Hemsta two

Verified Slow Way

Verified by 100.00% of reviewers

The route is mostly well laid out and accessible one or two point just outside St Albans at Park Wood there are a few fallen or felled trees across the route making it fine for walkers but less than ideal for cyclists.
However some kind person has kept the route through the woods extra interesting by creating faces on the tree stumps. Delightful.

I walked from Hemel to St Albans. Overall it was very easy to navigate and relatively easy underfoot, with a few sections where it was slightly muddy.
There was a lot of road in the middle of the walk (although I fail to see a way to avoid this!). I met around 25 vehicles in total along the lane, and was usually able to duck into a passing place - they were at regular intervals throughout.
Generally the route is well-signposted.
The walk is not too strenuous; one notable hill near Abbot's Hill School and a couple of other ups and downs. Overall very enjoyable.

I walked this from St Albans to Berkhamstead on a grey and minutely drizzly morning. (March 5th, 2023)

Leaving the station at St. Albans I walked along its shopping streets for a while, before going past its magnificent cathedral (photo #1) and into Verulamium Park (photo #2). There are still some Roman things to see, such as mosaics and remnants of the old city walls (photo #3), by which I left the park on the Western side.

On the other side of King Harry Lane sits a newish development which I had to cross through narrowish public footpaths to be able to go up a hill (photo #4) through farmland to the A414, which I crossed with a bridge. On the other side sits Park Wood, with many (incorrect) signs saying "private land, no access". The council recently has established a few new public footpaths in the wood, which would have allowed me to take a little shortcut. I did not find out about it after I had already crossed it and ended up on a narrow lane.

I did follow the new footpaths for a bit to avoid the lane, but after not much distance my only option was to actually follow the lane (photo #5). There wasn't much room in the verge, but there was not a lot of traffic, which could have made walking along here dangerous. A blind summit was a little on the scarier side (photo #6).

From Potters Crouch to Bedmond my route went along more lanes (photo #7, #9), and to be honest, this was the least nice part of the walk. Unfortunately the extensive network of public footpaths in England does not always help with the directions you're trying to walk in.

On the other side of Church Hill in Bedmond, the route continued along the edge of a field (photo #10), followed by a public footpath sign pointing straight across a newly ploughed field. I always feel a little bad about crossing these, but it was my only way through, and I saw other people walking on a different footpath across the same field. By looking through my camera's zoom lens, I found the exit point on the other side of the field, and went for it in a (mostly) straight line. I hope that the next walker can follow in my footsteps.

After going around Abbot's Hill school's vast estate, I ended up along the Grand Union Canal (photo #12, #13, #14) followed until you cross under station road, where you can then make a bee line for the station.

Not a 5 star route, as there was a fair bit of lane walking near Bedmond.

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