Follow the red dots on the map above. The map above is only a sketch and not to scale. A key has been added to help people follow the maps. To help you with this walk you might want to buy an Ordnance Survey Explorer E182 map for St Albans & Hatfield or click on www.streetmap.co.uk, or www.multimap.com and print the resulting pages. If you would like to comment on any of the walks for the benefit of others, please use the forum discussion thread on the walks.
Park near Little Berkhamsted Cricket Ground and cross the road, heading towards the church. Just before the church you will find a bachelor gate. Enter the field and walk straight ahead with the churchyard on your left.
You come to a second bachelor gate leading into a second field. Continue walking straight with the hedge on your left until your come to the end of the field. A path leads ahead to a gate into the lane, but your way is right along the hedge as the path branches and heads south.
Follow this path keeping the hedge on your left and cross a step stile. Continue across the next field until it dips in the north east corner. Here you will find a small stream. There may still be a plank across it on your left. Once on the other side, climb the bank heading for a step stile straight ahead.
This step stile leads you down a sheltered path with trees either side and after a few minutes you reach another step stile, taking you out into a clearing.
Head straight ahead for a few metres, until you notice a path joining from the right through a step stile. At this point you head left down hill and across the clearing, heading for a telegraph pole in the north east corner of the clearing.
Cross another step stile and head down into the wood, where you meet a path. Turn right and follow this path as it twists and turns up and down hill through woodland before it veers sharp left down a small hill and immediately up again.
You come to a small bridge and after it the path veers right and climbs a hill before opening out into a bridle path.
Keep following this path for about 100m and as it veers left look out for a step stile on your right leading to an open field.
Cross the field keeping the hedge on your right until you reach another step stile on the far side. Cross this and head across another field keeping the farm on your left and the hedge on your right.
Go through a gate, cross the farm track and immediately go through another gate and down a farm road leading to the lane.
When you reach the lane, turn right and right again and you are at the Beehive pub.
On leaving the pub turn left on the lane and almost immediately on your right just before the bend, you will notice a bridle path signposted to Little Berkhamsted.
Take this path and follow it as it first goes straight and then turns right near some new houses.
Keeping the water tower and the mobile phone transmitter on your left, continue along this bridle path lane. After 200m it veers right, but you continue straight on along a smaller bridle path.
This part can be quite muddy and is used by horse riders. However, walkers have created an alternative path alongside and through the trees, so you can avoid the worst of the mud – but you won't avoid it all.
At the end of this wooded and muddy part of the walk, you come to a gate into a field. The view here across the valley to Wild Hill, Essendon and Brookmans Park is spectacular and this is a good place to stop and take in the scenery.
Continue along this path, keeping the hedge to your right, until you reach another gate. Go through this and continue walking along the edge of the field keeping the hedge on your right, where you will notice Little Berkhamsted Cricket Club through the trees.
You will see a bachelor gate on your right leading into the cricket field. Go through this and keeping the hedge on your left walk straight ahead back to Little Berkhamsted village and the option of refreshments at the Five Horseshoes.
A fairly stretching walk down from West End through bridleways and country lanes to the banks of the River Lea and back up the hill again to West End. It offers marvellous open views north across the Hertfordshire countryside and has the benefit of beginning and ending at the Candlestick pub. The part along the river can be muddy after rain but the going is good for most of the route. There is a small amount of lane walking along a quiet access lane to Hatfield Park.
TrackBack URI for this entry
Subscribe to this comment's feed
