Ver Valley walk
Discover the Ver Valley, follow the waymarked walks around Redbourn and St Albans and explore the attractive surrounding countryside.
Landscape
The area is close to London so has lately grown up as a meeting point of motorways, trunk roads and railway lines, but there are some very attractive areas to explore.
The valley of the river runs from Kensworth Lynch, on the edge of the Chilterns, southwards via St Albans to join the Colne near Bricket Wood. The upper Ver has always been winterbourne, flowing only after heavy rainfall or in the winter, but from Flamstead southwards it was a permanent chalk stream, in the past this flow powered a dozen mills. The conditions of the constant temperature and high mineral content in the fast flowing river made it ideal for growing watercress. Remains of the watercress beds can be found today.
Water Issues
Throughout time man has relied upon this clean, clear fresh water for domestic use, livestock and, in the past, local industry. The increasing local population and its ever growing water requirements have prompted the building of pumping stations for water extraction. A total of seven stations pumping 45 million litres of water per day via boreholes from deep in the chalk were built. This led to the decline of the winterbourne section of the river and five kilometres of the permanent river disappeared leaving the water meadows around Redbournbury dry.
In response to the efforts of the Ver Valley Society to address the low flow in the Ver, the Environment Agency’s predecessor, the National Rivers Authority, working with Three Valleys Water, substituted supplies from friar’s Wash Pumping Station with those from Grafham Water in Cambridgeshire. The Friar’s Wash pumps were switched off in 1993 to the benefit of the Ver and its ecology, but recently the river has again been subject to low flow due to the lack of rainfall. The Environment Agency has also acted to enhance the river by modifying the river channel to reduce the effects of low flow, installed fish ladders to sustain fish populations and planted trees.
The Ver, being groundwater fed, relies on winter rain percolating through to the chalk below the Chiltern Hills. Below average rainfall in winter greatly reduces the recharge. Even heavy rain in the following summer will not replenish underground reserves.
Natural History
The banks of the river from Shafford to Redbourn are used for growing willows and poplars that were used for cricket bats and matches. Much of the remaining land is arable but there are areas of water meadows at Redbournbury and Sopwell that are used for grazing.
Redbournbury Meadows attract birds such as lapwing, snipe, swallow, heron and sometimes in winter a flock of golden plovers. The lakes at Frogmore and Verulamium attract swans, moorhens, coots and a variety of ducks. Look out for kingfishers hunting along certain stretches of the river, along with sandpiper, wagtail, grebe, mallard, marsh tit, warbler and teal.
Bats use the river and meadows for drinking and feeding and use landscape features such as old barns, mills, and trees to roost in. water voles can be seen along the banks. The river supports the lifecycles of numerous dragonflies, damselflies, along with a range of fly larvae. In some parts crayfish, minnows and sticklebacks can still be seen.
Enjoying your walk
The Ver Valley Walk is waymarked in both directions by white discs with a green arrow. The route shown follows the river but there are many other public paths to explore and to use when planning your own circular route. Popular walkways and cycleways such as the Nicky Line and the Alban Way (disused railway lines) link in with the walk. The countryside surrounding the Ver Valley is covered on pathfinder maps 1095 Harpenden and 1119 St Albans and Hemel Hempstead, and landranger map 166. These are available from libraries and bookshops. There are several places to start your walk, for example form St Albans, Redbourn or Harpenden. You can incorporate public transport when planning your own shorter routes.
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.
