Potters Bar – A gateway to Enfield Chase
| Distance: | 4.5 miles or 7km |
|---|---|
| Time: | A two hour walk exploring the ancient and modern landscape around Potters Bar. |
Route description
Potters Bar was originally a tiny hamlet gathered around a minor entrance to Enfield Chase, a royal hunting ground. The Chase stretched from here to Southgate but, despite its size, was in decline from the time of Oliver Cromwell onwards. Neglect by the monarchs left the rangers unable to control the excesses of the commoners, and in 1777 the area’s special status was terminated by parliament.
Having slipped back into obscurity the quiet of this sleepy backwater was dramatically disturbed, when early in the morning of 3rd September 1916 Lt William Leefe Robinson shot down the first Zeppelin of the war, earning himself a Victoria Cross, the first for action over Britain. The ship finally came to ground in Cuffley where 60,000 people flocked to see the remains.
One month later another Zeppelin was shot down, this time falling into the grounds of Oakmere House, now Oakmere Park. The wreckage piled against an Oak Tree, later it became known as the Zeppelin Oak.
Leaving the more turbulent past behind, in Five Acre Wood note the sinuous hornbeam trees. Beneath their dense shade almost all other plants have been excluded. Hardest of the country’s hardwoods these trees were harvested for chopping boards, cogs and firewood. Long since abandoned as a crop, they now grow unchecked creating this rather strange woodland.
Rights of Way symbols you might see
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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.
