Walk 162: Heartwood Forest Loop

3 miles (4.7km) with 200 ft of ascent

 

This short walk explores some of the woodlands that are part of Heartwood Forest, the largest continuous new native forest in England, which is managed by The Woodland Trust. Those who visit this area on a regular basis, as we do, will notice how quickly it has matured. This has been a good autumn for enjoying the spread of colour. There are some great paths weaving through the forest. It has a free car park, and there are various information boards scattered throughout the area. There are no toilets. Children will enjoy the 'Magical Meander' where they are encouraged to find wooden carvings along the way. We have a downloadable PDF of the route below.

Walk 161: Sawbridgeworth South Linear

4.5 miles (7km) with 40ft of ascent

 

This is a linear walk from Harlow to Sawbridgeworth, mostly following the towpath alongside the River Stort (Navigation) towpath. There are regular train services connecting the two towns. The first part of the walk is alongside industrial units, but you are soon into open countryside. Birdwatchers should take their binoculars. The walk starts in Essex, close to the Hertfordshire border, then dips in and out of both counties before ending in Hertfordshire.

Walk 160: Chenies Loop

6 miles (9.7km) with 410 ft of ascent

 

This is the only walk on this site which doesn't start in Hertfordshire. We've added it because we wanted to explore further along the Chess Valley and extend an earlier walk, The Sarratt West Loop.

Walk 160: Chenies Loop starts in the Buckinghamshire village of Chenies then follows two long-distance paths, The Chiltern Heritage Trail and The Chess Valley Walk as it loops into Hertfordshire before returning along the River Chess. There are two pubs close to the start and finish point, The Red Lion and The Bedford Arms, both in Chenies, and another pub, The Cock Inn, in Sarratt, Hertfordshire, two-thirds of the way around.

Walk 159: Wigginton SW Loop

5.8 miles (9.3 km) with 420 ft of ascent

 

This walk starts in the village of Wigginton then follows well-defined paths and tracks through beautiful woodland steeped in history. At one point you walk along the moat the borders Cholesbury Camp, an Iron Age hill fort. The route crosses the border into Buckinghamshire, and Cholesbury, where you can visit The Full Moon pub/restaurant in Hawridge at the halfway point before returning to Wigginton, where you can find refreshments at The Greyhound or The Wigginton Village Store and cafe.

After testing this route in November 2021 we both decided it is now one of our favourite walks on the site. This is our second circular walk from Wigginton, the other is Walk 158: Wigginton West Loop.

Walk 158: Wigginton E Loop

5.1 miles (8.2 km) with 345 ft of ascent

 

This is a lovely walk from the village of Wigginton that takes in parts of three long-distance paths, The Chiltern Way, The Ridgeway, and a section of The Grand Union Canal Walk. There is a fair amount of up and down, and you will be conscious of traffic noise from the A41, which you walk under via a tunnel at point 4 and walk over via a footbridge at point 9. There is a cafe at the Wigginton Village Shop at the start and finish point as well as a pub, The Greyhound. We have another walk from Wigginton, Walk 159: Wigginton South West Loop.

Walk 157: Wilstone Loop

5.6 miles with 135ft of ascent

 

This walk visits the four reservoirs that make up the Tring Reservoirs Nature Reserve, which is managed by the Herts and Middlesex Wildlife Trust. The route follows towpaths along the Grand Union Canal and passes three rural pubs. There are two car parks to choose from. Our walk starts and finishes at the Wilstone Reservoir car park but you can also leave the car at Startop's End and join the route from there.

Walk 156: Old Knebworth North Long Loop

5.3 miles (8.4 km) with 350ft of ascent

 

This is a longer version of Walk 76: Old Knebworth N Loop (3.1 miles). The first six sections and the final three sections are the same. But this walk includes another eight sections crossing an interesting area of farmland to the north and west of Knebworth House where the farmer has taken the trouble to erect information boards alongside the footpaths explaining what is growing or grazing in the fields and why the land is being used for each particular farming activity. It's worth doing these extra few miles just to read the signs.

Several fields have been left uncultivated, resulting in an abundance of wild flowers, bees, and butterflies. We saw several Speckled Wood and Meadow Brown butterflies along this stretch. You will also pass through woodland with three ancient burial barrows from the Bronze Age and Roman period - all listed by Historic England. As with Walk 76, this walk starts and finishes at the Lytton Arms.

Walk 155: Ickleford Loop

7.5 miles (12 km) with 230 ft of ascent

 

This walk is mainly flat, following well-defined paths across the rolling countryside of northwest Hertfordshire. The route crosses Toot Hill motte and bailey castle and shrunken medieval village at Pirton, passes three pubs, and is close to two more. We have marked a well-positioned bench at roughly the halfway mark which makes an ideal spot for a picnic.

Walk 154: Whitwell Loop

7.2 miles (11.5 km) with 600ft of ascent

 

This walk circles the village of Whitwell, following footpaths, bridleways, and byways, over rolling hills with views across open countryside. It has a fair amount of up and down as it crosses the River Mimram twice before dropping down towards Kimpton then looping back. The walk starts and finishes at The Bull Inn, Whitwell, then passes close to The Strathmore Arms at St Paul's Walden.