Saturday Walk - Undulating Hertfordshire: Sawbridgeworth to Bishop's Stortford via Henry Moore Foundation

Length: 23.7 km/14.7 mi 

Ascent/Descent: 187/176m 

Net Walking Time: 5 hours 

Toughness: 4 out of 10

 

Take the 09.24 Audley End train from Liverpool Street (Tottenham Hale/Victoria Line 09.36), arrives Sawbridgeworth at 10.03. 

Return trains: six per hour. Buy a Bishop’s Stortford return.

 

After passing through the centre of Sawbridgeworth, much of which is a conservation area, this East Hertfordshire walk leads mainly through open countryside, either along tracks, green lanes or quiet country roads, providing extensive views across the gently rolling countryside of fields, woods and waterways. The most attractive parts are then a scenic stretch of the Ash Valley around lunch in Much Hadham, one of Britain’s longest villages, and the long peaceful ending along the Stort Navigation past a couple of Nature Reserves. The pretty town centre of Bishop’s Stortford with its many tea options can be explored on an optional extension.

The Henry Moore Foundation in Perry Green is passed in the morning and the walk features a substantially shorter version to enable an extended visit of the Henry Moore Sculpture Park, Studios and House. This version cuts out some of the most attractive parts of the walk, though.

 

Walk Options:

It is possible to shorten the walk in four ways:

-  Shortcut I cuts 0.7 km (0.4 mi) at the start,

-  Shortcut II cuts 5.5 km (3.5 mi) and 84m ascent around lunch (and gives a rating of 2/10),

-  Shortcut III cuts 1.0 km (0.6 mi) after lunch,

-  Shortcut IV cuts 0.5 km (0.3 mi) near the end. 

Taking all shortcuts reduces the length of the walk to 16.1 km (10.0 mi).

 

Lunch: 

The Hoops Inn in Perry Green (7.4 km/4.7 mi into the walk, food to 15.00);  

Café at Henry Moore Perry Green (7.5 km/4.7 mi into the walk);  

The Bull Inn in Much Hadham (10.8 km/6.7 mi into the walk, food served to 16.00); 

The Prince of Wales in Green Tye (13.0 km/8.0 mi into the full walk (12.3 km if skipping the out-and-back to the recommended lunch pub), but unclear whether food is served!

 

Tea: Too numerous to list here. See the walk directions pdf for details.

 

For walk directions, photos, map, height profile and gpx/kml files click here.t=swc.210