Pete's Walks - Ashridge and Berkhamsted Common (page 5 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.
When I drew level with a small copse in the meadow, I took a path that entered the woods on my right. After three or four hundred yards I forked left through some bracken to reach a small area of beech trees. The path turned right on the far side of this area, and I then continued along it through an area of mainly Silver Birch trees and bracken. After a few hundred yards the path entered an open area of bracken where it soon curved right.
The start of the path after I turned right from the huge meadow
Further along the same path
Further along the same path (the path goes right, just before the fallen tree)
Further along the same path
Further along the same path (I went straight on here, rather than left)
Further along the same path
The path ended when it came to a T-junction (just inside the woods again), where I turned left (a drive to Ashridge House was now a hundred yards or so to my right). After a few hundred yards I crossed a drive near Woodyard Cottages and continued along what was now a bridleway, which fairly soon ended when it met another bridleway running along beside a huge pasture, where I turned left.
The path after I turned left
Further along the same path
The bridleway after crossing a drive near Woodyard Cottages (to my right)
Further along the bridleway
After a few hundred yards I reached a corner of the huge pasture on my right, where I turned right on a path that stayed close to the pasture. When I did this walk in November 2023 I went wrong by staying close to the edge of the pasture when it turned went half-right, but today I correctly went straight on through the wood at this point. After I while I joined a surfaced drive, continuing in more or less the same direction. This soon brought me to Prince's Riding - this is a grassy ride, about a mile and a half long, between Ashridge House and the Bridgewater Monument. I turned left and followed Prince's Riding toward the monument. After a few hundred yards I reached a road. After crossing the road I had the drive to the monument just to my left, and in just under another half mile I reached the car park where I'd started (on the other side of the drive).
The bridleway after I turned left, beside the huge pasture (I saw a few cows in it further on)
Further along the bridleway
The path after I turned left, still beside the huge pasture enclosed by woods
Further along the same path
Further along the same pat
Further along the same path, now along a drive
Prince's Riding
Prince's Riding, approaching the road crossing
Prince's Riding
Prince's Riding, approaching the Bridgewater Monument
This was my first walk in just over a month, and I was really desperate to get out into the countryside again. I had enjoyed this walk very much when I did it previously and did so again today. Once again, I really appreciated having such a wonderful area for walking as Ashridge within just a few miles of my home. As I've said before, the vast majority of the walk was in woodland and it was also very flat, with only a couple of very minor bits of uphill, , so it's not quite as varied as most of my routes (though I didn't mind that at all). But I'd certainly be very happy to walk it again.