Book 2 Walk 5: Tring to Berkhamstead (or Circular) t=2.5
Distance: 12.8 miles/20.6 ish km for the linear walk to
Berkhamstead OR 10.1 miles/16.3 km for the circular walk.
Difficulty: 4 out of 10
Train: Take the 9:24
AM Tring train from London Euston
arriving at Tring at 10:02. Return trains
from Tring are 15, 23, 45 and 53 past the hour and 5 minutes later from
Berkhamstead. The schedule shifts slightly at 19:09 – but still plenty of
trains until about 22:00. Buy a day return to Tring.
This walk passes by two substantial and well-known
bluebell woods – Dockey Wood and Flat Isley. But, it is not ALL
about bluebells, the varied route first makes an excursion out to Ivanhoe
Beacon with fine views. It then returns through the woods of the Ashridge
Estate. More information about the walk
and the instructions can be found here.
The suggested lunch spot is the Bridgewater
Arms in Little Gaddesden (6 miles into the walk). Tea can be enjoyed
at the Brownlow Café near the Bridgewater Monument. For those finishing
in Berkhamstead, further refreshments can be found in various places (see the
walk notes).
Enjoy the walk!
3 comments:
I did this walk today, Friday 05 May. Lovely cowslips on the grassy ways on the approach to the Beacon. A year ago the National Trust "redesigned" Dockey Wood by introducing briars and undergrowth in between the seas of bluebells - spoiling the carpet effect. Same this year - bluebells still lovely, but not as good as pre-redesign, and this bank holiday weekend there will be an entrance fee to walk in the wood.
Flat Isley's bluebells are stunning and well worth a wander on the permitted paths though this wood. But please don't walk on the paths reserved for badgers ! !
N=6 on a day that started wet, got w=very-wet then dried up a bit near the end. The leading 5 managed to shake Mr Tiger off on the way to Ivinghoe Beacon. But he had a clever plan to take a secret short cut through to Dockey Wood, have a look round and look smug when the others eventually arrived at the pub.
Part A worked. The wood’s bluebells looked good even if it cost £3 to go in. But Part B started to unravel as he neared the pub and realised he had left his walk book and map pocket (yes, book) on a seat in the woods. Not so clever. Barely time to swig a pint of cider before returning to retrieve it, passing the others on the way. From the woods, across to the shortcut and on to the Monument caff where he hung about with a coffee, trying to look smug again but eventually giving up and proceeding solo to Berko.
Bluebells were good throughout (well, maybe not as good as Knebworth’s). Probably good in Flat Isley too, but I’ve never worked out which bit that is. Also good displays of cowslips and, nearing Berko, buttercups. Never saw the others again.
Trains delayed at the station but got back eventually. Socks wet, fingers wrinkled.
Sorry you got left behind, Mr Tiger, and failed to meet us later. I presume you recovered your lost chattels? We had a very pleasant lunch in the Bridgewater Arms, suitably apprised of the calorific content of our food choices. There was a military parade of some sort on the television: not sure what that was about.
The location of Flat Isley is indicated in the walk directions (though possibly not in earlier editions of the book…). We did a detour into it and found it magnificent as ever. Earlier we decided not to detour to Dockey Wood, but three of us did sneak across the field to look over the fence.
Getting to the Bridgewater Monument we found the cafe and its normally bustling outside tables deserted. For the first time in my life I was able to order a tea there without a half hour wait in a slow-moving queue. The rain, which had seemed to be easing, had pepped up now, but luckily there turned out to be some tables in the visitor centre where we could huddle and tell tales of sunnier days.
Two went direct to Tring station at this point. There they filmed columns of troops disembarking. (I fear there may be a military coup underway.) Three of us carried on to Berkhamsted. The bluebells on the early section of this extension were stunning - better and more extensive than I can ever remember. We also saw some deer.
For the rest of the way into Berkhamsted it was basically a paddle through standing water, my boots ending the walk squeaky clean as a result. Both the canalside pubs were full to the brim, but we squeezed into one. Since the guy in the wine shop at the station looked a bit lonely we also bought supplies for the train.
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