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On Tuesday the 2nd April 2024 Mike and I drove to Aldbury in Hertfordshire. We parked up for free by the village green and pulled on our boots for today’s walk from Aldbury to Berkenhamsted.
The name 'Aldbury' is derived from the Old English ald (old) burh (fortification).
Aldbury is designated as a conservation area, with most of the land surrounding the village unaltered since the late medieval period. The village is a popular filming location, retaining several archetypical historical features: in the centre is a green and pond; close by stand well-preserved stocks and a whipping-post, and the Church of Saint John the Baptist.
The manor was recorded as Aldeberie in the 1086 Domesday Book. The public house, "The Valiant Trooper", served as an ale house for centuries, the first traceable evidence dated to 1752.
The wooded slope towards the Bridgewater Monument is one of the steepest ascents in Hertfordshire, crowned by a ridge at one of the five highest elevations in the county.Monuments in the church witness the importance of certain manorial families including the family of Sir Ralph Verney (1546), who have the northern chapel in the church, and the similarly landed family of Thomas Hyde (1570) and his son George (1580). Aldbury was the home of Sir Guy de Gravade, known as the Wizard of Aldbury, who was reputed to be able to turn base metals into gold.
We walked out of the green and along Toms Hill Road before taking a footpath on our left and up the hill through some allotments and pass some friendly donkeys, who had hooded crows on their backs pulling out hair for their nests no doubt.
We cross the road and up a steep and muddy hill, we were slipping and sliding all over the place, very hard to climb up!
We walk on over Grymes Dell on Aldbury Common.
Still mud as far as the eye can see, got to be so careful not to end up on my arse.
We start to walk downhill and can see a steep uphill stretch of road ahead.
Once on this road it doesn’t seem too steep until you look back!
After much more walking we walk down past a farm near Berkhamsted where we say hello to two alpacas called Boris and Sylvester.
Berkhamsted is a historic market town in Hertfordshire. Berkhamsted, along with the adjoining village of Northchurch, is encircled by countryside, much of it in the Chiltern Hills which is an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB).
The High Street is on a pre-Roman route known by its Saxon name: Akeman Street. The earliest written reference to Berkhamsted was in 970. The settlement was recorded as a burbium (ancient borough) in the Domesday Book in 1086. The most notable event in the town's history occurred in December 1066. After William the Conqueror defeated King Harold's Anglo-Saxon army at the Battle of Hastings, the Anglo-Saxon leadership surrendered to the Norman encampment at Berkhamsted. The event was recorded in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle. From 1066 to 1495, Berkhamsted Castle was a favoured residence of royalty and notable historical figures, including King Henry II, Edward, the Black Prince, Thomas Becket and Geoffrey Chaucer. In the 13th and 14th centuries, the town was a wool trading town, with a thriving local market. The oldest-known extant jettied timber-framed building in Great Britain, built between 1277 and 1297, survives as a shop on the town's high street.
After the castle was abandoned in 1495, the town went into decline, losing its borough status in the second half of the 17th century. Colonel Daniel Axtell, captain of the Parliamentary Guard at the trial and execution of King Charles I in 1649, was among those born in Berkhamsted. Modern Berkhamsted began to expand after the canal and the railway were built in the 19th century. In the 21st century, Berkhamsted has evolved into an affluent commuter town.
We walk out onto Castle Hill and down to Berkhamsted.
We walk down to Berkhamsted Castle and decide to have a look about.
Berkhamsted Castle is a Norman motte-and-bailey castle. The castle was built to obtain control of a key route between London and the Midlands during the Norman conquest of England in the 11th century. Robert of Mortain, William the Conqueror's half brother, was probably responsible for managing its construction, after which he became the castle's owner. The castle was surrounded by protective earthworks and a deer park for hunting. The castle became a new administrative centre of the former Anglo-Saxon settlement of Berkhamsted. Subsequent kings granted the castle to their chancellors. The castle was substantially expanded in the mid-12th century, probably by Thomas Becket.
The castle was besieged in 1216 during the civil war between King John and rebellious barons, who were supported by France. It was captured by Prince Louis, the future Louis VIII, who attacked it with siege engines for twenty days, forcing the garrison to surrender. After being retaken by royal forces the subsequent year, it was given to Richard, Earl of Cornwall, beginning a long association with the Earldom of Cornwall and the later duchy. Richard redeveloped the castle as a palatial residence, and made it the centre of the earldom's administration. King Edward III further developed the castle in the 14th century and gave it to his son, Edward, the Black Prince, who expanded the hunting grounds. The castle was also used to hold royal prisoners, including King John II of France and rival claimants to the English throne.
In the late 15th century, the castle became increasingly unfashionable and fell into decline. By the mid-16th century, it was in ruins and unsuitable for royal use. Stone was taken from the castle to build houses and other buildings in the town. The castle was almost destroyed during the construction of the London and Birmingham Railway in the 1830s. As a result, it became the first building in Britain to receive statutory protection from Parliament. In 1930, the castle passed from the Duchy of Cornwall to the government's control. It is maintained as a tourist attraction by English Heritage.
We stop on a bench here at the castle and have our lunch before we continue onwards.
We walk pass the train station here at Berkhamsted and onto Lower Kings Road by the canal side.
We cross the bridge over the canal and walk down to the towpath and look back to the bridge.
We now follow the Grand Union Canal towards the Tring direction.
The Grand Union Canal in England is part of the British canal system. It is the principal navigable waterway between London and the Midlands. Starting in London, one arm runs to Leicester and another ends in Birmingham, with the latter stretching for 137 miles (220 km) with 166 locks from London. The Birmingham line has a number of short branches to places including Slough, Aylesbury, Wendover, and Northampton. The Leicester line has two short arms of its own, to Market Harborough and Welford.
It has links with other canals and navigable waterways, including the River Thames, the Regent's Canal, the River Nene and River Soar, the Oxford Canal, the Stratford-upon-Avon Canal, the Digbeth Branch Canal and the Birmingham and Fazeley Canal.
The canal south of Braunston to the River Thames at Brentford in London is the original Grand Junction Canal. At Braunston the latter met the Oxford Canal linking back to the Thames to the south and to Coventry to the north via the Coventry Canal. "Grand Union Canal" is also the original name for what is now the Leicester line of the modern Grand Union, running from short east of Braunston to Leicester, and which is now sometimes referred to as the Old Grand Union Canal to avoid ambiguity.
We see a Little egret sitting in the River Bulbourne that sits beside the canal.
We approach Northchurch Lock with water pouring over that looks like a waterfall.
We reach Dudswell Lock where we should have taken the road off to our right, but we were busy talking and I wasn’t paying attention to the route as you become complacent when the route keeps on the straight.
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| Paddleboarders on the canal |
So after a while I notice and we backtrack.
We walk up the lane and over the bridge across the Railway Line and then turn left onto a footpath that runs alongside the tracks.
The path turns right away from the tracks after a while and heads uphill and we pass Norcott Hall Farm.
We head steeply upwards across a grassy field and up beside some farm fields before entering a wood.
We are now walking along Toms Hill and that leads eventually to a road, which we cross.
Wood Anemone
Star-shaped and often seen covering the floor of mature deciduous woodland, wood anemone is a spring showstopper.
Leaves: each leaf displays three visible lobes and the stalks are long. The leaves are basal, meaning they are in a rosette at the base of the plant.
Flowers: petals are white, with a pinkish tinge. Many distinct yellow anthers are visible.
Could be confused with: wood sorrel (Oxalis acetosella) at a distance. Though the plants are similar, wood sorrel has distinctive pink veins in its white petals and the leaves are different in shape, with a rounded, heart-shaped appearance compared to the deeply lobed leaves of the wood anemone.
The path we now take is leading us back into Aldbury.
We drop down and out onto Trooper Road and pass the Trooper Public House.
We are down back at the car, we decide to walk over to take a look at the church here in Aldbury.
The Parish Church of Saint John the Baptist is of Early English style. In 1203 the church was granted to the Canons of the Priory of St. Mary, Missenden by William de Brocland. Parts of the chancel and nave are 13th century in origin, thought to be part of an older Romanequse church which was enlarged in the 14th century. The church was restored in 1866–1867 by W. Browning, who removed two Romanesque arches from the north arcade of the nave and dressed the exterior in flint rubble masonry and totternhoe Stone.
The church is noted for the Pendley Chapel, also known as the Verney Chapel, an ornate memorial chapel which is located at the east end of the nave. It was installed here in 1575 but its origins are much older; Edmund Verney had the tomb moved here from the dissolved monastery of Ashridge and enclosed it in an ornate stone parclose screen, also brought from Ashridge. The floor is covered in medieval encaustic tiles. The small chapel contains a carved stone recumbent tomb of Sir Robert Whittingham (d.1471), a nobleman who was slain at the battle of Tewkesbury (illustrated below). He is depicted in plate armour lying next to his wife. At his feet lies a wild man, a mythical creature covered in hair, and a hind lies at his wife's feet. On the wall is a later monument to Sir Richard Anderson (1635–1699) of Pendley Manor and to his wife Elizabeth (1631–1698), sister of George, Viscount Hewwett. The Anderson are represented as a pair of busts surrounded by marble pilasters surmounted by a segmental pediment.
We change our footwear and
drive just up the road to visit the Tring Brewery in Tring itself.
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.
Sadly the tasting bar was closed today and you can't have a pint inside either!
So we did what we could only do and buy a nice selection to take home!
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.
A great 10 mile walk
