Pete's Walks - Marsworth and Wigginton (page 4 of 4)
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.
Immediately before reaching the road that runs along the northwestern edge of Tring, I turned right along a path with a hedge between me and the road. After a short while a waymark indicated the footpath went through a gap in the hedge. I turned right along the road - there was wide grass verge initially, and after a road junction there was a pavement. There was a pleasant view looking right, towards the Vale of Aylesbury. Just after a small garage on the left I took a footpath on that side that started down what looked like a lane but was just the drive to Miswell Farm. I was disappointed that this was lined by tall hedges, as I was hoping I'd have more views of the Vale of Aylesbury ahead of me as the footpath dropped downhill. Beyond the farm (on my right) the footpath continued down a hedge-lined farm track, and then I finally got a view as it continued between a short hedgerow on my left and a tall one to my right. This soon brought me to the Wendover Arm of the Grand Union Canal, which I crossed on a footbridge (the bridge seemed to be the boundary between the section of canal that has been restored and the section that is yet to be restored).
View north from the road on the edge of Tring (the blue is Wilstone Reservoir)
The road on the edge of Tring
The footpath going north from Tring to the Wendover Arm of the Grand Union Canal
The footpath going north from Tring to the Wendover Arm of the Grand Union Canal
The footpath going north from Tring to the Wendover Arm of the Grand Union Canal
The footpath going north from Tring to the Wendover Arm of the Grand Union Canal
The footpath going north from Tring to the Wendover Arm of the Grand Union Canal
The footpath going north from Tring to the Wendover Arm of the Grand Union Canal
The footbridge over Wendover Arm of the Grand Union Canal - under the footbridge you can see the barrier where the restored section of the canal ends
I turned right along the towpath (back on familiar territory again) and soon sat down on a seat to eat my lunch (it was now about 1.15pm). I then continued along the towpath (passing two or three more seats). After about half a mile, the path moved away from the canal to reach a lane where I turned left (usually I go right to rejoin the canal towpath and follow it to Bulbourne). I soon came to a lane junction, where I turned right into Wiggles Lane (I was surprised that I didn't remember that name!). This lane soon turned left, and then I immediately took a path on the right.
Wilstone Reservoir, from the Wendover Arm of the Grand Union Canal
The Wendover Arm of the Grand Union Canal
The Wendover Arm of the Grand Union Canal
The Wendover Arm of the Grand Union Canal
The lane after I turned left from the canal
The path ran through a strip of grass between a field and a garden. Through a gate I then reached another path where I turned left only for the path to immediately turn right (so I had more or less gone straight on) and run along the northwestern side of Tringford Reservoir. At the end of the path I crossed a minor road, and turned left along a path that followed the southwestern side of Marsworth reservoir. The path turned right at the corner of the reservoir, and I continued along the next side of the reservoir. At the next corner of the reservoir I went down a flight of steps (the ones I'd come up near the start of the walk) to return to the car park, then turned right along the road through Marsworth to retrace my steps back to where I'd started.
The short path to Tringford reservoir
Tringford reservoir
The path continuing along the northwestern side of Tringford reservoir
The path along the southwestern side of Startop's End reservoir
The path along the northwestern side of Startop's End reservoir
It was a very pleasant change to have a nice sunny day for a walk! It was really nice to be outdoors on such a day, it really felt that Spring can't be too far away now. And I enjoyed this walk a lot, despite some road noise from the A41 and despite the short dull section on the very edge of Tring. It was a very easy 9.8 miles with no steep ups at all (and only the briefest of steep downs, in Tring Park). There was a very long uphill from Tring Station to Wigginton, but it was such a gentle gradient as to be almost imperceptible. It was a shame I had the sun in my eyes when I followed the canal, it gave me no chance of seeing any wildlife.