The Hertfordshire Way

Stage 10: Cuffley to Hertford

Image produced from the Ordnance Survey Get-a-map service. Image reproduced with kind permission of Ordnance Survey and Ordnance Survey of Northern Ireland.

The Hertfordshire Way is a 166 mile long distance trail around the county divided into 14 legs, and beginning and ending at Royston. Bluetiger walked the tenth leg, from Cuffley to Hertford, 13 miles, in March 2005. The guidebook describes how the walk "takes us through several pretty villages", in particular Newgate Street, West End, Essendon, Little Berkhamsted, and Bayford.

After travelling through the suburbs of Cuffley and Newgate Street, the Way enters several areas of attractive woodland, where blackthorn trees are already in blossom.

Heading to West End through Long Wood, the ground is sparkling with wood anemones and there are interestingly shaped trees.

By Essendon Brook in Long Wood a fallen tree has formed an arch.

Serendipitously we arrive at The Candlestick pub at West End just in time for lunch!

Many trees are barely breaking their leaf buds, but here a single spray of blackthorn blossom stands out to show that Spring has lit its "green fuse."

Between West End and Essendon the broom is in flower.....

....and the sun is starting to come out.

A horse comes to greet us at Little Berkhamsted.

The church at Little Berkhamsted.

Click here to go to Part Two of the walk