Tring Hertfordshire 28th December 2019

GPX File here
Viewranger File Here

Please excuse the blurry pics my camera struggled in the dark and mist.

On Saturday the 28th December 2019 I drove the one hour drive and parked up in Station Road in Tring, where there is free parking.

Tring is a small market town in the Borough of Dacorum, Hertfordshire. It is situated in a gap passing through the Chiltern Hills, classed as an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, 30 miles (48 km) northwest of London, and linked to London by the Roman road of Akeman Street, by the modern A41 road, by the Grand Union Canal and by the West Coast Main Line to London Euston. 

Settlements in Tring date back to prehistoric times and it was mentioned in the Domesday Book. Tring received its market town charter in 1315.

The name Tring is believed to derive from the Anglo-Saxons Tredunga or Trehangr. Tre', meaning 'tree' and with the suffix 'ing' implying 'a slope where trees grow'.

The Counting House

The 'Counting House', a Grade II building, is one of a number of examples in Tring of the work of architect William Huckvale(1848-1936), although in this case an adaptation of earlier buildings rather than an entirely new construction. Formerly the Rothschild Estate Office, it was used for the day to day running of the estate.

This gable end - with its timbering, tile-hung wall and latticed bay window - are distinctive features of William Huckvale's work.

There is evidence of prehistoric settlement with Iron Age barrows and defensive embankments adjacent to the Ridgeway Path, and also later Saxon burials. The town straddles the Roman road called Akeman Street, which runs through it as the High Street.

Tring was the dominant settlement in the area, being the primary settlement in the Hundred of Tring at the time of the Domesday Book (1086). Tring had a large population and paid a large amount of tax relative to most settlements listed in the Domesday Book. The Manor of Treunga is described in the Domesday Book. It was assigned to Count Eustace II of Boulogne by William the Conqueror.

In 1315 the town was granted a market charter by Edward II. This charter gave Faversham Abbey the right to hold weekly markets on Tuesdays, and a ten-day fair starting on 29 June, the Feast of Saints Peter and Paul. It also prevented the creation of any rival markets within a day's travel of the town. The tower of the Church of St Peter and St Paul was built somewhere in between 1360 and 1400.

Until 1440, there was a small village east of Tring called Pendley (or Penley, Pendele, or Pentlai). The landowner Sir Robert Whittingham received a grant of free warren from King Henry VI. He enclosed 200 acres (about 80 hectares) and tore down the buildings on the land, returning the estate to pasture, and built a manor house, Pendley Manor. This house was variously inhabited by the Verney, Anderson and Harcourt families until the mid-19th century.

All the bollards were covered in knitted xmas sleeves

I reach the Church of St Peter and St Paul that is locked.

The Manor of Tring (Treunge) is mentioned in the Domesday survey of 1086. It lies on Akeman Street a Roman road. Its Mansion to the south of the church was designed by Christopher Wren and later owned by Nathaniel Rothschild. From 1630 to 1650 Lawrence Washington, great-grandfather of George Washington, first President of the United States lived in the town.

The War Memorial, which is situated on Church Square (aka Zebra Square) in front of the church, is thought to be the first in the country to be erected to the memory of those who gave their lives in the Great War between 1914 and 1918. It was funded by public subscription and dedicated in November 1918. Later the names of those who died in the Second World War were added.

The first incumbent of Tring Parish Church is recorded in the year 1214. The current Anglican Church dates mainly from the 15th century and is built from local flint and Totternhoe stone. To the north of the church is Sutton Court, built in Tudor style in 1825 as the vicarage and now in private hands. It has a fine brick and stone arched entrance at the end of Church Yard. A number of cottages in Church Yard, which once belonged to the church, are now in private hands.

Across the road is the old Rose and Crown Inn.

The 1906 half-timbered building designed by William Huckvale replaced a 16th century hotel that brewed it's own beer until the 1860s. Converted to retirement housing 2013-14.

I now turn left Akeman Street and pass the Natural History Museum at Tring.

The Natural History Museum at Tring was the private museum of Lionel Walter, 2nd Baron Rothschild; today it is under the control of the Natural History Museum, London. It houses one of the finest collections of stuffed mammals, birds, reptiles and insects in the United Kingdom.

I now enter Tring Park.

Tring Park is a public open space in Tring, owned by Dacorum Borough Council and managed by the Woodland Trust. It is part of the Chilterns Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. Half of the 264 acres (107 hectares) is undulating grassland, grazed by cattle. Part of the park, together with the nearby Oddy Hill, is the 35.6 hectare biological "Oddy Hill and Tring Park" Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI).

I cross the A41 by a footbridge and back into Tring Park.

A41

There were, of course, deer in Tring Park and Lord Walter Rothchild added wallabies, (referred to as kangaroos), emus, and rheas.

Many of the older Tring people remember when these creatures roamed the park.

He kept zebras to train them to harness and nearer to the Mansion he even had a small private zoo.

The Gazette’s sister paper, The Bucks Herald, of July 31 1897 refers to a giant land tortoise being added to Tring Park but on December 7 1901 the paper said: “A tortoise weighing a quarter of a ton has been presented to the Zoological Gardens, London, by the Hon. Walter Rothschild MP.

Not quite Wallabies

I left the park to walk through Park Wood , but I second guessed myself and walked around. This was a mistake as it added a little distance and a bit of road walking.

 I am out onto Oddly Hill and walk up into Wigginton.

Where I should have came out if I'd walked through Park Wood.

I take the muddy footpath opposite and I'm back on track.

Views open up, but these would be so much better on a Summers day!

I am now following The Ridgeway, a Long Distance Path.

I cross a rod called The Twistway and back onto The Ridgeway.

I cross the A41 again by bridge.

Then across the A4251 road before continuing along The Ridgeway.

I walk out onto Beggars Lane and then right onto Station Road.

I cross over The Grand Union Canal. (You can shorten the walk here if you wish and follow the canal).
I walk up the road and past Tring Rail Station and along a muddy path.
My original plan was to visit Aldbury, but I've been there before so I decide to walk the other direction and back towards the canal via The Ridgeway and Westland farm.

I walk out and along a short stretch of Northfield Road and then down a track to Honeysuckle Farm.

I pass through the Equestrian centre at Honeysuckle Farm and cross over the Railway lines.

I now walk down to follow The Grand Union Canal.

The Grand Union Canal links London to Birmingham, passing through rolling countryside, industrial towns and peaceful villages.

I leave the canal at Bulbourne by the Grand Junction Arms  pub and out onto Bulbourne Road.

Now its a long boring walk along the roads back into Tring.

I walk up Brook Street Passing Tring Local History Museum.

TRING LOCAL HISTORY MUSEUM reflects all aspects of life in and around Tring from the earliest days until the recent past, and records events, objects and the people who lived there.

I pass by The Robin Hood pub again and back to the car. I was going to walk the short distance to the Tring Brewery but it made more sense to drive there so I can put my purchases straight into the car and drive home.

The Tring Brewery Company was founded in 1992, reviving the traditional art of brewing in the picturesque West Hertfordshire market town of Tring. This was a town that, although steeped in brewing history, had been without a brewery for over 50 years.

I made good use of the free Ale tasting.

Founder, Richard Shardlow, an experienced brewer having worked for Greene King, Ruddles and Devenish got the show on the road and was joined in 2000 by Andrew Jackson from Whitbread, a man armed with both a brewing and retail background.

When it comes to crafting their beers, they start with the finest UK barley…..tonnes of it. Each grain milled on site to extract colour, flavour and aroma. Hops are meticulously sourced from all around the world, each one selected for the unique character it brings to a beer. Their beautiful water, filtered through the chalk of the surrounding Chiltern Hills acts as the perfect carrier, delivering with it an array of sensory pleasures. Of course there’s no forgetting our yeast. Millions of tiny little cells work exceptionally hard to produce alcohol, natural condition and that signature Tring flavour profile. The sum of many parts, lovingly combined for you to enjoy.

I bought some ales (Death or Glory,Pale Four and Side Pocket for a Toad).

A nice 8 mile walk and good to be out after days indoor over Christmas.