Stapot one

Verified Slow Way

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We walked from Potters bar to St Albans.
Firstly out the back of the Station alongside the track takes you out of the town quickly. This is followed by a riverside walk, do not go into the park but go through a smaller gap onto the north bank which will take you into open farm land. There are narrow kissing gates and barriers all along the route. Going alongside the A1 was a bit noisy but soon into South Mimms and along a very quiet Blackhorse Lane. The path continues up, more steeply, between brick pillars, into the woods towards the ridge. Lovely views from the top, you can see St Albans in the distance. Then downhill through grassy muddy fields and along a horse ride (it is winter despite the sunshine). Dive into a narrow wooded path and out by some industrial units towards a farm with stables. Once past the farm you head through a wood towards new and landscaped gravel and sand pits. Glimpses of lakes can be seen through the trees. There is a fishery with toilets and picnic tables.
Another quiet lane after the A414 crossing takes you through Tyttenhanger Village and across more farmland to the outskirts of St Albans and the Station. The City center is another 900m further on.
A lovely and varied walk with pubs and views.

We walked Potters Bar to St Albans. I found it a very enjoyable route with a mix of fields, woodland, lanes and tracks, as well as urban residential estates in St Albans.

As well as farms we passed a large stables, some smelly anaerobic digestion tanks, an air museum, a gravel extraction conveyor belt, a fishery, two pubs and several horses. We heard a skylark, a woodpecker, and saw red kites and the first butterfly of spring (red admiral).
At about the half way point there’s a marvellous view of the rest of the route all the way to St Albans, which is very inspiring and motivating!

Underfoot was mostly good path, road or pavement; some muddier track; and one extra muddy field (apparently this dries out as the year progresses). There were no crazy pavement-less B roads and all the road crossings were safe; once or twice we had to wait for gaps but not for long.

Pubs at South Mimms and Tyttenhanger, also a picnic area and WC at the Willows Lakes fishery.

No hesitation in verifying this route for inclusion in the Slow Ways network.

I walked this route from Potters Bar to St Albans.

Pros:
- The start of the route follows the rail line for a bit, a treat for all fellow trainspotters out there!
- The route does a fairly good job navigating some pretty significant large road barriers, with a good safe crossing under the A1.
- The countryside views are fantastic, and the scenery is extremely varied. There's open fields, woodland, water features, hills, and quiet residential areas. It's a great mixed bag that's always interesting. We even saw a few planes showing off from the (we assume) nearby air museum! There's also this interesting feature of the quarry conveyor belt (picture 11).
- There's a pub in Tyttenhanger and South Mimms, providing good rest points (probably the middle third is a bit longer than the first and last, but these two pubs roughly split the route into three).
- The short bits of road walking are actually ok; I found them properly comfortable, and I generally dislike road walking more than most.

Cons:
- Some stretches of path were overgrown, but this was really quite rare.
- Stretches of the route near and along major roads were noisy.
- Along Coursers Road, you can take the bridleway on the north side of the road through the New Plantation, so this isn't quite as drawn, but it's FAR safer than trying to walk along Coursers Road.
- Walking in Feburary, there was a fair bit of mud. It was always navigable and we never got properly soaked, but it was wet.
- The crossing of the A414 is uncontrolled and it is a dual carriageway. There is a median, so you only have to cross two lanes at a time, but cars go fast here. We found a gaps after waiting less than a minute, but it was just a bit unpleasant! (photo 10)
- Not the route's fault, but the St Albans High Street is on the other side of the station, so if you're tired (like we were!) you might miss out on seeing the city.

These cons are really quite minor, all things considered. It was an awesome walk, with lots to see and explore. We had a lot of fun walking it and would definitely recommend it. A great Slow Ways route!.

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