Batchwood House and Grounds
| Distance: | short route 3km (2 miles) – long route 4.5km (2.75 miles) |
|---|---|
| Time: | short route – 1 hour max, long route – 1.5 hours |
| Starting points: | At the bottom of Batchwood Drive where it meets the Redbourn Road or via the main entrance leading to the golf course or from Toulmin Drive. |
Route description
Directions from the Redbourn Road roundabout.
Walk up the single lane road opposite the recreation ground - this is used by cars coming from the golf club, so watch out for oncoming traffic! Keep on the road as it follows the perimeter of the golf course. Stay on this road for the shorter route.
For the longer route take a left turn on to a path and continue following the outside edge of the golf course. This path will lead you up a gentle incline providing stunning views of the surrounding countryside. Follow the edge of the golf course right and into the woods. Here the path becomes less clear. Turn left and make your way through the woods following the way marked paths. When you reach the south eastern corner of the wood you come out onto Toulmin Drive. There, a bridleway follows the edge of the recreation ground and leads you across the golf course and back to the road you started on. If you are following the shorter route this is where you leave the road and turn right on to the bridleway crossing the golf course.
Walking – good for you, good for your health!
Walking on a regular basis keeps you healthy. So step out into the countryside on your doorstep with this short walk around Batchwood. What better way to look after your health than discovering your local area! Please take care not to stray on private land.
Batchwood is an old woodland and an important area for wildlife. The wood is an old hornbeam coppice with majestic oak, sweet chestnut and beech trees. A coppice is where the trees are cut down for fuel or timber and then allowed to grow back with more than one stem. They re-grow again and again.
As you walk through the wood you will come across large disused excavation sites, or dell holes. It is thought that these were used to extract chalk to fertilise the surrounding fields. A network of ditches is also visible and once formed a moat around a large manor house from around the 10th century.
The wood is well used by local people and you are never far from civilisation on this walk, although you feel as though you are in the depths of the Hertfordshire countryside.
Batchwood Golf Course
The different parts of the golf course ensure a variety of habitats for wildlife. After all, just this small area offers short grass, long grass, individual trees and bushes, thickets, woodland, hedges, wet ditches and bare ground. All these habitats are home to some form of wildlife. For exmple, the rough areas at the edges of the fairway provide a valuable refuge for many small animals such as mice, voles and shrews.
Other local walks
If you enjoyed this walk why not plan your own route using local paths. Ordnance Survey Explorer maps show paths as dotted lines that you can use to plan any number of walks near to where you live or further afield.
Rights of Way symbols you might see
|
Yellow arrows indicate footpaths for pedestrian use only |
| Blue arrows indicate bridleways for horse riders, cyclists and pedestrian use only |
| Red arrows indicate Byways Open to All Traffic (BOAT) for horse riders, cyclists and pedestrians and may be legally used by other wheeled vehicles |
| Black arrows indicate Roads Used as Public Paths (RUPP) for horse riders, cyclists and pedestrians and may be legally used by other wheeled vehicles |
Maps
This map is based on Ordnance Survey material with the permission of Ordnance Survey on behalf of the controller of Her Majesty's Stationery Office © Crown copyright. Unauthorised reproduction infringes Crown copyright and may lead to prosecution or civil proceedings. Hertfordshire County Council 100019606 2004.
The Ordnance Survey mapping included within this web-site is provided by Hertfordshire County Council under licence from the Ordnance Survey in order to fulfill its public function to provide information relating to its activities, services and plans. Persons viewing this mapping should contact Ordnance Survey copyright for advice where they wish to license Ordnance survey mapping for their own use.
See the Ordnance Survey site for more information.
This is is one of a series of walks through the Chilterns Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) supported by the Chilterns Conference.
Please be considerate in the countryside - keep to footpaths, especially through crops, and leave farm gates as you find them.
