Sawbridgeworth to Bishops Stortford via Henry Moore Foundation walk
Sawbridgeworth, gently rolling countryside, fields, woods and waterways, the Stort Navigation, and Bishop's Stortford
Length |
23.7 km (14.7 mi), with 209/196m ascent/descent. For a shorter walk, see below Walk Options. |
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Toughness | 4 out of 10, with 5 hours walking time. For the whole outing, including trains, sights and meals, allow at least 8 hours. |
Walk Notes |
After passing through the centre of Sawbridgeworth, much of which is a conservation area, this East Hertfordshire walk leads mainly through open countryside, either along tracks, green lanes or quiet country roads, providing extensive views across the gently rolling countryside of fields, woods and waterways. The most attractive parts are then a scenic stretch of the Ash Valley around lunch in Much Hadham, one of Britain’s longest villages, and the long peaceful ending along the Stort Navigation past a couple of Nature Reserves. The pretty town centre of Bishop’s Stortford with its many tea options can be explored on an optional extension.
Note: The Henry Moore Foundation is closed from end October to early April. |
Walk Options | You can cut the walk short by taking a bus (runs Mon-Sat about every two hours) from the recommended lunch pub to either Bishop’s Stortford or St. Margaret’s (Hertford East line to Liverpool Street, run by the same train operating company). Shortcuts: It is possible to shorten the walk in four ways:
Taking all shortcuts reduces the length of the walk to 16.1 km (10.0 mi). |
Maps | OS Explorer: 194 (Hertford & Bishop’s Stortford)
OS Landranger: 167 (Chelmsford) |
Travel | Sawbridgeworth Station, map reference TL 490 150, is 6 km south of Bishop’s Stortford, and 48m above sea level. Bishop’s Stortford Station, map reference TL 491 208, is 43 km northeast of Charing X and 61m above sea level. Both are in East Hertfordshire. Trains to Sawbridgeworth leave from Liverpool Street down the West Anglia Main Line to Cambridge (journey time from 40 minutes, up to three trains per hour). Trains usually stop at Tottenham Hale (connect from the Victoria Line). Bishop’s Stortford is further down the line (journey time from 38 mins, up to six trains per hour).
Saturday Walkers’ Club: Take the train closest to 9.30 hours. |
Lunch |
The Hoops Inn Perry Green, Herts, SG10 6EF (01279 843 568). The Hoops Inn is located 7.5 km (4.7 mi) into the full walk and 6.8 km (4.3 mi) into it if taking Shortcut I. Currently closed.
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Tea |
Too numerous to list here. Please see the walk directions for details of the recommended cafes and pubs. |
Profile | |
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Help Us! |
After the walk, please leave a comment, it really helps. Thanks! You can also upload photos to the SWC Group on Flickr (upload your photos) and videos to Youtube. This walk's tags are: |
By Train |
Out (not a train station) Back (not a train station) |
By Car |
Start CM21 9JZ Map Directions Return to the start: Finish CM23 3BL Map Directions Travel to the start: |
Amazon | |
Help |
National Rail: 03457 48 49 50 • Traveline (bus times): 0871 200 22 33 (12p/min) • TFL (London) : 0343 222 1234 |
Version |
Jul-19 Thomas G |
Copyright | © Saturday Walkers Club. All Rights Reserved. No commercial use. No copying. No derivatives. Free with attribution for one time non-commercial use only. www.walkingclub.org.uk/site/license.shtml |
Walk Directions
Full directions for this walk are in a PDF file (link above) which you can print, or download on to a Kindle, tablet, or smartphone.
This is just the introduction. This walk's detailed directions are in a PDF available from wwww.walkingclub.org.uk