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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.

Saturday, 5 November 2022

Saturday Walk - Woods, Forests and Copses (and the New River): Broxbourne Woods National Nature Reserve

Length: 24.3 km (15.1 mi) [for a shorter walk see below]
Ascent/Descent: 325m
Net Walking Time: ca. 5 ½ hours
Toughness: 5 out of 10 
 
Take the 09.25 Cambridge North train from Liverpool Street (09.37 Tottenham Hale, 09.45 Cheshunt), arriving Broxbourne at 09.51
Broxbourne Station is ‘oysterable’, but if a Network RC user, a paper return ticket should be cheaper…  
Return trains: xx.19 to 17.19, then nothing until Sunday morning. 
 
This walk should be perfect for the season and has proven to be so in years past: 
 
"After winding its way out of Broxbourne along a canal and through a park, this walk ascends through the Spital Brook valley into Broxbourne Woods National Nature Reserve, an assortment of varied, ancient and wild woods, serrated by a plethora of streams. A circuitous route linking up separate woods follows age old trails, paths and green lanes through a magnificent and diverse woodland setting. While broadly following a well signposted trail through the Nature Reserve, the walk often diverts from it to take more interesting directions. Most of the distance and the ascent are covered before lunch, but the lunch pub serves food all afternoon, so a leisurely pace is entirely possible. There are plenty of signed and unsigned paths in the woods, thus following the detailed written directions is essential, and a map and a compass are recommended." 
 
A shorter walk (18.8 km/11.7 mi, 3/10), finishing in Bayford, is possible [caution: different train line and operator, trains go to Kings Cross or Moorgate, but Bayford is now also inside the Oyster Pay-As-You-Go area. The cheapest ticket option for a Bayford ending anyway is a Hertford (All Stations) return].
 
Lunch: The Woodman & Olive in Wormley West End (14.5 km/9.0 mi, food all afternoon). 
Tea: there are two pubs en-route, a few minutes from the station: The Bull and The White Bear. 
 
For walk directions, map, photos, height profile, and gpx/kml files click here. t=swc.168

1 comment:

Stargazer said...

n=7 set off from Broxbourne station in w=persistent-light-rain for an atmospheric autumnal circuit through various woods. Although the tree colour was not as striking as in years' past, it was still pretty and there were many interesting fungi in the woods....All but one (who was never seen again) ate at the Greek inspired pub and were pleasantly surprised when paying the bill that due to a transition between licenses, they were unable to charge for their alcoholic beverages (what a bonus)! I think most left a generous tip to cover the cost of their chosen spirit....

After lunch the 6 pub lunchers split ranks with the three men opting for a male bonding experience along an improvised short-cut where they encountered a section of fallen trees creating an assault course that required navigation; while the remaining three opted for a female bonding experience following the instructions/GPX on the recommended route back through the woods without much incident -- aside from a momentary thought they might miss the 17:19 train! All reconvened at The Bull where even the walkers doing the full route had time for a swift half before catching the last train back to London at the advertised 17:19! With an early return to London, 4 decided to wrap up the day with some wine and tapas! A fun day out -- notwithstanding the dreary weather!