The Greensand Ridge runs across Bedfordshire like a low spine, and Potton and Gamlingay lie on its eastern edge, a pair of small towns of brick and clay tile that once made their living from the soil. Potton, with nearly five thousand people, was famous for its market gardens, and Gamlingay, with about thirty-two hundred, has an old heath and woodland, the Gamlingay Wood, which has been managed for nearly a thousand years and is one of the oldest in the county. Everton, a tiny village nearby, sits on the ridge with views over the Ivel valley.
Biggleswade, six kilometres away with over sixteen thousand people, is the nearest large place, and it has fuel, shops and cafés on the River Ivel. Not far off, Old Warden is home to the Shuttleworth Collection, a remarkable museum of historic aircraft and vehicles, many of them still flown on summer weekends, and the sight of a biplane over the fields is one of the pleasures of the district. The RSPB reserve at The Lodge, near Sandy, has heathland, woodland and birds.
The label calls this a swim stop, but the local waters are small and mostly private, so treat it as a rest. The riding is gentle, with lanes among arable fields and hedgerows, and the Greensand Ridge gives enough relief for bends and short climbs. The soil is sandy, and the roads can be gritty on corners, particularly after dry weather. Traffic is light apart from the A1 and the A603, and the cyclists are many.
As the start of a ride toward the Chilterns and the Thames, this is an easy place to begin. Fill the tank in Biggleswade, buy a coffee at a bakery, and set off along the ridge while the dew is still on the grass. In spring the woods are bright with bluebells, and in autumn the hedges are rich with berries. It is a quiet country of unhurried pleasures.