September walk... Redbourn to The Holly Bush pub, Potters Crouch

It was beautiful weather for our autumn walk today. Starting on the Redbourn village high street we followed the Ver valley past the Redbournbury watermill to the Gorhambury estate where we past the Old Gorehambury house. After crossing the St Albans - Hemel road we finished at the Holly bush pub in Potters Crouch.

Distance approx: 6.5miles
Walkers: Derek, Emma, Fred, Kevin, Peter, Tony

Outside the Redbournbury watermill, the last working mill on the Ver:

September hike

Our next walk is lined up for Sunday 29th September… The walk will be 6.5 miles through the top of the Ver valley, north of St.Albans, passing Redbournbury mill, the last working watermill on the Ver. We'll then break off from the Ver valley into the Gorhambury estate near St Albans where we'll pass the Old Gorhambury House before descending to Potters Crouch - a tiny hamlet close near St Albans where we'll get some lunch at the excellent Holybush pub.

We're meeting in Redbourn aiming for a 10am start to the walk. 

The starting point is by Weymans convenience store at the southern end of the high street. They'll be plenty of free parking in the bays on the high street close by.

This will be a linear walk to so we'll Peter or I will park one of our cars at the other end of the walk so we can get back to Redbourn.   Estimated time for walking is  3 hours, plus about 1 hour at the Holybush pub and 20 minutes to drive back to Redbourn.

This will be quite an easy walk as they go, mostly flat with one or two small inclines and lots to see along the way. All we need is the weather on our side…. drop me a line if you reckon you can make it!! 

Links:-

Holybush pub:- http://thehollybushpub.co.uk/Welcome.html

Old Gorhambury house:- http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/daysout/properties/old-gorhambury-house/

Google Maps link to starting point for the walk:- http://tinyurl.com/lrnudt9

Redbournbury Watermill & bakery:- http://www.redbournburymill.co.uk

Cloudy tops...

During the hol Peter and I spend a day on Bow fell and Rossette Pike in the Lakes..

While we had some cool views around 2000ft on Rossette Pike, the cloud didn't clear on top of Bow Fell.  Eventually the cloud did decide to lift from the top, frustratingly for us about an hour into our descent!

There's not much of a view but that doesn't stop a snack break at the top!

Helm Crag, Cumbria

Summer hols and me, Em and the kids tackle the Wainwright fell Helm Crag together. Emma and Ro find a comfortable seat near the top!

Photos from the Exmoor South West Coast path July 2013

This years walking weekend was another success - besides myself Mark, Peter, Rob and Richard trekked the 13 and a half miles up and down the cliffs from Lynton to Combe Martin in Devon. Here the first few pictures....

Around the Woody Bay area the sea mist was rising up over the cliffs keeping the walk nice and cool during the morning...

 Getting closer to Heddon's Mouth - the half way point and pub stop!

A drinks break high on the cliffs...

Descending from Great Hangman Point - the highest sea cliff in England - towards Combe Martin...

Resting on the way to the top of Deacon hill May 2013

This year's walk on the Pegsdon hills turned out to be a family one in the end and a big hill climb for 5 and 4 year old Rowan and Joshua!

Deacon hill (Pegsdon hill) walk info on hitchin.net

Here's a good web page about the Deacon hill walk at Pegsdon: http://www.hitchin.net/leisure/walks/

Up and coming walks

I have some news on up and coming local walks for you to come along to now the weather's finally improving. I need a break from DIY in the new house so I'm really looking forward to these walks!

Sunday 26th May - family walk at Deacon Hill, nr Hitchin (3.5 miles)

We've done this walk several times, it's a great little route that can take little over an hour to walk. Emma and the kids are coming along on this one, it's a family walk nearly everyone can do. We're meeting at 10am in the Live and Let Live (http://www.liveandletlive.co) pub car park in Pegsdon (post code SG5 3JX). If the weather's good we might sit in the pub garden after the walk for a quick drinky.

Saturday 15th June - Pitstone Windmill & Ivinghoe Hills (6.25 miles or 8.1 miles)

This walk goes past Pitstone windmill and on to the Ivinghoe hills. There's a couple of climbs so it'll be good practise if you're coming on the summer weekend. It's a 10am start from my house in Pitstone (post code LU7 9AF) and they'll be a couple of potential pub stops. We'll probably do the shorter 6 mile walk but there's an 8 mile route if there's enthusiasm for it!

Friday 5th to Sunday 7th July - Summer Walking Weekend - South west coast path

September - Childwick Green / north St Albans - date to follow

No details yet.

Drop me a line or give me a call if you think you'll come along to a walk. Look forward to hearing from you!

Lynmouth beds booked!

We've booked our rooms for the summer walking weekend in July at the Village Inn. Looks cosy enough and hopefully nice food and beer to come back to after the walk!   There's a bit more info on the walk on the South West Coastpath website here: http://www.southwestcoastpath.com/walksdb/138/

If you're not booked and are interested give me a call/drop me a line. 

Last year's walking weekend photos in the Pennines

I've finally uploaded last year's walking weekend photos on to the walking website in the Pennines, plus Dufton Pike walk on the Friday and Arniston Crag from Sunday morning.

To look at all the pictures click on the"Past Walking Weekends" link on the right.

24/02/13 Alexandra Palace to Hyde Park

Alexandra Palace to Hyde Park, London (Andrea, Derek, Mark, Peter, Tony)

We chose a very cold day for this walk but we soon warmed up as we ascended the hill at Alexandra Palace and on to Highgate Wood. The route then winds through some suburban roads before entering Hampstead Heath at Kenwood where we gained some excellent views across the London skyline. We followed the lower path besides the lakes and exited the heath close to the south west corner not far from Hampstead Heath overground station. Polly's Cafe was a fine half way point to stop off for lunch before heading up hill to Belsize before re-entering the parks at Primrose Hill. We gained some good views of the skyline again then crossed the canal at London Zoo into Regents Park. Our busiest section of the walk was along Baker Street, leading into the very busy Oxford Street before finishing at Speaker's Corner in Hyde Park.

Distance: approx 8.5 miles

Above: Peter, Derek, Andrea and Mark in Regents Park

Sunday Feb 24th - London Walk Update

A quick update on the London walk..

We will start this year's London walk at Alexandra Park overground railway station. The walk will take us to Hampstead Heath, on to Primrose Hill, Regents Park, Hyde Park before finishing at the Serpentine. The total distance is roughly 8.5 miles, mostly easy, flat walking with a few moderate hills. No special gear needed, just comfy footwear.

The plan is to meet at the station at 11am and I think some of us can travel in together, I'll be in touch if I know you're coming. The First Capital Connect service from St.Albans (9.45am) and the 10.03am from Stevenage on the Cambridge line arrives in under an hour.

There's a footbridge over Alexandra Park station to the park side - we'll meet on the park side of the bridge. Remember to keep your mobile handy in case we need to get in touch when we arrive. At the end of the walk we'll be a short distance from Hyde Park Corner underground station. 

I think we'll be about half way near Belsize Park where there's plenty of places to get lunch.

If you think you might come and haven't let me know please drop me a line!

Walking Weekend 2013

Hello and happy new year!

Another year is here already and it's a great time to think about doing some more walks. With the summer I've been planning this year's walking weekend and for next month I'm arranging another London walk. I hope you can make both!

WALKING WEEKEND 2013

This year we're taking on one of the most spectacular sections of coast path in Britain - Lynton to Combe Martin in the Exmoor National Park. Our walk will start in Lynton where we'll head west along the remote north coast of Devon, weaving in and out of coastal valleys, climbing to cliffs several hundred feet above the sea. The challenging route passes Castle Rock and the Valley of Rocks allows us a chance to recharge at the Hunters Inn half way. They will be a chance to end your walk here return to base or you can push into the second half of the walk past Heddon's Mouth and the breathtaking Hangman Point. The total distance of the walk is approx 13 miles or around 6 miles for the 'half' walk to Hunter's Inn. At our destination we'll embark on plenty of refreshments before arranging transport back to our accommodation.

The dates for this year's walk is Saturday 6th July and as usual we'll arrange car sharing on Friday morning, returning after two nights on Sunday 7th (remember to book the Friday off work!). Weather and by-law permitting I'm hoping we can do a barbecue on the beach one of the evenings.

I've yet to arrange any accommodation but there's plenty of places we can stay in Lynton (or Lynmouth in the valley below). There's a YHA in the moors around 25 minutes from the coast but seeing as this is a coastal walk this year we might not stay at a YHA. As always though the emphasis will be on value for money. If you know Lynton/Lynmouth and know some good, affordable accommodation please let me know. 

I really hope you can come this year, if you think you might come along let me know and I'll keep you updated with information on accommodation and things.

Here's a bit more info on the NT site if you're interested:- http://www.southwestcoastpath.com/walksdb/138/