Length: 17.6 km (10.9 miles)
Difficulty 3/10
A green and pleasant walk, first through common land, then a newly-created Woodland Trust forest (Heartwood), a pretty country estate (Childwickbury) and finally the ancient settlement of St Albans. There you’ll find lots of old stuff: the abbey (worth a look), Roman remains (also worth a look), and most importantly, the ‘oldest pub in England’.
Lunch
There are 3 pubs in Sandridge normally serving food 12-2.30. (Covid restrictions may impact. Consider bringing a picnic and water).
The 17th century Queens Head (tel 01727 855069) at 7 Church End .Vegetarian and vegan options. Booking ahead is advisable. The nearby churchyard would make a convenient picnic stop.
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, specialising in cask ales.
The Heartwood Tearooms appear to be closed till next year.
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.
Lovers of fine ale (yay! me! me!) might like to visit Ye Olde Fighting Cocks pub (tel: 017227 865830), below the Cathedral. It is one of several pubs claiming to be the oldest public house in England.
Trains
You want a Thameslink return to Harpenden, arriving there 11:01.
You can get on at St Pancras at 10:36. Direction Bedford.
South Londoners can catch this train at East Croydon 10:03, Norwood Jct 10:08, London Bridge 10:21, Blackfriars 10:27.
There are frequent return trains (4 an hour) from St Albans City.
(The notes suggest St Albans Abbey station as an alternative finish but there only seems to be one train today, the 16:13 changing at Watford. It requires a different ticket).
Directions: here
Covid-19 Compliance: Please note the current guidance on this website and observe social distancing. Please sign up for this walk in advance if you can, using the London Walkers User Group site. (This saves time collecting contact details). Otherwise bring a piece of paper with your email address on it (in your neatest handwriting). It will be put in an envelope and accessed if needed for contact tracing. To report a Covid case after this walk, use covid@lwug.co.uk /
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1 comment:
N=4 today. A w=cloudy day that started cool but got warmer. A walk nicer than it sounds, with greenery, open views, forest, woodland and wild flower meadows. The only teensy drawback is the unashamedly urban trek to City station at the end. When we got to Sandridge, the 3 picnickers were surprised to find walkers already draped over every seat, gravestone and crypt. The South Bank Ramblers had coincidentally chosen the same walk. The devils! As there were 19 of them, we decided not to pick a fight. There was even some conviviality. Also, they were complimentary about the walk.
The Queens Head, where we retired for drinks alongside our one diner, was friendly and attentive. The food was said to be good.
St Mary’s church and churchyard was very pretty.
We didn’t stop for tea. We raced through St Albans with a cursory nod at the old stuff. Whisked past the Fighting Cocks despite my yearning.
Did I mention the ostriches? Or maybe they were emu. Long necks anyway.
The carved fox has gone. Just its tail left.
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