Walk 8: Wormley West End Loop

3.1 miles (5 km) with 91m total ascent

 

This is a pleasant short walk through Broxbourne Woods, including Bencroft Wood and Wormley Wood. The route passed The Woodman & Olive pub. There is a fair amount of up and down, and some paths, particularly in the woodland, can be muddy. The starting point is 3.3 miles W of Broxbourne station by road.

Directions

Map for Walk 8: Wormley West End Loop
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Created on Map Hub by Hertfordshire Walker
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There is an interactive map below the directions

Those with GPS devices can download GPX or KML files for this walk. We've added What3Words location references for those who use that system. If you print these walks you might want to use the green PrintFriendly icon at the bottom of these directions to delete elements such as photographs.

1: Park in the Bencroft Wood West car park (location - https://w3w.co/figure.trains.builds) then take the path that heads W out of the car park to the right of a noticeboard, see image below (location - https://w3w.co/coast.flood.wisely).

Take the path to the right of the noticeboard out of the car park

Follow this path first W then S crossing two elevated wooden walkways, see image below.

The wooden boardwalk at the start of the walk

Head SSW then SSE across the walkways and down a track for 240m until you reach a junction where you meet Brickendon Liberty bridleway 29 (location - https://w3w.co/memo.manage.jaws), see image below.

Keep right following bridleway 29 SW then S

2: Keep right at the junction and follow Brickendon Liberty bridleway 29 SW for 30m until you reach a noticeboard on the right (location - https://w3w.co/thus.cloak.when), see image below.

Broxbourne Woods National Nature Reserve sign

Keep left at the noticeboard then head S for 190m, still on Brickendon Liberty bridleway 29, until you reach a wooden footbridge over Wormleybury Brook (location - https://w3w.co/oldest.ends.spices), see image below.

The footbridge over Wormleybury Brook

3: Cross the bridge then keep left heading uphill and S, still on Brickendon Liberty bridleway 29, for 360m until the bridleway swings to the right then heads W for 340m until it swings left again. At this point you will see a coal tax marker on your right (location - https://w3w.co/vocal.slips.once), see image below.

The coal tax marker at point 4

* If you had travelled the same way 170 years earlier you might have found queues of people, many with carts loaded with coal, wine, clothing and food, haggling with the taxman. The coal tax markers were erected following the Coal Duties Act of 1851 at 250 points 20 miles from the City of London. So this quiet bridleway in the middle of Broxbourne Woods was once a busy thoroughfare. I wrote a feature about the posts for The North Mymms History Project some years ago if you are interested in knowing more.

4: Keep left at the coal tax marker then head S, now on Cheshunt bridleway 76, for 340m until you reach a track on the left (location - https://w3w.co/kept.icon.erase), see image below.

Cheshunt UCR1 turning left off Cheshunt bridleway 76

5: Turn left on the track which is Cheshunt UCR1 (unmetalled, unclassed, country road), then head E for 730m until the track becomes a metalled lane (location - https://w3w.co/pose.wished.blend). Continue heading E for 260m until you reach a footpath on the left (location - https://w3w.co/worked.lists.back), see image below.

Turn left on Cheshunt footpath 27 then head N

6: Turn left on this footpath, Cheshunt footpath 27 then head N for 270m until the footpath bends to the right then heads E for 35m before bending to the left then reaching a gate (location - https://w3w.co/hurry.vets.bend), see image below.

The gate mentioned in point 6 above

Go through the gate then head NNE for 280m, now on Brickendon Liberty footpath 18, continuing until you reach West End Road (location - https://w3w.co/likes.recent.coats).

7: Turn right on West End Road then head E for 480m until you reach The Woodman & Olive pub on the right (location - https://w3w.co/keys.form.harder), see image below.

The Woodman & Olive, Wormley West End

8: Turn left on the footpath immediately opposite The Woodman & Olive then head NNW on Brickendon Liberty footpath 21 for 360m until you reach a gate leading into woodland (location - https://w3w.co/glee.vocab.laws), see image below.

The gate into the woodland - point 8

9: Go through the gate, turn right, then head NE for 15m to a junction (location - https://w3w.co/credit.volunteered.areas), see image below.

Take the left fork at the junction then head W

Take the left fork at the junction then head W then NW for 90m until you reach a split in the path (location - https://w3w.co/then.agree.fell), see image below.

The split in the path mentioned above and below

Keep left at the split in the path then head WNW for 50m until you reach West End Road (location - https://w3w.co/flows.spirit.plans). Turn right on West End Road then head N for 35m until you reach a gate leading to a track on the left (location - https://w3w.co/remove.looks.study), see image below.

Broxbourne Woods NNR Trail heading W

10: Go through the gate then head W along Broxbourne Woods National Nature Reserve (NNR) Trail for 830m until you reach a junction (location - https://w3w.co/foam.flames.wished), see image below.

Follow the direction on the sign back to the car park

11: Keep straight at this junction then follow the track NNW for 120m back to the car park where the walk started.

Interactive map

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