Markyate Walk
Walk your way to a Healthy Herts
| Distance: | 1.5, 2 or 4.5 miles/2, 3 or 7km |
|---|---|
| Time: | Short route – 45
minutes Medium Route – 1 hour, Long route over 2 hours |
| Rating: | Short walk easy, Medium and Long routes include a steep climb |
| Starting point: | The Fire Station, Markyate show me on a map |
Markyate, like villages such as Dunstable and Redbourn, prospered in the 18th century through serving the needs of travellers along Watling Street. The straw plait trade also employed many local people and many premises in the High Street became hat factories when the stage and mail coach businesses declined.
Pickford Road was once named Cheverells Lane. It was renamed for the Pickfords, of the famous carrier firm which was set up in Markyate in the late 18th century.
Roe End Lane is part of the parish boundary between Markyate and Flamstead.
From the path you can see carpets of bluebells in these woods in spring. You are in Hertfordshire but the bluebells are in Bedfordshire!
The whole route is one of the best areas in Hertfordshire to see skylarks in spring and summer. You may be lucky enough to see song thrushes, yellowhammers or bullfinches too.
This was the old parish boundary between Flamstead and Houghton Regis. It is said to be marked by a number of blocks of Hertfordshire pudding stone.
Walk Description:
Markyate Walks
These walks start from the fire station. The dotted line on the map shows the route and there are also waymark posts with this arrow along the way. The routes may be followed in either direction; the views are best if you walk clockwise, but the climb is less steep if you walk anticlockwise.
For the short walk (1.5 miles/2km; half to three quarters of an hour), turn left off Pickford Road between houses no. 19 and no. 21 and follow the circuit around the field and back to Pickford Road.
For the medium walk (2 miles/3km; one hour) turn right off Pickford Road at the top of the hill and follow the waymarks to just before the kissing gate. Turn hard right and follow the path downhill to Buckwood Road.
For the long walk (4.5 miles/7km, ; over two hours), go through the kissing gate and turn right at Roe End Lane: this starts as a surfaced road and becomes an unsurfaced bridleway. When the track veers down to the left, go straight ahead through a small band of trees and then turn right to follow the edge of the woods, then past Buckwood Stubbs and downhill to Buckwood Road. Turn right to go back to Markyate.
This walk is supported by the Dacorum NHS Primary Care Group and Dacorum Borough Council
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.
