Hertsmere Walks
Ron's Walk
| Distance: | 4 km (2½ m) |
|---|---|
| Time: | 2 hours |
| Rating: | A gentle walk |
| Starting point: | The Old Guinea, Ridgeshow me on a map |
A two hour walk inspired by the rememberings of Ron Barnes, who was born in Deeves Hall Cottage in the 1920’s.
Illustration by Chrissie Lewarton-Smith
Walk Description:
Saving the Old Guinea for later, make your way through the Churchyard and out into the fields. Ron’s dad used to sit on this stile and look out over the countryside; ‘When I go, I want to be buried here’ he always said, and so he is.
Through the wheat or beans or whatever the fields are busy with, and down into Rabley. The meadows and ponds here look just as they did when the Barnes kids took lunch to the men working up at the Old Farm, including a quart of tea in a beer bottle wrapped in an old sock to keep it warm!
Breakfast might be eggs left in the hedges by hens running wild from the farm, and at the end of the day dinner often came from a sackful of rabbits brought into the pub by Mickey Marsh the gamekeeper.
At harvest time there were more mouths to feed, as the London tramps arrived in Ridge to help, the same ones to the same farm every year. Hay made a comfortable bed in a barn at the Hall, even for a lady tramp called Blackberry Emma, who wore a long black dress and worked in the fields alongside the men.
So as you make your way up the lane remember the feet that have trodden there before you.
And if you see Ron in the Guinea, his is a half of mild...
This is one of a series of short walks through the Hertsmere countryside sponsored by Hertsmere Borough Council and the Watling Chase Community Forest
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.
Download the leaflet
ronswalk.pdf 152 kb
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