Sandy is an ancient town with a population of 10,660. It strategically lies where the Ivel Valley cuts through the Greensand Ridge with evidence of two Iron Age hill forts, Caesar’s Camp and Galley Hill. The Romans were also present in Sandy with a settlement along the road which ran from Baldock to Godmanchester. Roman burials, rare sculpture and other artefacts have been found in the area.

In 1870 a mansion was built just off the Potton to Sandy road for Arthur Wellesley Peel. Arthur was the youngest son of Sir Robert Peel the prime minister and founder of the police force. The Lodge is now the home of the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB). The Lodge is surrounded by a nature reserve consisting of heath and woodland with formal gardens, walks, nature trails and hides.

Hasells Hall lies on the Everton Road and is a Georgian building which was the ancestral home of the Pym family.

Potton Road

In 1997 a lady called Michelle was being driven to night school at Sandy Upper School by her friend Andy. They were travelling down the B1042 and had passed the entrance to the RSPB bird sanctuary at about 19:00. This area of road is heavily wooded and hence dark so the driver had his high beams on. As they drove downhill into a left hand bend a figure suddenly appeared on their left and proceeded to cross the road. The driver had no time to react as they were so close but there was no accident as the car drove straight through the figure. Michelle described the apparition as “a headless figure, all in white, a skinny woman with a big chest, she was in modern dress, wearing trousers, at her feet trotted a small dog, Jack Russell sized”.

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Sandy, Potton Road