Berkhamsted

The former Town Hall

I met up with my friend Chris for another of our ongoing series of walks in the Chilterns. This one starts at the station and I was staggered to discover when researching it right by the station are the ruins of Berkhamsted Castle. It was founded in Norman times and was of the well-known motte-and-bailey type. Hands up those who know which was the motte and which was the bailey! Happily Wikipedia has the answer: "A motte-and-bailey castle is a fortification with a wooden or stone keep situated on a raised earthwork called a motte, accompanied by an enclosed courtyard, or bailey."At Berkhamsted the motte is still plainly visible at one end of the site as are the straggling remains of the stone wall which surrounded the bailey.

We were most surprised by how large the castle was. The bailey was normally surrounded by a defensive ditch (not usually a moat) and Berkhamsted is unusual in having two ditches, which can still be clearly seen.

We headed round the perimeter of the castle and up a hillside and then along a ridge. There were nice views back down to the town and across to a ridge on the other side but it was too hazy to be worth a photo.

We descended back to the road and climbed a bit more to reach a war memorial. This commemorates the work of the Inns of Court Officers Training Corps which trained more than 12,000 officers during the First World War. It took me a moment to realise that this did not imply that all the offers came from the Inns of Court. We saw a sign nearby to the trenches which were used for this work.

We now walked a cross a golf  course to reach the hamlet of Frithsden, where we manfully resisted the temptations of the attractive pub and of the winery, which was open for tastings. We did stop however to admire the wonderful Little Manor whose upper storeys are covered in pargeting, decorative plasterwork. We saw a wonderful example in Ipswich called the Ancient House.

The house is believed to date from 1513 and a plaque on the right of the facade records a restoration in 1879 by Lady Marion Alford and her son Earl Brownlow.  The coat of arms is that of the Brownlow family.

We followed a field-edge path towards Nettleden and as we descended admired the gently curving valley ahead with a handsome beech tree proudly standing in the middle. I included the pink horse box in my picture for a splash of colour.

We followed the winding valley path past the tree and were making good progress until it suddenly disappeared.

The section was very hard work, but eventually we arrived at the outskirts of Ashridge, where we turned sharply left and climbed a grassy area crossed Berkhamsted Common and eventually entered Frithsden Beeches, a very pleasant area of woodland. We emerged into open country and walked back to the station.

I wanted to have a quick look at the town and crossed the bridge over the Grand Union Canal ...

... to reach the attractive High Street, with a nice miscellany of building from the 16th century onwards. To the left there was the Old Town Hall and Market Place (see photo at the head of this post). It is a rather picturesque building of 1859 by E B Lamb. In the other direction along the High St are the John Sayer Almshouses of 1684. Sayer was the Chief Cook to King Charles II. This sounds fairly modest, but he was able to leave £1000 in his will to pay for the almshouses.

Conditions: grey, drab.

Distance: 7.75 miles.

Map: Explorer 181 (Chiltern Hills North).

From: Walking in the Chilterns (Cicerone)

Rating: four stars.

Ivinghoe Beacon and Aldbury

Looking south from Ivinghoe Beacon

I met up with my friend Chris for this lovely circular walk. The first part repeats the Ivinghoe Beacon to Wigginton section of the Ridgeway which I did last year: I have tried to avoid taking the same pictures again. The view above shows the Ridgeway stretching out before us.

We walked ahead, crossed a road and continued along Steps Hill to pass Instone Hole on the right.

This winding combe is a very attractive feature and this time I noticed (but only because Chris pointed it out) that there is a windmill in the middle of the large field in the background.

We headed then across open ground to cross a lane which is also the route of the Icknield Way. This is the view back to Ivinghoe Beacon.

We climbed Pitstone Hill and skirted Aldbury Nowers, a series of slopes which are now a nature reserve. Like last year, it was too late to see much in the way of butterflies.

After this we left the Ridgeway and headed east into Aldbury, first passing the church of St John the Baptist. The chancel dates back to the 13th century.

The centre of the village features the old Manor House overlooking the duck pond and stocks. We had an excellent lunch at the Greyhound pub.

We left Aldbury following a track which climbed quite steeply up to Pitstone Common and the Bridgewater Monument.

This monument to Francis Egerton, the third Duke of Bridgewater, a pioneer of the development of canals, was designed by Sir Jeffry Wyattville and erected in 1832.

The monument is within the Ashridge estate and the next stage of the walk involved following a winding track through the woods along the perimeter of the estate. Although we were quite high (200 metres or so) we could see little for the trees. Eventually we worked out that these were mostly ash trees and that we were we on a ridge - ah! Ashridge!

At length we emerged into open country and admired the open panorama to the right (slightly north of east). We were very struck by the animal carved out of the chalk of Dunstable Downs. It was the White Lion.

It is associated with the nearby Whipsnade Zoo and dates only from 1933. Only a couple of weeks ago I was looking at the much older white horse near Osmington in Dorset, created in honour of George III.

I asked myself why I didn't notice the White Lion on last year's Ridgeway walk. The picture above shows it very clearly at the end of Gallows Hill, which heads off east from Ivinghoe Beacon. I dug out last year's picture from about the same spot for comparison.

I zoomed in further today, but the Lion was definitely there last year, albeit rather less distinct. It looks as though he has been refurbished during the year.

Conditions: warm and quite sunny.

Distance: 7 miles or so.

From: Chilterns and Thames Valley (Pathfinder Guides), although we started in a different place and did the walk in the reverse direction.

Map: Explorer 181 (Chiltern Hills North).

Rating: four and a half stars.

Wigginton to Wendover (The Ridgeway 2)

The Ionic portico in Tring Park

Having started this new walk project only last week, it was great to be able to continue so soon. We resumed the walk in Wigginton and quickly entered Tring Park, immediately taking a detour to investigate the Greek temple we could down see a track to the right. It was in fact just a portico which was once attached to a summer house.

We turned back to continue a along a very appealing tree-lined drive.

Soon a gap in the trees provided a view over Tring and the surrounding countryside. The mansion which presides over Tring Park is visible in the centre. The house dates back to the 17th century and was the work of no less a figure than Wren, but it was remodelled by the Rothschild family who acquired it in the late 19th century.

Leaving the park, we followed a road for a while through the hamlet of Hastoe and then entered the long, narrow Pavis Wood. It was the first of several very pleasant mainly beech woods.

Then it was across fields and touching the corner of Wendover woods we followed a long gulley, winding downhill.

 Soon we passed the impressive beechwood drive to The Hale, a house of 1743 according to Pevsner.

The track we were on led into Wendover and St Mary's church: early 14th century, but with the exterior mainly the result of restoration by G E Street in 1869. The churchyard with its large yews was very appealing.

From here we followed a stream into Wendover where we emerged near the charming Clock Tower of 1842. The sheets of wood stacked to its right do rather detract from its appearance.

Opposite is a building now called the Town House, but originally the Literary Institute of 1862.

Pevsner describes it as "neither good nor minor", but I think this is rather harsh. The gothic windows are very attractive, especially those to the left of the door.

Finally up the attractive High St for lunch at the Red Lion, a splendid old coaching inn, and back to the nearby car park.

Conditions: cloudy, but becoming sunnier.

Distance: 6.5 miles (11.8 covered so far).

Map: Explorer 181 (Chiltern Hills North).

Rating: four stars.

Hatfield House

Hatfield House

Following our established policy, we decided to visit Hatfield House on our way back from a visit to Cambridge. Last year we did a walk around Audley End, a similarly magnificent Jacobean house. This time it was not possible to walk around the perimeter, but we found a lovely 3 mile walk within the park on the Hatfield House website, which we did after a quick tour of the house and gardens.

You walk along the drive and then down a slope into woodland - first broad leaved trees and then pine. There was a surprising amount of traffic noise as you approached the edge of the park. After a mile or so you come to the Broadwater, an area of the River Lea which was dammed to provide power for a water mill. What appears to be the left bank in the photo is in fact an island, which boasts twenty species of oak. It really is a very pretty spot.



You walk along the bank for a way and then turn away through woodland to reach the castle folly at the end of an estate road. It dates from the 1780s, although the brick wall is older (1633) and surrounds the secret garden.



The route from here goes parallel to the Broadwater and then returns to it. A short way along the bank, the imaginatively named Red Bridge marks the end of the lake, with the mill pool behind it.



Up close it is revealed to be closed and in a poor state of repair.

After leaving the woodland, the next section is across farmland and you could easily forget you were in the park of a great house. This leads into more conventional parkland: cut grass, scattered trees, saplings in wooden enclosures to protect them from the deer.

Finally the rear facade of the house comes into view and the walk is complete.



Conditions: warm and sunny.

Distance: 3 miles.

Rating: three and half stars.


Hatfield House

Hatfield House was built in 1611 by Robert Cecil, first Earl of Salisbury and Chief Minister to James I. It is still the home of the Cecil family.

I had not realised that there was also an Old Palace a couple of hundred yards from the house. It was built between 1485 and 1497 for John Morton, bishop of Ely. It was confiscated by Henry VIII after the dissolution of the monasteries and it was here that Elizabeth I spent much of her childhood. The building which is visible today is the former Great Hall, just one wing of the palace.



It is a fascinating building. The dark red brick and church-like appearance put you in mind of Victorian rather than Tudor architecture.