Pete's Walks - Ashridge and Aldbury (page 3 of 3)
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.
The byway followed a tall hedgerow on my left, soon turning right and then left. Across the field on my right I could see a fence, beyond which was a railway line (the main West Coast line). The byway now ran for about half a mile, heading south east, switching to the left of a hedgerow at some point and passing two large arable fields on my left (where I was pleasantly surprised to see some Greater Stitchwort, I think this is the earliest in the year that I've ever seen it) and then a paddock (containing several Alpacas) by Norcott Court Farm. On reaching a path T-junction at the end of this paddock (shortly after a footpath came in on the right), I turned right onto a bridleway. This soon turned left alongside the railway line and then after a few hundred yards brought me to a lane where I turned left, towards Norcott Court. After about a quarter of a mile, the lane turned right (there was much more Greater Stitchwort at this point), but only for a hundred yards or so before coming to a T-junction where I turned left and climbed steadily uphill. Near the top of the slope I saw some Primroses through a gate on the left. At the top of the hill the lane ended where it met some woods on the edge of Northchurch Common, but I continued beside a drive going half-left, passing Norcott Hall and a few other properties at Norcott Hill.
The start of the byway to Norcott Court Farm
The byway to Norcott Court Farm
The byway to Norcott Court Farm
The bridleway after I turned right near Norcott Court Farmw
The bridleway continuing alongside the railway line
The lane to Norcott Court
The lane after it turns left, to go uphill to Norcott Hill
The drive at Norcott Hill
The drive ended at a couple of gates (a bridleway went right here, into the woods). I went over a stile to the left of the gates into a very muddy corner of a horse field, and followed the path along the hedge on the right. Beyond this field (fortunately it was only the initial corner that was very muddy) the path continued between widely-spaced fences separating two grassy fields. It then passed through an area of small trees, before following a tall hedge across the grounds of Tom's Hill House to reach some of the woods of Ashridge near Tom's Hill. I immediately came to a path T-junction, where I went more or less straight on. I soon came to a yellow-topped waymark post where I forked right. I followed the path through the woods for several hundred yards, keeping left at another fork, until I reached a crossing bridleway where I turned left but then immediately forked right to follow a path back to the car park where I'd started.
The path from Norcott Hill to Tom's Hill
The path from Norcott Hill to Tom's Hill
The path from Norcott Hill to Tom's Hill
The path through Ashridge (I took a right fork in the centre of this shot)
Further along the same path
I'm not feeling 100% at the moment, so this pleasant and undemanding walk suited my purposes very well. Unfortunately it was yet another very grey day, but at least the paths weren't too muddy, except in one or two places. It was a nice surprise to see some Greater Stitchwort, I think that's 10 days earlier than I've ever seen it before.