Pete's Walks- Alternative Ashridge walk (page 4 of 6)
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 followed the lane past the few houses in Norcott Hill. When the lane turned right, I went straight on, along a path back into the woods. When I emerged into a more open area I turned right at a path junction, and soon spotted my first Marbled White butterfly of the year. I ignored a path going left, and went straight on back into the woods. The path soon started to go downhill, and stayed close to the edge of the trees with a large field a few feet to my right - I was now following the southwestern edge of Northchurch Common. After a while I reached the bottom of a small valley, where the path continued up the other side. Still staying close to the fields on my right, the path soon levelled out and then after a while dropped down into another small valley. Here I crossed a drive (to a property named Gorseside on the OS map) - I was a little disappointed not to see any more Fallow deer here, but after continuing along the path on the other side of the drive for just a few yards I did see a couple. The path went up the other side of the small valley, soon turning right, and took me to the Ringshall-Northchurch road.
Near the start of the path from Norcott Hill
Marbled White (my first of the year, and one of the best photos I've ever got of these butterflies)
The path along the southwestern edge of Northchurch Common
The path along the southwestern edge of Northchurch Common
The path along the southwestern edge of Northchurch Common
The path along the southwestern edge of Northchurch Common
The path along the southwestern edge of Northchurch Common, immediately after crossing a drive
The path along the southwestern edge of Northchurch Common
I turned right along the road for a short distance until it turned right, where I went straight on across grass to a bend in a private drive. I followed the drive uphill to reach a small residential estate, where I went straight on along a byway, between the houses on my left and some paddocks - I soon spotted a few more Fallow deer in the paddocks, this is another spot where I have often seen them. At the end of the byway (and the houses) I went straight on along a footpath. Soon there were the grounds of a school over the fence and hedge on my right (I'm sure it's a very good school, but for some reason I always start to think about the St Trinians films when I walk here).
The short section along the road into Northchurch
The track (a byway) past the small residential estate
The footpath continuing from the small residential estate
The footpath continuing past school playing fields (on the right)
When the path came to a gate, I went through it and turned left along a path following a hedge on my left through a very large sheep pasture (the OS map shows the path on the other side of the hedge, for some reason). At the end of the sheep pasture the path switched to the other side of the hedgerow, now with a large field of peas or beans on my left.
The path after I turned left
The same path, after it switches to the left of the hedgerow