17.6 km (10.9 miles) Difficulty 3/10
A walk through attractive common land, a fairly new Woodland Trust forest (Heartwood), a quaint country estate (Childwickbury) and, finally, the ancient settlement of St Albans. The abbey is worth a look inside (see if you can find the carving with a Covid face mask (clue)). Verulamium museum itself is closed Sundays but the nearby Roman Theatre should be open (£3)
Lunch
There are 3 pubs in Sandridge
The 17th century Queens Head (tel 01727 855069) at 7 Church End .The menu caters for vegetarians and vegans. Booking ahead is advisable The nearby churchyard would be a good picnic spot.
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.
The Heartwood Tearoom
Tea
The suggested tea place is the Cathedral Cafeteria, 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 . You want a Thameslink return to Harpenden,
Get the Bedford train at St Pancras at 9:35 (platform B) arriving 10:05 (also stops at East Croydon 8:58, Blackfriars 9:25, West Hampstead 9:43). There are 4 trains an hour returning from St Albans City.
St Albans Abbey station is mentioned as an alternative. There is one train an hour from there, (xx:41 changing at Watford ) A separate ticket is required. t=swc.351
Directions here
4 comments:
Only two walkers braved the day—no crowds, no chatter, just two people stubborn enough to shake off train delays and schedule changes. The weather was that quiet kind of misty, warm enough to feel comforting, with just a hint of drizzle that barely kissed the skin. No rain to chase us back inside, only leaves spiraling down in loose flurries, blanketing the path and muffling our steps.
We started off in Harpenden, grabbing coffee and a pastry at one of the bakeries that beckoned us in from the street. Fuel, you might say, for what lay ahead.
We’re both quick walkers, so we tore through the green trails and woods with an easy pace, pausing just once, as a Remembrance Day procession passed.
Lunch was at Heartwood Cafe & Tearooms—hot tea and a bite to eat, served up fast and without fuss. And then it was back to the road, moving with purpose now as the tower of St. Albans Cathedral came into view.
We descended into town just as the market was winding down, stalls shuttering and vendors packing up. By 14:37, we were on the Thameslink back to London, the city looming up to meet us, after what must have been a record fast completion time of this walk.
#2 #misty-but-not-cold
I was hoping to join the group on the walk but train delays probably resulted in people arriving in Harpenden at different times. As there was no one else at the station when I arrived, I decided to go ahead and do the walk on my own. I did meet another walker en route when I stopped briefly for lunch and then again at the Cathedral. I had a leisurely tea and cake at the refectory before catching the 1525 train back to London. Shame not to have walked as a group but a pleasant (and undemanding) walk in spite of the dull weather.
n=4
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