Pete's Walks- Wigginton and Barn Wood (page 1 of 5)
If you are considering walking this route yourself, please see my disclaimer. You may also like to see these notes about the maps and GPX files.
I did this circular walk of about 12.7 miles on Saturday, 26th November 2016. It was a repeat of a walk I did in October 2011. Please note that this is a route I'd hesitate to recommend to other people, because the footpaths on the ground seem to vary from the OS map in two or three places (most unusual for this area).
I started walking about 9.35am, from the car park by the sports field and play area in Wigginton (grid reference SP 938100 - almost opposite Lewin's Farm on the OS map). I followed the footpath from the end of the car park (so I had the play area behind me), which soon brought me to a street where I turned left. This street soon left the village, continuing west or southwest as the drive to Wick Farm. It was rather an odd morning weather-wise, in that I was walking here in bright sunshine with hardly a cloud in the sky, yet I could see patchy fog just ahead of me. Shortly after passing Wick Farm, where the footpath continued straight on along a farm track, I reached the fog and all views were obscured until I neared the end of the track at a road junction.
The street out of Wigginton, heading west or southwest
Continuing along the drive to Wick Farm - you can see the patchy fog ahead of me
Approaching Wick Farm
Just past Wick Farm I entered the fog
It was still slightly foggy as I continued straight on down Church Lane, now in the hamlet of Hastoe (the highest settlement in Hertfordshire). After almost half a mile I came to another lane junction, where I went straight on for just a few yards before turning right along a byway (a sign here pointed to Hastoe Grove).
Still some fog as I started along Church Lane, Hastoe
Church Lane, Hastoe
The byway to Hastoe Grove
After a while the byway forked either side of a cottage, and I took the left fork. After passing the cottage's garden, this turned half-right and descended through Grove Wood. Having passed a bridleway coming in sharply from the left, at the bottom of the slope I turned left onto another byway. This ran between hedges either side, and soon turned left. I went straight on where another byway went right, but then soon came to a byway T-junction where I turned right.
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The byway after I turned left
The next byway, after I turned right
This byway soon brought me to a lane, where I crossed over and continued along yet another hedge-lined byway, this one named Fox Lane on the OS map. I turned left where a footpath crossed the byway, following a hedgerow on my right through two arable fields and then between fences a short distance to reach Dancer's End Lane. Here I turned right, but only for a short distance before taking a footpath on the left.
The byway (Fox Lane) continuing the other side of a lane
The footpath going left from Fox Lane, heading towards a foggy Aston Hill
Dancers End Lane - the footpath I took starts on the left, just before the gate on the right