Walk 88: Ermine Street East Loop

7 miles (11.3 km) with 138m total ascent

 

This walk takes in five nature reserves, passes the site of an ancient moated encampment, and ends with a two-mile stretch along Ermine Street, a former Roman road, which passes through deep and shady woodland. In between are rolling hills with open views. There is one short part where you pass under the A10 and back, but either side there are pretty paths and you soon forget the road.

Directions

Map for Walk 88: Ermine Street East Loop
Created on Map Hub by Hertfordshire Walker
Elements © Thunderforest © OpenStreetMap contributors
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 Ermine Street Martin’s Green car park off Cock Lane (location - https://w3w.co/shovels.making.habit). Head N along Brickendon Liberty Restricted Byway 24 for 250m until you reach Spital Brook (location - https://w3w.co/wonderfully.begun.town). Cross a footbridge then turn right and climb slightly to reach a gate (location - ), see image below.

The gate into Hoddesdon Park Wood

2: Go through the gate into Hoddesdon Park Wood. Take the right-hand fork and follow the signposts with the green arrow and white admiral butterfly. Follow the path E with the stream on your right and the woodland on your left.

Head east with the stream on your right

You will cross a number of elevated walkways. On your left you will see what is left of an ancient moated site.

The ancient moated site in Hoddesdon Park Wood

The information board for the ancient moated site

Continue over another footbridge until you reach a left turn.

3: Turn left on this path and walk N for 120m looking out for a wooden footbridge and path on your right see image below. Take this path and head NE following the green top butterfly signs with the purple ring.

Take the wooden footbridge and follow the green-topped way-marked signs

4: When you reach a footpath T-junction turn left and head N for 100m until you come to a footpath crossing where you turn right and head NNE uphill.

5: After 130m you reach a wooden gate (location - https://w3w.co/reds.truth.glaze), go through and turn right on the Hertfordshire Way, Hoddesdon Restricted Byway 23.

Go through the gate and head SE down the track to Hoddesdon Lodge

Head SE to Hoddesdon Lodge, a pretty farmhouse surrounded by fields. Walk to the right of the farm, and head SE for 240m on Hoddesdon Footpath 24 across the fields heading diagonally until you reach the SE corner of the field.

6: At the corner of the field turn left for 10m to reach a gate (location - https://w3w.co/themes.rings.guides), see image below.

Turn right at the gate and then immediately left through the underpass

Go through this gate, turn right on Hoddesdon Bridleway 25, and then turn left taking Hoddesdon Footpath 10 that goes under the A10. Continue heading E along this path for 780m with the woodland on your right and the field on your left. At one point the path crosses an elevated wooden walkway that is fenced in (location - https://w3w.co/puzzle.pints.caked), see image below.

Continue east along the elevated walkway

Continue heading E until you reach the corner of field (location - https://w3w.co/affair.moment.anyone).

7: Go through the gate at the end of the field (see image below) and turn left and follow the path as it goes NE for 110m to Barclay Park.

The gate mentioned in point 7

When you reach the park turn left and then immediately right just before a gate and, keeping the woodland on your left, walk NNE with the park on your right and curve round to your left keeping the woodland on your left and walking NNW until you reach the lane (location - https://w3w.co/myself.stress.salads).

8: Turn left on the lane and walk NW for 80m looking out for Hoddesdon Byway 7A on your right (location - https://w3w.co/teams.began.cars). Take this byway and head N for 210m going through the tunnel under the A10 spur roads.

9: When you emerge at the other side veer left and follow Bramble Lane, Hoddesdon Restricted Byway 6, NW for 240m before the path heads NNE and then N and NE for another 630m along the eastern side of the A10 to the B1197 (location - https://w3w.co/wakes.stray.alive).

10: When you reach the B1197, Hertford Road, turn left and head W under the A10. Once under the A10, cross the road and take the footpath on your right immediately after the A10 underpass (location - https://w3w.co/final.decreased.aside). This is Hoddesdon Footpath 5, which you follow NE and then N away from the road with the stream on your right and continue uphill for 500m. Go through a metal gate and continue heading N with the hedgerow on your right and the fields on your left.

11: Leave the field at the gate in the NE corner of the field (location - https://w3w.co/hang.fails.fluid) and turn left heading NW with the hedge on your left and field on your right. Continue along this footpath, Hertford Heath Footpath 19, until it reaches a gate. Go through the gate and head N to Hailey Lane (location - https://w3w.co/metro.cling.crass).

12: At Hailey Lane turn right and then first left taking Hertford Heath Bridleway 14 (location - https://w3w.co/maybe.gazed.offer) that goes through the grounds of Haileybury College. The path cuts through the college grounds in a NW direction until it reaches a path leaving the college grounds at the southern edge of woodland (location - https://w3w.co/bolts.orchestra.frosted).

Leave the grounds of Haileybury College and head NW through the woods

13: Take Hertford Heath Bridleway 17, and continue NW for 640m with the fields on your right and woodland on your left. Continue heading NW ignoring paths to your left and right until you reach Hertford Heath Bridleway 4 (location - https://w3w.co/voted.remedy.fines).

The left turn mentioned in point 13

14:Turn left on this lane and head SSW until the lane becomes a track, Hertford Heath Bridleway 5, through Hertford Heath nature reserve (70 acres) which is run by Herts and Middlesex Wildlife Trust (HMWT) until you reach Heath Lane. Continue heading SW until you reach the B1197, London Road (location - https://w3w.co/cage.lung.mason).

15: Cross the road and walk past The College Arms on your right (we had a lovely lunch and pint of real ale here on the day we did this walk) and continue SW along Hertford Heath Bridleway 5. Continue until you meet Ermine Street (location - https://w3w.co/alarm.frosted.nuns).

* If you want you could take the track on your right heading into another part of Hertford Heath and follow it round to point 16 below. See yellow detour on the maps above and below.

Turn right at the sign and continue heading SW across Hertford Heath

Follow the track as it heads SW across Hertford Heath

16: When you reach Ermine Street, a Roman road, which is also Hertford Heath Restricted Byway 8 at this point, turn left and head S.

* Look out for the entrance to Balls Wood, another HMWT reserve on your right. This has many way-marked paths (144.5 acres). There is another HMWT reserve on your right soon after Balls Wood. This is Hobbyhorse Wood, also signposted with paths (9.14 acres).

To continue the walk head S on Ermine Street for 2.7km along Hertford Heath Restricted Byway 8 which eventually becomes Brickendon Liberty Restricted Byway 24.

Head south down Ermine Street for two miles back to the car park

17: Your path crosses the Mangrove Lane before continuing S through Hoddesdon Park Wood, managed by The Woodland Trust.

After crossing the brook which you crossed it earlier in the walk (location - https://w3w.co/wonderfully.begun.town), look out for the Danemead reserve, managed by the HMWT. This 13.8 acre wood also has way-marked paths and information boards. Well worth exploring.

Cross the stream by the same bridge you crossed at the start of the walk

Continue S back to the car park on Cock Lane.

Interactive map

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