17.6 km (10.9 miles) Difficulty 3/10
Through a new-ish Woodland Trust forest (Heartwood) to Sandridge, then on through a country estate (Childwickbury) to St Albans. The abbey there is worth a look and you also pass what is claimed to be the ‘oldest pub in England’. Just before Sandridge, there’s a large wildflower meadow that can be impressive (fingers crossed).
Lunch
Today is Mothers Day so pubs may be busy. Plan accordingly.
There are, however, 3 of them in Sandridge
- The 17th century Queens Head (tel 01727 855069) at 7 Church End.
- The Green Man (tel 01727 854845) at 31 High Street.
- The 400 year old Rose & Crown (tel 01727 859739) at 24 High Street A country pub with a beer garden. It specialises in cask ales.
- There's also the Heartwood Tearoom .
The churchyard near the Queens Head makes a good picnic spot.
Tea
The suggested tea place is the Abbot's Kitchen Café, just inside the Cathedral, which is open daily until 4 pm.
An alternative is Abigails (tel: 01727-8560039) in the Village Arcade in the Cathedral precincts, which is open daily until 5 pm.
However….before you climb to the cathedral, Ye Olde Fighting Cocks (tel: 017227 865830), is one of several pubs claiming to be the oldest in England.
Trains
⏰Clocks go forward a hour today, which means everything happens earlier.
I've put the train time back half an hour to compensate.
Get the Bedford train from St Pancras at 10:35 arriving 11:05
(South Londoners can catch this train at East Croydon 10:03, London Bridge 10:19)
(North Londoners at West Hampstead 10:43)
There are 4 trains an hour returning from St Albans City.
St Albans Abbey station is mentioned as an alternative, but this requires a separate ticket. There is one train an hour from there (xx:41 changing at Watford).
Directions: here
t=swc.351
1 comment:
Only #2 walkers alighted from the Thameslink service at Harpenden, despite the #glorious-sunshine-and-cooling-breeze. We made good progress in the morning, noting early signs of bluebells appearing. In the Pismire Wood. Mid-April onwards might be a better time to post this walk, but there was still plenty to enjoy. Navigating the route with the printed directions and GPS was straightforward enough for the first 80 minute, but then the two appeared to diverge, when we got to Paragraph 15 (the open field with far-reaching countryside views), so we made our own separate ways. I had my picnic lunch on a bench by the football pitches in Sandridge Village. The printed directions guided me easily enough through the Childwickbury Estate and onwards to Saint Albans, where large numbers of people were out and about, enjoying the early Spring sunshine. There are four trains an hour from St Albans City to London Bridge, so I didn't have long to wait. Overall, a very pleasant day out and excellent conditions for walking.
Post a Comment