T=1.11
LENGTH 21km (13 miles)
TOUGHNESS 6/10
TRAINS. LONDON EUSTON 09.54 Arrive TRING 10.52
Return from WENDOVER half hourly from 15.57
Two singles required as different companies on different lines.
You can omit the third reservoir and save 1km (Plums available this way)
A further shortcut is possible by continuing along the canal into Wendover after lunch instead of climbing steeply up to the Go Ape play area and cafe.
Indeed you could shorten the walk by several more miles by avoiding lunch entirely and remaining on the canal path.
There’s a bus possibility in the lunchtime village.
LUNCH
https://oakastonclinton.com/ A Fullers Pub
TEA. In Wendover we nearly always end up in the Shoulder of Mutton by the station, or at Rumsey’s Choclaterie so today I might have a drink in Red Lion Hotel for a change.
L=1.11
7 comments:
Very important note re single ticket to Tring. Two friends (both with Freedom Pass and senior rail cards) did this walk recently, both bought tickets from from the machines at Euston. One requested a single from Boundary Zone 6 to Tring and paid £8.90. The other requested a single from Watford Junction (which is the boundary of Zone 6) to Tring and was charged £3.90 which is 228 percent higher. Be warned!
Wendover to Amersham is £5.45
The reason for this is that Watford is beyond the TFL zones. See https://assets.nationalrail.co.uk/e8xgegruud3g/1CsLmTsBQuj4XGDmQj46EN/45e857890038ad019d5798a27e80de1c/London_Rail_and_Tube_Map-September-2024.pdf
You’re only supposed to use a freedom pass up to Harrow and Wealdstone
https://www.londoncouncils.gov.uk/sites/default/files/2024-04/fpd_freedom_pass_6-11-22.pdf
You can, of course, get the Overground to Watford using a freedom pass, and change trains there.
Watford Junction is outside the zones, it is not the Boundary of Zone 6. Hatch End is the last station in Zone 6.
A 60+ Oyster Card can be used on the Lioness Line to Watford Junction but on Lnodon Northwestern it is only valid as far as Harrow & Wealdstone.
Sandy is correct. For national rail purposes Harrow and Wealdstone is the boundary of Zone 6. A single ticket from there to Tring should cost £5.25 vs. £8.90 for a ticket from Boundary Zone 6. (70 percent higher)https://ticket.southernrailway.com/journeys-grid/HRW/TRI/2025-07-23T09:45//1//SRNx1?departNow=no&realTime=no&searchPreferences=&showAdditionalRoutes=no&showCheapest=no&tocSpecific=no
The reason for this fare anomaly is that the fares on this line have been switched to the new structure where off-peak single fares are half the price of a return, not just 5 or 10p cheaper. However, someone has 'forgotten' to change the "Boundary Zone to/from" entries in the fares table. Hence Hatch End to Tring is £9.05 return, £4.50 single; but Boundary Zone 6 to Tring is £8.95 return, £8.90 single.
This glitch isn't present on other lines which have been switched, so unless the rail company fixes it promptly I foresee juicy fees from m'learned friends seeking compensation with a class action lawsuit.
Incidentally, the Chilterns line is still on the old structure. On the return journey people with passes, 60+ Oysters or a Zones 1-9 Travelcard will need a single from Wendover to Amersham as Gouldman says (£5.45). If you've got a Zones 1-6 Travelcard, however, you'll need a single to Boundary Zone 6 (£7.95).
For anyone else studying for a Masters Degree in UK Railfares, brfares.com is a good resource.
The designated train was cancelled and, for most, this meant a half hour delay. However 5 clever people, already on their way, managed to intercept an even earlier one. Did they wait for the others? Well 2 did. The other 3 set off. That 3 had difficulty understanding which number reservoir led to the fabled plum laden shortcut. (Not that they’d have EVER knowingly taken a shortcut anyway)
The walk past one reservoir was a bit grotty with restoration works in progress.
Approaching St Mary’s, lo and behold the latecomers turned up laden down with their ill-gotten plums. The churchyard became the designated picnic spot. We were n=17 altogether. The weather? W=cloudy-humid-some-sun
It was then Mr Tiger realised, much to his horror, that the others intended to take ANOTHER shortcut, missing out the lunch pub. ‘Not on my watch’ vowed Mr Tiger. However, he did somehow miss a vital turning and ended up doing what was probably the shortcut, accidentally. That’s not all readers. Because he’d accidentally taken the shortcut, he accidentally missed the ending along the canal and accidentally had to finish off with the hill route. Which was not as bad as it could have been..
The rest were ahead by now but were caught up with in the Red Lion. Where draft ESB was on tap. All tribulations were forgotten. Another grand day out.
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