2nd Mill Pits Bridge August 2013

Walkers who you don’t know seem very friendly , because they always speak when you pass them , be it in Glebe Meadow , the Mill Pits or Henlow Lake.

Would the same people talk if you passed them in the street ? I doubt it maybe when you are walking they think you are like minded to themselves.Which is nice

and how it should be and still is in Ireland. If you want to ask directions it’s rude not to have a little chat first.

There were no cows in the meadow much to the wife’s liking , whereas Jack and I would have liked it.

We walked as far as the Sandies but of course now there are filled in and its just an overgrown field.

I guess this is in Henlow anyway as once you cross the River Hiz it’s Henlow , I’m told.

So we turned round and walked down the Hicca Way to Glebe Meadow , following the course of the river Hiz.

The Hicca Way at Arlesey

The choice of name for this path which meanders along the River Hiz is based on history going back to the days of King Offa of Mercia who founded a religious settlement in Hitchin. The path follows the route the Hicca tribe would have more or less followed from Hitchin to the Danish Fort near the south east corner of Henlow.

The River Hiz is a small tributary river that feeds the River Ivel that, in turn, feeds the River Great Ouse.The River Hiz is a small tributary river that feeds the River Ivel that, in turn, feeds the River Great Ouse. Starting at its source of a chalk fed spring just south of the village of Charlton, the river winds its way through the county of Hertfordshire, moving its way into and through Hitchin, where it meets the River Oughton and River Purwell. The Hiz finally meets the River Ivel near the village of Henlow.The Hiz is properly pronounced “Hitch” as it takes its name from the Hicca tribe who inhabited the area and gave their name to Hitchin. This fact seems to be little known and it is now normally said as it is spelled.The Hiz is a focal point in the town of Hitchin, with a market that takes place historically by its banks.The Hiz also runs past a major (but now defunct) brickworks at Arlesey.Although small, the Hiz attracts a great deal of wildlife. There are many birds around this area, which include swans, ducks, coot and kingfishers. Fish inhabits the river (trout mainly) and there is also evidence for otters.

The Mill Pits New Railway crossing Bridge

I think the Bridge only went up this year it is still all pristine and new .There is New Fencing all the way down to the Railway Lines.Nice and safe now. There were a lot of people out walking in the Mill Pits but only us in Glebe Meadow.

Sonny Albone and his father Shetland had a herd of Jersey cows in the Mill Pits meadow and they used to have to cross the Railway lines 4 times a day taking the cows for their twice dailey milkings to the dairy which was near the bottom of Lynton avenue. This is hard to believe when you see the speed of the trains going under our new bridge. How did they manage to do this for years without any mishaps?? I remember going on knocking on their door and buying a bottle of fresh orange off Sonny’s mum. Sonny died in 2008.

WILLIAM (SONNY) GEORGE ALBONE On 4th December 2008, Sonny of Chase House, Arlesey formerly of High Street, Arlesey aged 92 years. Much loved Dad, Grandad and Brother, he will be very sadly missed…

Published in the Biggleswade Chronicleon 12th December 2008

Sonny Albone sitting right side end Doctor Davis back right glasses.

The streamlined steam trains used to come thro at 90 mph when we were kids (59 ish) but of course there were no where near as many Inter city trains then and they used to carry goods by rail then.

So a lot of the goods trains were pretty slow , much better than all the juggernauts on our roads now.

Also does anyone prefer diesel and electric engines to the magical steam engines? Maybe some of the passengers

.As for the stations they used to have real people who worked there , a station master , porters , toilets , cafes , a guard who checked all was ok before he signaled to the driver. Signal box men etc a whole station community. I used to love the ticket office on legs down at the Three Counties Railway Station , we used to jump on the wooden floor and try to scare each other. You could see between the floorboard cracks. I will put a pic on of it.

These were the trains I remember coming thro when I was a boy. All steam except the Deltic , the first diesel .

The very Strong Remains of the Mill Pits wall its goes all the way across the river , the water flows over the top of it , but its still there.

I have not noticed it before , guess the river level was normally over it.

You can see how close the development comes to the river.

We had a picnic in the Old Moat nature reserve , there were blackberrys all around us , so we picked some for afters.

Arlesey Old Moat and Glebe Meadows are two nature reserves managed by the Wildlife Trust for Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Northamptonshire.[1] They lie adjacent to the River Hiz and the East Coast Main Line, west of Arlesey itself. The Glebe Meadows were purchased, by raising funds, by Arlesey Conservation for Nature (ACORN)for the public to enjoy in perpetuity for quiet recreation and for wildlife. The Wildlife Trust agreed to hold the title of the land on their behalf. The Town Council also agreed to financially support the upkeep of the meadows. This project was to commemorate the new Millennium. The day to day upkeep of the reserves is undertaken by ACORN volunteers.

Henlow Lakes