveley. Take care as there are no footpaths on this road . You may notice a strong smell of pine from the large trees on the left.
- After around a quarter of a mile, when you see the electricity cables cross the road from left to right, you will see a footpath sign on both sides of the road.
- Take the right hand footpath through the stile/gate.
- Follow this path for quite a distance through open country side to the left with a hedge to the right . This will lead you through a lovely wooded area .
- As you leave the woods, cross a stile and a driveway, and walk straight up the broad well maintained grass paths of the stud. You will eventually meet another drive that crosses the footpath in front of you.Turn left, and walk down the drive towards the main buildings of Ashley Heath Stud. You will see horses in the fields to the left and right of you .
- After you pass the stud buildings and when the drive deviates to the right, stay on the grass verge and follow the line of fencing past an attractive triple row of trees until you reach the gate within the fence that crosses in front of you. You can pull the bars of the gate across to the right to pass through. Turn left and follow the path back down the hill. You will see that the original gate has now been removed and two wooden bars have been nailed across the path. Because of this, you will have to climb through them. You may see Muntjac Deer and squirrels appearing from the hedge on the left.
- Carry on down the hill and where the drive turns right, just before this on the left, you will see a gap in the hedge.
- Go through the gap and immediately on the other side of the hedge on the right, you will see the path winding down through the woods. This may not be apparently obvious in the summer months as it may be overgrown.
- Carry on down through the woods until the path exits with a hedge on the left and a field on the right.
- Where the metalled drive crosses the path again, go straight on and follow this back towards the road.
- At the road, you will have to go through a small gate at the left hand side of the large main gate to the stud.
- Turn left and walk up the road for about a quarter of a mile until you reach the same point again where you left the road earlier – this time take the opposite path on the right towards Ashley.
- You will cross a stile on the right hand side of the metal gate just behind the hedge.
- Follow this path down to the Newmarket Road.
- Turn left and walk back into Ashley going past the Crown Pub towards the pond where you parked your car.
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