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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.

Sunday, 16 June 2024

Sunday Walk - Wheatfields, Woods, Waterways & Optional Sculptures: Roydon to Sawbridgeworth (via Henry Moore Foundation)

Length: 22.8 km (14.2 mi) [shorter walk possible, see below]
Ascent/Descent: 190/174m
Net Walking Time: ca. 5 hours
Toughness: 4 out of 10 
 
Take the 09.57 Cambridge North train from Liverpool Street (Hackney Downs 10.04, Tottenham Hale [Victoria Line] 10.11), arrives Roydon at 10.27. 
From Stratford, take the 09.56 Meridian Water service (Lea Bridge 10.02), changing at Tottenham Hale (10.05/10.11). 
Return trains: xx.05 and xx32. Buy a Sawbridgeworth return.
 
This walk leads mainly through rolling Hertfordshire countryside, either along tracks and green lanes or quiet country roads, featuring wheat fields, woods and waterways, the best of which are stretches of the River Ash in the morning and of the Stort Navigation near the end. Lunch is had at the café in The Henry Moore Foundation’s sculpture park and studios.

The walk does not feature any stiles, industry or offensive field crossings, and it is very low on the conurbation count as well.

The HMF sculpture gardens, six authentically preserved studios and Moore’s family home are ticketed (£18.00, £16.50 concessions, ticket valid for 12 months). The café is not.

Shortcuts are possible, see the webpage linked below or the pdf.

Lunch: The Hoops Inn in Perry Green (14.0 km/8.7 mi into the main walk) [This is currently going through a refurbishment] or the Rosey Lea Café at the Henry Moore Foundation (11.00-15.45). 
Tea: plenty of cafés and pubs in Sawbridgeworth, see the pdf for details.
 
For walk directions, map, height profile, photos and gpx/kml files click here. T=swc.164

1 comment:

Thomas G said...

9, including a first timer, off the train, in w=sunny weather.
The wide, mildly undulating landscapes of Hertfordshire with their large arable fields and big skies can of course be especially beautiful in spring and summer, when the many shades of green (or yellow and brown later on) of the arable fields dominate the ground, with cereals, bean stalks and the likes swaying in the breeze on a windy day and big banks of clouds march past in the skies, where kites frollick around and smaller birds try to hide from them, while curious young cattle try to find new friends by following walkers through large pastures and riverside meadows.
This was such a day.

We reached Perry Green at around half 1 (I think), where 2 picnicked and 7 went into the cafe. There we bumped into a couple that had started off an earlier train and were going into the ticketed area after lunch, which is what 1 of us did as well, straight away though.
6 therefore eventually walked on, reaching Sawbo at 4.30, where 1 turned right to catch the next train, and 5 turned left into town to meet up with one of the picnickers in The Old Bell first. 17.05 train for those.
The journey went well until we stopped just short of Northumberland Park because of a Police Incident at Ponders End. That caused about 30 minutes delay. And the England game hadn't even started yet...
n=11