Flamstead farmland walk
| Long walk: | 6.5 miles (10km), allow 3 hours. |
|---|---|
| Short walk: | 2.5 miles (4km), allow 1 hour and 45 mins. |
| Start and finish: | car park, junction of Friendless Lane and Mill Lane. |
How to get to the start
Walking and cycling:
Flamstead has a great public rights of way network connecting to nearby towns and villages. Why not use an Explorer map (No182), and walk or cycle to the start point. Cycle parking facilities are available at the car park.Public Transport:
Trains run frequently to Harpenden and St Albans, and buses serve Flamstead from the train station and nearby villages and towns. For details contact the Hertfordshire Traveline on 0870 608 2 608 or www.intalink.org.uk.By car:
Flamstead Village is situated 1 mile off the M1. Leave the motorway at junction 9 and join the A5 heading west. Turn left into Singlets Lane, and continue into Flamstead.Notes on the walk
Both walks start from the car park. Follow the footpath along the field edge. For the long walk take the footpath off to the right, for the short walk follow the path along the edge of the field and head down the hill. Turn left at the bottom and go through the kissing gate, Continue across Trowley Hill Road and alongside the paddock crossing Delmerend Lane before heading along the field edge and back into Flamstead Village.
Long walk description
Continue across Pietley Hill and join Wood End Lane. Follow this lane, reminiscent of old England with its diverse ancient hedges. Turn right at the waymark post, entering Yew Tree Spring.
Cross over the stile and follow the way mark posts to the metalled road.
Turn left along the road, looking out for the ancient ash pollard and walk alongside Newlands wood, joining the Chiltern Way.
Cross the road and enter a section of the route with permissive access. This section has permissive access until 2010, created as part of the farms Countryside Stewardship Scheme. The Countryside Stewardship Scheme is a national scheme that aims to enhance the conservation value of farms and sustain landscape beauty and diversity.
Rejoin the footpath at Greenlane Wood and head up the hill. Here there are great views around Flamstead Village. Continue onto Green Lane, crossing part of the Hertfordshire way and turn left onto the road. At the sharp left hand bend go straight on and join the bridleway.
After a quarter of a mile turn left, and continue down the hill into Flamstead, and perhaps a well deserved break at one of Flamstead’s excellent pubs.
Flamstead Farmland Walk
Flamstead village
Flamstead village is situated just on the western boundary of the Chilterns AONB. The village is steeped in history, dating from at least Saxon times. There is a wealth of fascinating buildings including the church tower which dates from 1140. Flamstead has several good pubs and provides a great base for exploring the surrounding countryside.
The Flamstead Walk
The Flamstead Farmland Walk passes through the gently undulating arable land that so characterises the upper reaches of the Ver Valley . Sunken lanes and ancient hedgerows abound, as well as pockets of ancient woodland, testament to the history nature of the landscape.
However, the wide open arable fields around Flamstead also suggest that extensive conversion to modern farming practices have occurred in the 20 th century. The move away from traditional mixed livestock and arable farms and the loss of traditional features such as hedgerows, was common throughout Hertfordshire and has in turn resulted in a decline in once common farmland species such as the cornflower, the lapwing and the brown hare.
This decline has been recognised by some farmers, and through environmental stewardship schemes they are actively replanting hedgerows and leaving wide field margins to improve the conservation potential of their farms.
Look out for Grove farm. Here, hedgerows are an important food source for winter visitors such as the fieldfare and redwing and field margins are important for arable weeds and ground nesting birds such as the grey partridge. They also act as buffer strips, protecting hedgerows and woodland edges from pesticides and overspray.
Another interesting conservation feature along the southern part of the route are beetle banks. These are raised strips of earth running through arable fields that are planted with tussocky grasses. A beetle bank provides a home for predatory insects, which act as a natural control for crop-pets, and beetle banks also provide ideal nesting habitat for skylarks that prefer to be well away from hedgerows and field edges.
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.
