Bunpuc two

Slow Way not verified yet. Verify Bunpuc here.

Edited To Add:
Someone has reviewed BunPuc 1 and says the A10 crossing on that route is too dangerous to use. The traffic and speed will be much the same as the A10 crossing used on this route near Westmill, so this route should probably also be flagged up.

Thinking back to the other options I considered at the time I think any pleasant route with a fairly safe crossing of the A10 will actually be longer than BunPuc 1, not shorter. If heading slightly west you can use Aspenden Rd like this route, and near Puckeridge perhaps a footpath which starts where Cambridge Lane meets Standon Hill, this goes below the A10 and joins Ermine St near the junction with Beggarmans Lane heading towards St Edmunds College, when you'd have to walk along the road, albeit probably a fairly quiet one. This could be joined up with the bulk of the BunPuc 1 route. If you head east from Buntingford it would be out to Hare St and then roughly south to Braughing on quiet paths. But you can't approach Puckeridge from Braughing without walking along the B1368 / Station Rd at some point. I don't know what the traffic will be like but to avoid it you must go even further west and come into Puckeridge from the south east near the schools.
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I made this route after reading a Slow Ways blog which asked for shorter versions of some particularly in-direct routes that had been identified. Bunpuc One is actually about as efficient as an off-road/quiet road route can be in this area, but this might suit some people.

This route emphasises being direct but without walking along the A10 the whole way. The quiet first section is along a riverside path out of Buntingford, then small lanes past Aspenden and Westmill. After Westmill the route joins the A10 which has a pedestrian pavement. Unfortunately it is on the opposite side. It's probably best to walk down the west side a little way along an informal path to a bus stop in a small layby. This is a slight rise in the road so you'll have slightly better views of the traffic in both directions which is perhaps why the bus stop is just there.
**ETA using this road crossing is probably a bad idea, see the first review of BunPuc 1 which crosses the same road just a few miles further south.**

After crossing you just follow the road down to the Puckeridge turn off, then it's a short way along some less busy roads into the middle of town. The pavement on the A10 is right next to the road for a while, but at least when the A10 becomes a dual carriageway the pavement is set back and separated. At least it'd be easy to navigate, just follow the path all the way to the Puckeridge junction then head into Puckeridge along quieter .

Rest points: Pub at Aspenden. Tea room or pub/guesthouse at Westmill. Pearce's Farm Shop cafe on the A10 opposite the turning for East Herts Golf Course or a food van on layby just to the south.

Apart from it's directness this route does have one clear advantage over Bunpuc One as that crosses the A10 twice but in neither place is there is a bridge/ underpass/ traffic island/ etc. This route does use the pavement beside Aspenden Road for the northern crossing point. BunPuc One could probably be adapted to use it as well.

If you want an extremely direct route you could just walk along the A10 pavement the whole way. At least you wouldn't actually have to cross the A10 at any point. It's only 6.8km but would probably feel a lot longer along such a busy road, I wouldn't do it.

https://beta.slowways.org/Stories/Page/michael-tormey-how-direct-are-the-slow-ways-routes-really

Edited To Add:
Someone has reviewed BunPuc 1 and says the A10 crossing on that route is too dangerous to use. The traffic and speed will be much the same as the A10 crossing used on this route near Westmill, so this route should probably also be flagged up.

Thinking back to the other options I considered at the time I think any pleasant route with a fairly safe crossing of the A10 will actually be longer than BunPuc 1, not shorter. If heading slightly west you can use Aspenden Rd like this route, and near Puckeridge perhaps a footpath which starts where Cambridge Lane meets Standon Hill, this goes below the A10 and joins Ermine St near the junction with Beggarmans Lane heading towards St Edmunds College, when you'd have to walk along the road, albeit probably a fairly quiet one. This could be joined up with the bulk of the BunPuc 1 route. If you head east from Buntingford it would be out to Hare St and then roughly south to Braughing on quiet paths. But you can't approach Puckeridge from Braughing without walking along the B1368 / Station Rd at some point. I don't know what the traffic will be like but to avoid it you must go even further west and come into Puckeridge from the south east near the schools.
_______________________________________

I made this route after reading a Slow Ways blog which asked for shorter versions of some particularly in-direct routes that had been identified. Bunpuc One is actually about as efficient as an off-road/quiet road route can be in this area, but this might suit some people.

This route emphasises being direct but without walking along the A10 the whole way. The quiet first section is along a riverside path out of Buntingford, then small lanes past Aspenden and Westmill. After Westmill the route joins the A10 which has a pedestrian pavement. Unfortunately it is on the opposite side. It's probably best to walk down the west side a little way along an informal path to a bus stop in a small layby. This is a slight rise in the road so you'll have slightly better views of the traffic in both directions which is perhaps why the bus stop is just there.
**ETA using this road crossing is probably a bad idea, see the first review of BunPuc 1 which crosses the same road just a few miles further south.**

After crossing you just follow the road down to the Puckeridge turn off, then it's a short way along some less busy roads into the middle of town. The pavement on the A10 is right next to the road for a while, but at least when the A10 becomes a dual carriageway the pavement is set back and separated. At least it'd be easy to navigate, just follow the path all the way to the Puckeridge junction then head into Puckeridge along quieter .

Rest points: Pub at Aspenden. Tea room or pub/guesthouse at Westmill. Pearce's Farm Shop cafe on the A10 opposite the turning for East Herts Golf Course or a food van on layby just to the south.

Apart from it's directness this route does have one clear advantage over Bunpuc One as that crosses the A10 twice but in neither place is there is a bridge/ underpass/ traffic island/ etc. This route does use the pavement beside Aspenden Road for the northern crossing point. BunPuc One could probably be adapted to use it as well.

If you want an extremely direct route you could just walk along the A10 pavement the whole way. At least you wouldn't actually have to cross the A10 at any point. It's only 6.8km but would probably feel a lot longer along such a busy road, I wouldn't do it.

https://beta.slowways.org/Stories/Page/michael-tormey-how-direct-are-the-slow-ways-routes-really