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This Week's Walks - Archive

Please see the Saturday Walker's Club This Week's Walks page.

This is an archive of walks done by the Saturday Walker's Club. You should only need to use this page if the SWC website is down.

Wednesday 20 December 2017

Wednesday Walk: Garston to St Albans - River Ver, Moor Mill and Verulamium

Book 1, Walk 7 - Garston to St Albans

Length: 14 km (8.7 miles)
Toughness: 1 out of 10 (more when muddy)

London Euston: 09-54 hrs   Northampton service
Arrive Watford Junction: 10-09 hrs
Leave Watford Junction: 10-24 hrs  St Albans Abbey Service
Arrive Garston: 10-29 hrs

Return: St Albans Abbey to London Euston, via Watford Junction: 15-22, 16-07, 16-54 and 17-42 hrs.

Rail ticket: but a day return to St Albans Abbey.

SWC Wags call this walk "Ghastly to St Albans" and whingers bemoan the traffic noise (verily, the walk is sited between two motorways). Add in some serious mud at the start of the walk as you try to negotiate Bricket Wood Common, and you might wonder why anyone would want to venture out on this walk.
But the walk does have some redeeming features which I like and methinks the Festive Season is the best time of the year to give it a spin: there is usually a good Christmas fair in the precincts of St Albans Abbey and if you are lucky you might catch a carol service in the Abbey. Even if not, a visit to the Abbey at walk end is de rigueur - and it has a very good cafe for your tea stop.
Having walked through Bricket Wood Common you pass Munden House and head along quiet tracks and over fields to Moor Mill for an early(ish) lunch at a Beefeater pub-restaurant, sitting snugly under the M25 motorway. You then head for Park Street via the only hilly bit today, on the Ver Valley walk passing some lakes en route. Onwards then over water meadows and a leg beside the River Ver and on into St Albans.
After visiting the Abbey you head downhill into Verulamium Park, on the way passing an excellent pub for beer lovers, Ye Olde Fighting Cocks. It's then a pleasant walk through the Park to St Albans Abbey railway station for your journey home.
Recommended - but whingers should stay away.
T=1.7
Walk Directions here: L=1.7

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Look forward to it.

Anonymous said...

Many thanks to Marcus for a lovely walk.

Marcus said...

n=7 of us on a very mild day which started w=overcast-and-dull-but-no-rain until late in the day, and with a brief, pleasant spell of sunshine in early afternoon. Mud levels were better than expected all day and Bricket Wood Common for once was not waterlogged and mega-muddy.
Our cheerful party made it to Moor Mill where four enjoyed a good lunch, despite the venue being pre-booked for Christmas lunch parties. Those of us who continued independently of the lunchers (in my case book checking) all met up in St Albans Abbey, for tea, before some visited the Cathedral and then the Christmas market. Alas, no carol service today - but the group just about forgave me for not arranging this. One then set off for the City station, leaving the rest of us to head down through Verulamium Park to the Abbey station for an on-time train to Watford Junction where a quick connection had us back in Euston in next to no time.
An enjoyable day's walking in very nice company - and not one complaint all day at the traffic noise !
This wee-diddy of a walk deserves more postings.