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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.

Wednesday 11 December 2019

Wednesday Walk Garston to St Albans - River Ver, Moor Mill, Verulamium - and St Albans Abbey

Change in walk

On checking Elsa's new walk, Harpenden to St Albans, last weekend it transpired to be longer than  we originally thought, making it impratical for a mid-week winter's day. So, with some sense of disappointment, we have deferred its inaugural Wednesday posting until Spring 2020. In its place is an old favourite, also ending in St Albans, for those (like me) who like to visit the Abbey at Christmas - enjoy !

Book 1, Walk 7 - Garston to St Albans

Length: 14 km (8.7 miles)
Toughness: 2 out of 10

London Euston: 10-24 hrs.     West Midlands service to Rugely Trent Valley
Arrive Watford Junction:  10-39 hrs .  Change trains
Leave Watford Junction:  11-09 hrs service to St Albans Abbey
Arrive Garston: 11-14 hrs

Return

St Albans Abbey to Euston, changing at Watford Junction:   16-07, 16-54 and 17-45 hrs

St Albans City to St Pancras: 6 fast trains an hour, plus 7 stopping trains an hour.

Rail ticket

Buy a day return to St Albans Abbey.   Note: If you intend to return to London from the City station, you should buy separate single tickets.


The start of today's walk, through Bricket Wood Common, is usually muddy at this time of year, but you should soon be through this mud-fest and out into the Munden Estate, where you start your walk through open country to Moor Mill, where we stop for lunch at Moor Mill Inn.

After lunch we feed the ducks in the River Ver at Moor Mill before setting off on the afternoon leg of the walk on the Ver Valley Walk to the village of Park Street. Then it's over water meadows and beside the River most of the way to St Albans.  We head up to St Albans Abbey, where a visit is recommended - either just to tour this cathedral or take tea in its very acceptable cafeteria, or both. We might also be lucky to catch a carol service in progress. Otherwise, your recommended tea stop is the nearby Abigails or down the slope towards Verulamium Park to Ye Olde Fighting Cocks pub - recommended for lovers of real ale.

The Abbey precinct's Christmas Fair should be in full swing by now, usually worth a visit before you head for one of the City's two railway stations for your journey home.
T=1.7
Your walk directions are here:  L=1.7






5 comments:

Anonymous said...

ok, just giving you the heads up: I cannot see a 10.24 from Euston to St Albans Abbey.
Alternatives:
option 1: 10.21 St Pancrass to St Albans City arr 10.41; walk c. 35 min to St Albans Abbey, start of walk.
option 2: 10.49 Euston-11.03 Watford (dir Rugely...); dep Watford 11.09-arr St Alb Abbey 11.25

Marcus, if you see this in time, please post the option here

Marcus said...

Thanks Anonymous, but according to my journey planner, the train times in my posting are correct.

We start today's walk in Garston - not St Albans.

Anonymous said...

I still fail to see it and that’s probably just me.
I ll take the 10.49 Euston-Watford arr 11.03, dep 11.09 (as posted) arrive Garston 11.14

Anonymous said...

well at least we met up allright, me after a quick transfer in Watford, you after a very generous transfer. great day

Marcus said...

Despite some confusion over train times, n=7 of us met up on the platform at Watford Junction station for the short journey to Garston.
We were blessed with a w=glorious-sunny-winter's-day for today's walk, in relatively mild temperatures. It was muddy underfoot all morning but having the sun out more than compensated for the inconvenience of the mud. 5 of us dined at the Moor Mill, where we enjoyed good value from our £ 5 a head meals. Our 2 sandwichers joined us for a drink before we all set off together on the afternoon leg of the walk, after the obligatory feeding of the ducks from the twenty pence dispenser. The sun briefly disappeared and it became chilly for a while before the sun reappeared. By the lakes outside the mobile home park, just before Park Street, we encountered two magnificent swans, preening themselves on the lakeside bank, with their two grown up cygnets in tow, still cream and grey in colour in their multiple layers of feathers - a lovely sight.
Onwards then over muddy fields and beside muddy field edges, then the River Ver again, as we headed into St Albans, enjoying the last of the day's sun - and daylight. Two headed straight for the Abbey station, leaving five of us to visit the Abbey. Tea in its cafeteria was taken by four of us, with my fellow male colleague being tempted by Ye Olde Fighting Cocks. A brisk walk through Verulamium Park, and we were at the Abbey Railway station for our journey home.
I believe we all enjoyed this lovely winter's day walk - a most welcomed respite from the General Election.