Welcome to Hertfordshire Walker

CPRE Hertfordshire double award winner 2022

Walk 112: Sarratt West Loop

5.2 miles (8.3 km) with 114m total ascent


The River Chess from the Chess Valley Walk Image by Hertfordshire Walker released via Creative Commons BY-NC-SA 4.0
The River Chess along the Chess Valley Walk
A lovely walk from the village of Sarratt down to the River Chess then following the river NW and up through woodland taking in parts of The Chiltern Way and The Chess Valley Walk. There is a lot of up and down, so this walk is not for those unable to negotiate steep hills. There are two pubs in Sarratt close to the start/finish point, The Boot and The Cricketers, both serving food, and there is another pub along the way, The Cock Inn, which also serves food.

Directions


Map for Walk 112: Sarratt West 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 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.

Park in the village of Sarratt. There are places around The Green (location - https://w3w.co/ledge.cars.editor). Once parked, walk to the SE corner of The Green looking out for a footpath on your right 30m beyond the village post office (location - https://w3w.co/jungle.feast.demand). This is Sarratt footpath 30.

1: Turn right and take this path heading SW for 30m until you reach the last cottage on the right. Just beyond the cottage is a gate into a field (location - https://w3w.co/script.noise.hooks). Go through the gate and continue heading SW, still on Sarratt footpath 30, for 530m until you enter woodland (location - https://w3w.co/punks.chop.boring). Continue along Sarratt footpath 30 through the woodland for 170m until you reach a gate leading to a track (location - https://w3w.co/issue.punks.shield).

2: Cross the track, go through another gate opposite, and take Sarratt footpath 24 heading SSE for 440m until you reach a gate leading into a churchyard (location - https://w3w.co/limp.spider.singer).

3: Go through the gate, now on Sarratt footpath 53, and head SE through the churchyard for 70m until you reach a lane and a row of cottages (location - https://w3w.co/sorry.major.future).
* At this point you could turn left if you want to visit The Cock Inn (location - https://w3w.co/fault.played.tasty).
Turn right, go through a gate, and head SW on Sarratt footpath 40. You will cross a track (location - https://w3w.co/builds.riches.latter), go through another gate, and continue heading SW and downhill for 410m until you reach a gate and, beyond that, a footpath junction (location - https://w3w.co/lanes.veal.zealous).

4: Turn left on the Chess Valley Walk, also Sarratt footpath 41, and head SE for 220m until you reach New Road (location - https://w3w.co/zebra.tins.trend). Cross New Road and continue heading SE, still on Sarratt footpath 41, for another 160m until the path bends to the right (location - https://w3w.co/lion.leaves.start). Turn right here and head SSW and downhill for 170m until you reach a boardwalk leading to a footbridge across the River Chess (location - https://w3w.co/zeal.ticket.arena) beyond which you will reach another footpath junction (location - https://w3w.co/fever.brains.yoga).

A paddling spot along the River Chess between points 5 & 6 below Image by Hertfordshire Walker released via Creative Commons BY-NCSA 4.0
A paddling spot along the River Chess between points 5 & 6
5: Turn right and follow Chorleywood footpath 2 NW for 300m until you reach North Hill at Bridge Cottage (location - https://w3w.co/crowd.keen.edit). Cross the road and continue heading NW, now on Chorleywood footpath 1 for 650m until you reach The Chiltern Way (location - https://w3w.co/claim.loved.wooden).

6: Ignore the footpaths to your left and right and instead continue heading NW along the W side of the River Chess and through woodland for 990m. Your path will bend to the left and head E until it reaches the end of the woodland (location - https://w3w.co/drums.could.fried). At this point ignore a path on your left and instead continue straight heading NW for 20m until you reach Holloways Lane (location - https://w3w.co/lives.skill.loved).

The footbridge over the River Chess mentioned in point 7
7: Turn right on Holloways Lane and head NE for 110m until you cross the River Chess on a wooden footbridge (location - https://w3w.co/paint.neck.ledge). Immediately after the footbridge continue heading NE first along a concrete track and then taking the footpath on your right just before the farm buildings (location - https://w3w.co/papers.ranch.owners). This is Sarratt footpath 36 which you follow N for 1.6km, mostly through woodland, until you reach a junction with The Chiltern Way at RoseHall Farm (location - https://w3w.co/boxing.souk.breed).

8: Here you turn right on Sarratt footpath 25 and head E then SE for 410m until you reach a footpath on the right (location - https://w3w.co/behind.rents.bounty). Take this path, Sarratt footpath 24, and head SE for 650m until you reach Moor Lane (location - https://w3w.co/toys.fleet.values). Cross Moor Lane and continue heading SSE still on Sarratt footpath 24 for another 370m until you reach a footpath crossing (location - https://w3w.co/button.strong.mount).

9: Turn left and take Sarratt footpath 52 and head ENE for 40m to another junction (location - https://w3w.co/fish.novel.wonderfully) where you turn left on Sarratt footpath 27 and head NE for 470m until you reach The Green in Sarratt (location - https://w3w.co/lush.space.suffer). Turn right and retrace your steps to your car.

The Boot (location - https://w3w.co/paint.trap.ruby) and The Cricketers (location - https://w3w.co/dress.manual.escape) are both off the Green if you need refreshments at the end of your walk.

Thanks to Sophie and Mike for recommending this walk. The walk they took us on was a 3.2 miles loop with the same start and finishing point, but returned along The Chiltern Way from point 6. We extended the walk by two miles to include three woods, Mount Wood, Hanging Lane Wood, and Rosehall Wood.


Interactive map




6 comments:

  1. We enjoyed walk 112, Sarratt West Loop, which was interestingly varied, combining open fields, the River Chess and woodland.
    On a pleasant day for walking in June, we encountered various horses, a couple of herons and lovely views generally plus 3-4 fallen trees to negotiate, primarily in sections 6 and 7, but no real problem. This route provided a good mix of gentle uphill and downhill gradients.
    Easy parking was available at Sarratt Village Green as suggested. It is a pity that the footpath signs do not quote the footpath numbers mentioned here, but having downloaded the GPX file for the route to my GPX Viewer iOS app, this was not an issue.
    We enjoy looking at the Hertfordshire Walker suggestions and will continue to explore them as much as possible.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Altech,
      Thanks for the feedback. We really enjoyed this walk, too. Glad you were able to follow the route using the GPX file. I have noticed that some of the newer Hertfordshire footpath/bridleway/byway signs include the rights of way (ROW) numbers, but many of the older signs don't. I add them to the walk directions because I find it interesting to see how the ROWs cross parish boundaries. However I do warn walkers on the Walking Tips page (https://www.hertfordshirewalker.uk/p/tips.html#names) that the numbers are not always visible. I hope that with the maps, directions, photos and the GPX files it's not a great problem. Glad to hear you were able to follow the route on your app. Good to know you are enjoying the walks
      David

      Delete
  2. Really lovely walk which we did yesterday (Sat 16 April 2022): beautiful views, lovely river and many bluebells at start, halfway along the river and for the last third. Also many red kites. Will definitely repeat.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Stephen,
      Yes, another of our favourite walks. Lovely at all times of the year. I don't think we have been there for the bluebells. Good to know there is a good display.
      David

      Delete
  3. I've now done this walk a couple of times thanks to this app & it's a lovely walk. A new favourite! Thank you.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. We love that walk, too. We were introduced to that area by our son and his fiancé and really enjoy the walks we have mapped in that area. If you haven't already done so, please consider of joining our members-only Facebook group where fellow walkers are posting about their walks and sharing photos taken along the way.
      https://www.facebook.com/groups/hertfordshirewalker

      Delete

Comments and feedback
If you try any of the walks on this site, please let us know what you thought of them. You can either comment here, or on our members-only Facebook Group where walkers are sharing photographs of their walks and walking tips. Comments on our Facebook Group go live immediately, as they do on our Facebook Page. Comments here on our website are moderated, so there will be a slight delay before what you write goes live.

Supported Charity: The Trussell Trust

Supported Charity: The Trussell Trust
Supporting those locked in poverty

Search This Site