Connect Hatfield with Slow Ways
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Give a hike!Hatfield
Hertfordshire
Slow Ways linking Hatfield and Harpenden, Hertford, Newgate Street, Potters Bar, St Albans, Welwyn Garden City
England / Hertfordshire / Hatfield
Hatfield’s six Slow Ways are 79% checked
Help connect Hatfield
Many Slow Ways have several route options. Some will be better than others, or good for different reasons.
Our goal is for each Slow Way to have at least one route that is verified and surveyed. To be verified – and get its snail badge – a route needs at least three positive reviews.
Give a hike and help get a for every one of Hatfield’s Slow Ways.
Walk to Hatfield from further afield
Slow Way | Route | To do | ||||||||
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Harpenden—Hatfield
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Harhat one |
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U U |
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Double check | Distance 14km/9mi | Ascent 131m | Descent 164m | |
Hatfield—Hertford
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Hather one |
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U U |
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Double check | Distance 13km/8mi | Ascent 99m | Descent 134m | |
Hatfield—Hertford
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Hather two |
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U U |
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Double check | Distance 13km/8mi | Ascent - | Descent - | |
Hatfield—Hertford
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Hather three |
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U U |
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Survey me | Distance 16km/10mi | Ascent - | Descent - | ||
Hatfield—Newgate Street
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Hatnew one |
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4 X |
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Verify me | Distance 12km/7mi | Ascent 155m | Descent 121m | |
Hatfield—Potters Bar
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Hatpot one |
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3 X |
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Enjoy me | Distance 10km/6mi | Ascent 67m | Descent 87m | ||
Hatfield—Welwyn Garden City
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Hatwel one |
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3 X |
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Enjoy me | Distance 5km/3mi | Ascent 35m | Descent 26m | ||
Hatfield—Welwyn Garden City
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Hatwel two |
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U U |
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Pioneer me | Distance 6km/4mi | Ascent 391m | Descent 451m | ||
St Albans—Hatfield
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Stahat one |
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2 X |
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Enjoy me | Distance 9km/6mi | Ascent 60m | Descent 35m | |
St Albans—Hatfield
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Stahat two |
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2 X |
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Enjoy me | Distance 9km/6mi | Ascent - | Descent - |
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Collective progress
73% of Hatfield’s six route options are drawn, reviewed, surveyed and/or verified
10/10
9/10
5/10
5/10
17 people have contributed to Hatfield’s Slow Ways
7 people have pledged to walk and review a route
5 people have surveyed a route in Hatfield
101km out of 107km have been walked and reviewed
266km of reviews have been shared in Hatfield
Latest Updates
A pleasant route, mostly on footpaths, and the urban parts are reaonsably quiet too. You can make it a bit shorter by continuing along Station Road between Welham Green and Brookmans Park. The path by the railway line is excellent for blackberries in the summer :)...
Kathryn
Kathryn added Hatwel two, a new walk from Hatfield to Welwyn Garden City
Walk this routeThe route through Welwyn Garden City followed the main roads, and I think a quieter alternative route could be devised....
Kathryn
But the middle is really very pleasant, I even managed to find the 'missing path' mentioned by previous reviewers (forewarned is forearmed)....
Strider
The route was accurate, accessible and easy to navigate. Very easy going on paved paths. Mainly along the disused railway - The Alban Way, which is shaded by trees and very peaceful....
Hannah
The Welwyn half was fairly dull, with walking essentially one main road for a long time (Broadwater / Chequers). However, once you get to Chequers, if you walk on the other side of the road than the route, it does become pleasanter (map pictured below). Though if I wanted a slightly longer but nicer walk to Hatfield, I would walk down Parkway in WGC to Stanborugh Lakes and use the route from there....
Callum
Most of this route is on quiet tarmac or very wide byways/bridleways that are quite active from horses, motorbikes, walkers and mountain bikers....
Heather S.
Unsurprisingly for the time of year there was mud but most was very easy to walk through outside of a few short deeper bits and puddles including large one just before you get to the candlestick pub where I ended up having to skip over stones and cling to the hedgerow to get across....
Heather S.
For what this path is - a direct route between two reasonably populated towns - it is fine. Most of it is on easy to navigate cycle paths near the roadside with only one small stretch through the countryside. As mentioned the path directly across the field shown on maps is not visible, but a detour is easy....
Heather S.
This was my first Slow Ways walk on a snowy December afternoon....
Heather S.
Once we had crossed over the duel carriageway the walk took us alongside fields and used public pathways for most of the way....
Lara
This route is the same as Hather two at the beginning and end, but goes further south for the middle section in order to avoid the hairy B158 Lower Hatfield Road 500m section. This adds 3km, but it worth it - the north-south section either side of Essendon is really nice, with wooded bits and open fields, and it's a relief to be further from the A-road....
Hannah
In general the route is fine and more direct than Hather three, however I feel the road walking 500m stretch on the B158 is too dangerous. There is no pavement and blind corners (with no way of stepping off the road) on the B158 between Holwell Lane and the road to Letty Green....
Slow Ways Darren
There's a 1km walk along the A414 early on, and although there's a wide pavement/cycle path so it's not dangerous, it's still walking alongside a fast, busy road....
Hannah
danravenellison added Hather three, a new walk from Hatfield to Hertford
Walk this routeFrom the back of the station a path takes you alongside the railway before ducking left down steps, through woods and fields to Waters End before the residential streets of Welham Green....
Strider
Easy to navigate, green, flat, good quality paths, shady, suitable for all types of wheels, interesting features, benches to rest, no cars....
Strider
But fortified by a good lunch from the cafe next to the Pub I walked along a residential road that morphed into a farm track alongside open fields. There a short section walking on a quiet road before turning onto a wooded path, Hornbeam Lane. The path turns into a track, and past a stud farm, into a paved road....
Strider
This route is good, but I followed the plotted line religiously and it led me astray at the Hatfield end! You can't get from Branch Close onto the railway path. It could also be slightly more precise throughout....
mtormey
It follows the Albans Way almost the entire route, which is paved, wide, flat, and separated from motor vehicle traffic....
mtormey
A walk through the village of Welham Green takes you past a delightful pub (Sibthorpe Arms) and then through lots of alleyways until you reach a cycle path that takes you to the edge of Hatfield....
Simon
The walk north out of Hatfield was a little tricky to follow, and the busy road just north of Hatfield was not that great....
Derick Rethans
The natural route for walking from Hertford to Hatfield is unfortunately obstructed by the huge estate of Hatfield House. No one wants to walk along the verge of the busy A414, so walking routes have to go way to the south, or - as 'Hather One' does - to the north. Coming out of Hertford along West Street, I would recommend staying on West Street rather than following the path behind the back of the houses as the 'Hather One' route shows. The portion of the 'Hather One' route between the A414 and Howlands road in Welwyn Garden City is not clearly defined and was very muddy for most of the way. At the junction of the Cole Green Way with the A414, the route as currently shown follows the south side of the A414 for 400m, the asphalt footpath turning into a verge after 300m....
Colin Rice
It can be very muddy in places (especially between Coleman Green and Symondshyde Farm via Titnol's Wood, where the route chosen is impassible currently due to deep mud....
BigDog
I found it a direct, easy-to-follow, overall accessible route following the Alban Way almost the entire distance (only diverting at the very beginning and end)....
lwatson
It is also flat, except for the occasional walk down to a road and back up again as the original railway bridge has gone....
Derick Rethans
Lovely rural route but spoilt by the first mile or so out of Hatfield which is alongside a really noisy dual carriageway. I'm guessing there's no other choice as there is no free access through the Hatfield Estate?...
Judith Grieves
There are many relics of the railway line including some raised platforms, bridges, a station house in St Albans and information boards....
Elizabeth E
Slow Ways added Harhat one, a new walk from Harpenden to Hatfield
Walk this routeSlow Ways added Hatnew one, a new walk from Hatfield to Newgate Street
Walk this routeSlow Ways added Hatpot one, a new walk from Hatfield to Potters Bar
Walk this routeSlow Ways added Hatwel one, a new walk from Hatfield to Welwyn Garden City
Walk this routeSlow Ways added Stahat one, a new walk from St Albans to Hatfield
Walk this routeHatfield’s Slow Ways starting point
Grid ref
TL2326608757
Lat / Lon
51.76394° / -0.21519°
Easting / Northing
523,266E / 208,757N
what3words
Fancy stretching your legs a bit more?
If you’ve polished off all of the routes between Hatfield and its neighbours, how about walking its whole web?
This includes the great ring of routes that join its neighbours to each other!
Facilities
Users have reported that the following facilities can be found within 1km of Hatfield's meeting point
Public toilet
Wheelchair accessible toilet
Supermarket or convenience shop
Restaurant, cafe or pub
Accommodation
Accommodation for under £50 a night
Campsite
Bothy
Free wifi
Mobility scooter hire
Off-road wheelchair hire
Disabled Parking
Train station
Bus stop
Ferry
Official ‘Walkers are Welcome’ town
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