Pete's Walks - Kensworth to Briden's Camp (part 2)
I took a path on the left, immediately beyond a pub, and thus entered territory that was new to me. This soon became a very pleasant farm track, heading north-east, initially with a wood on the left, with nice views over green fields and hedgerows. The track then continued for several hundred yards, following a hedge on the left. The map showed the right-of-way then following the left of the hedgerow, but in fact a good path continued between hedgerows and when it finally emerged into the field on the left a sign indicated that it was a footpath (but not a bridleway). I think I may need to get a more up-to-date version of OS map 182!
Farm track, just beyond Briden's Camp
Farm track heading north-east, back towards Gaddesden Row
The path took me back to the Gaddesden Row road again, which I followed just a few yards to the right before crossing over and continuing in a north-easterly direction again. There were hundreds of horse flies as I followed a path along the edge of a field of beans or peas on my right, but fortunately none of them bit me. The path turned right for a few yards in the field corner then went left, through a hedge gap, and soon ran beside a small wood on my right (Long Wood), the field here having apparently been left fallow. In the field corner I reached a crossing bridleway, where I turned right, following the good track past another side of the wood.
The road of Gaddesden Row again
The path beyond Gaddesden Row
The bridleway, Long Wood on the right
I was so tempted to name this walk 'The path to Nirvana!', as that was where I was now heading, as I took a footpath on the left - unfortunately, no, I was not reaching a state of enlightenment, but merely following a path to an isolated cottage that has that name. The path followed the edge of another small wood on my right, then continuing downhill along tractor tracks through a green field of corn. At the valley bottom I turned right alongside yet another wood, following the edge of the wood as it turned left. Beyond the wood, the path continued uphill beside a hedge, then crossed a section of another green corn field to reach a track (another 'public byway'), where I turned right, soon passing the unusually named cottage and following its drive to a lane.
The start of the path to Nirvana
The path to Nirvana
The path to Nirvana
Approaching Nirvana
A few yards to my right I could see a path leaving the opposite side of the lane, which was the path to Flamsteadbury I used on my Studham Common and Redbourn walk. But today I turned left along the lane, where I soon saw a couple of Goldfinches feeding on the vegetation alongside the lane. The lane soon turned right, with a huge yellow expanse of oil-seed rape now stretching away towards Flamsteadbury, over a mile away. After maybe quarter of a mile, the lane turned left, where the long track from Flamsteadbury came in on the right (I use it on my Redbourn walk, and it's also part of the Hertfordshire Way). I stopped and sat on a concrete block here to eat my lunch, rather late as it was now 1.30pm. It was very pleasant to sit here for a few minutes, enjoying the warm sunshine and listening to the birds in the nearby trees and hedges.
A sea of oil-seed rape, near Flamstead
The lane to Trowley Bottom and Flamstead - my lunch spot was at the corner where it turns left
I then carried on, leaving the lane but walking in the same direction as before and following the Hertfordshire Way as it ran for a couple of hundred yards between hedges. Still following that long-distance path, I turned left across another field that seemed to have been left fallow, turning right along the hedgerow on the far side. Soon I had a lovely view across a beautiful green valley to Flamstead on top of the opposite hillside - looks can be deceptive though, as I know this valley is infested with Alligators (well, I once met a little boy fishing for Alligators here!). A broad track now ran down between paddocks into the valley - as it curved left towards the hamlet of Trowley Bottom, I took the footpath going straight on uphill to Flamstead, where I turned right along the main road.
The Hertfordshire Way, near Flamstead
Path across a fallow field, on the way to Flamstead
Looking across the valley to Flamstead