Garston to St Albans Walk

Nice tea room at the end of the walk, inside the museum , corner of chequer and Victoria streets

It's inside the old courtroom

We really enjoyed this walk, although didn't find the online instructions until afterwards so missed some updates, and agree with others that the path close the Park Street Roman Villa is very overgrown. At the blocked section of river path someone had helpfully cut a large hole in the wire fencing, so it is passable with care, rather than diverting. We really struggled with the section between Park Street and the A414 - the water meadow was impassable in hiking boots even on 1st June - after lots of backtracking and looking for a path from the A414 we ended up following the example of another group and climbing over the fence into the dry field alongside. My guess is that the wetland restoration is maintaining higher water levels.

December 2023 : at para 37 the riverside path is blocked by mesh fencing either side of a bridge. A diversion along roads is shown in the walk notes to avoid the blocked path, which hopefully will be reopened soon , as following the riverside path into St Albans is much nicer than walking along roads.

Did this walk Saturday 10/December/2021. Muddy almost all the way but shallow mud, a few places waterlogged especially Ver Meadows, stout waterproof boots needed. Several cyclists and horses shared the route.

Used the PDF instructions dated October-2021, and the GPX file. Instructions were ok but some suggested corrections are below.

We wanted to avoid the chain Beefeater so tried the Overdraught pub at Park Street. Phone calls were diverted to voicemail. It is small, with maybe only 7 tables inside, and it was too cold to eat outside in their beer garden, and inside was full so we had a Tring ale at the Falcon nearby which had only 3 other customers.(Both pubs are Greene King outlets). The barman said that his wife was ill but otherwise she serves simple sandwiches etc. Packed lunches came in handy with a nice ale. At the end of the walk we enjoyed an ale at Ye Olde Fighting Cocks, which was busy if noisy.

All trains on the Watford-junction to St.Albans abbey line were bus-replacement services that day, due to "lack of staff". A minibus took us to Garston quickly enough, but the return from St. Albans Abbey was slow with traffic, rain , darkness. If we had known about the bus-replacement-service before leaving home then we would have chosen a different walk.

Suggested corrections to the PDF instructions for December-2021

1. The telephone number for the Overdraught Pub has changed, the correct number (december-2021) is 01727 768221.

2. At step-7 the four-armed footpath sign now has only two arms, and is metal.

3. At Step-15 it would be helpful to indicate that Netherwelde Farm is also labelled Dutch Barn on the signs.

4. At Step-21 the text advice is to fork left at the "Park Street Roman Villa" notice-board. While the advice is correct, it is important to point out two things. First this route is now overgrown, narrow, has brambles and other irritants that tear at your clothing. Another walker ShivSidecar mentioned this (see 02/October/2021) . Second, the text route *differs* from the GPX file, although both text and GPX reach the same point at the end of the lake. The route offered in the GPX file is to turn *right* at the "Park Street Roman Villa" board, which is a wider easy path that goes around the lake on the opposite side offered by the text instructions - it just may be easier to take the wider path and turn right at the sign, not left.

--m&b--

Generally a more enjoyable cross-country walk than some comments (and the original TOCW book!) would suggest BUT for the first time in more than 70 walks from the books we came to a segment which was only passable with great difficulty and ripped clothing.

At para.21 [5], immediately after the sign for the slightly underwhelming Park Street Roman Villa, the path has not been cleared or maintained for a long time - thorns, branches and dense vegetation obstruct the way forward for 225 metres. I would recommend that you carry a stick to beat your way through the foliage and (more importantly) wear some kind of head protection - the profuse branches and head-high brambles could do you real damage. Further on in the same paragraph, the path down to the lake was unfindable 10 yards before the track (overgrown?) - we had to go on to the track itself in order to spot the path.

In para.14, the new permissive Bridleway 72 is not currently signed as such. This is a confusing location, as a new set of gates on the left means that the "new" permissive Bridleway actually looks like the older of the two paths on offer. Just follow the compass direction and you'll be OK.

In para.32 (children's playground) we couldn't see the gap in the field boundary ahead - it's easier to head off to the right, where there is an obvious clear area at the edge of the field, and which joins up with the correct path at the River Ver Guide panel at the end of the paragraph.

There don't seem to be many signs left in situ for the Ver Valley Walk (aka the River Ver Trail) - maybe it's been derecognised?

I won't have any truck with Beefeaters, so we went on to the Overdraught for lunch - friendly and basic, with Tring beers on pump.

We enjoyed doing this walk today. The route was straightforward to navigate. There was a replacement bus from Watford to Garston, so we chose to walk from Watford instead, which added about 40 minutes (2 miles) onto the walk but was fine. We bought a single to Watford and then a single home from St Albans City. Overall it’s a lovely walk. There was some noise pollution from the motorways but enough peace and quiet in-between for us. We arrived in St Albans with plenty of time to look around and visit the cathedral, which was an added bonus. It’s a perfect place to finish a walk! We took a packed lunch and ate it in a grassy area near the suggested lunch stop, which worked well, although a better place to stop if you’re taking lunch with you and you start a little earlier than us would be the lakes just after you cross the M25. Thank you for the walk directions and a great day out!

Noting Jana's comment No 18 below, I usually do this walk in the week before Christmas, when there is a Christmas fair on in the precincts of the Cathedral, plus a carol service in the Cathedral. Puts one in a festive mood. I will update the Directions then, noting Jana's observations.

The walk isn't that bad, and I always enjoy it - although SWC old timers used to refer to it as "Ghastly to St Albans"!. But being such a short journey from London, and the route being between two motorways, a bit of road noise is inevitable - when the wind is in the "wrong" direction.

I did the walk today. I got nearly lost a couple of times and got completely lost in St Albans after the sports field which was supposed to have led me to the St Peter's School. Of course at this stage I could have just walked to the Abbey with my friend uncle Google but I simply walked to the City station along the city circular.

There is also no petrol station by the field (on way to the Moor Mill / Beefeater).

Overall, I wouldn't recommend this walk at all because of its noise pollution from the motorways

I got lost in the large field just before the beefeater pub. I followed my GPS across trails left by a tractor.

I got a taxi from St Albans City to St Albans Abbey to catch my train.

I had a packed lunch in a field about 8 km in.

Advice from London Midland as of Jan 2017.

London to At Albans ABBEY tickets are NOT VALID on the fast / frequent St Albans CITY to London St Pancras trains.

And you've guessed it, London to St Albans CITY tickets are NOT VALID via Garston (the start of the walk).

So:

Buy a return from London to St Albans ABBEY, which passes through Garston on the way. And return from St Albans ABBEY (only!).

If you return from St Albans CITY (more, faster trains), you'll have to but a separate ticket.

Hi (anonymous) I've asked LM for clarification (again!). Andrew

Hello,

I did this walk today. Our experience of the ticket situation:

We bought St Albans City return tickets from Euston. There were no gates at Euston, but when we got to Watford* we were told by London Midland staff that they were not valid on the Watford/St Albans Abbey route because it was a different line. After a bit of pleading confusion they let us through without making us buy new tickets.

I would advise to either get your ticket on the St Albans Abbey route and make sure to return on the same line, or if you want to return from St Albans City then just get a single on the way out to Garston.

Also, we stopped at the Overdraught and it was a nice lunch - especially recommend the steak and ale pie. The outside of the place doesn't look promising but the food hits the spot.

Nice walk but it's a shame you never really get away from the sound of the motorway! However it's such a short hop from London that it's a good one to do.

*We got off at Watford because we missed the connection to Garston and got the bus instead which comes more frequently.

Just checked. London Midland say a St-Albans-City is valid via Euston. https://twitter.com/LondonMidland/status/747693753717170177

Sorry you had problems.

You're right, there isn't a 'St Albans (all stations)' ticket.

The National Rail website shows 'St Albans City' tickets being valid on the 'St Albans Abby' route (except for ones marked 'Thamselink only').

Maybe this is a change to something that was previously allowed. We'll check.

We'll check.

Just a note for any future travellers, I don't think that there are any St Albans (All Stations) tickets available, and the Euston ticket staff didn't think there was either. We bought a return to St Albans City, which is referred to as "St Albans" on some ticket sites, but found at the gates that this is not valid for the outward journey from Euston. :(.

Did the walk today in 3hrs with no breaks in lovely, sunny weather. It rained last night, but it has been fairly dry lately, so the route wasn't too muddy. It's easy to see, though, that during rainy season this walk can be almost impassable as partly there are no paths at all, but just fields to cross.

The first half up until Moor Mill Inn (nowadays a Premier Inn steakhouse) was absolutely delightful, but after that there are major roads to cross and the country is less picturesque. I didn't stop at any of the pubs, but from what I could see, the Moor Mill Inn is probably the best bet, as the others really did not look inviting at all.

While I had the instructions, I also used GPS, which sometimes cut corners and towards the end made me trespass on Sopwell Mill Farm grounds.

For travel I bought a single ticket to Garston and a single back from St Albans City.

Overall, easy walking and a straightforward route well-suited for beginners in the right season/dry weather.

We tried this walk today and the trails were so muddy that our progress was very slow and even with good boots many of the sections were dangerously slippery. With today's rain, I suspect many of the sections will now be underwater. I would suggest waiting until summer for this one and changing its season suggestion in the guide as well.

On Saturday (as reported by Brightspark in the Walk numbers section) 10 of us walked this in reasonable weather for February but sometimes the mud hindered progress. For the early woods section, concentration is a must

We used the website directions for the walk today. We bought a single ticket to Garston and a single back from St Albans City. Despite going under the M1 and over the M25, the walk had many lovely sections! On the whole, following the directions was straightforward. After crossing the M25, you turn right and then left (step 20). The instruction here was a bit confusing as the arrow pointed us left. Apart from that, no major problems. We stopped for a drink at Moor Mill which was interesting inside. The lakes after the M25 were beautiful. We had intended to try the pubs in Park Street but they weren't very enticing and we were a bit perturbed by the gun shop! In St Albans, highly recommend Ye Old Fighting Cocks. We also went into the music pub The Horn by the station which was very friendly. The walk wasn't overly muddy despite rainfall during the week. The worst bit was across the flood meadows which was very boggy with some menacing looking cows. We all enjoyed the walk.

I have been a bit condescending about this walk in the past (the old gag about it being "ghastly" to St Albans...) but in reality on a dull, still late autumn day it was really nice with some lovely leaf colour on the remaining canopy and nice woodland paths early on. I was congratulating myself on avoiding much of the mud en route but I had forgotten about the cattle-churned wastes of the Ver Valley section (paras 27-29 of the download instructions).I also had to encourage, albeit with some anxiety, a friendly cow to move aside to allow me to pass over the narrow concrete bridge in para 29.

St Albans was really buzzing with large crowds, a fair and live music, but I decided to press on to the station and reached there just in time to catch a fast train back to St Pancras where I enjoyed excellent coffee and chocolate cake.

Lucilla reported: Two stopped at Moor Mill for lunch whilst the other 18 decided it was too early to stop for lunch and walked on to Overdraught in Park Street. To our surprise, we were told by the barmaid that the pub was too small to cater for all of us, they could only offer 6 meals with absolutely no flexibility although the pub was not particularly busy. Fortunately, we only had 7 people who wanted lunch and two were happy to share a large sandwich. For future reference, I would not come to this pub if there is a large group. The other pub Falcon in Park Street does not serve food. There is a risk you may not get lunch at all.

By the time we got to the recommended tearoom Abigails, it was shut. Nothing was lost, we found another very nice cafe opposite across the garden from Abigails and enjoyed tea and cake in a cool aircon setting.

The Overdraught pub had run out of food at 1.30pm on a Sunday - said they didn't even have a slice of bread to make a sandwich - so not to be relied on for lunch. The Falcon pub was the most unfriendly I've ever visited.

I found the directions around the two lakes confusing and ended up coming out onto the road a little further south then intended, so I think the directions could be made a little clearer there if possible.

Take care here:

"[****] (p.61, col.1, last para )

....... Then in 110 150 metres, at

just before the end of the lake on your right-hand side, turn left (back on yourself) on

path 26, the Ver Valley Walk. You are again between two lakes, your direction 340

degrees, on a path of fine gravel."

DON'T turn left 'back on yourself'! There are TWO left turns here, one really does run back almost parallel with the path you've come down - ignore it, and take the gentler left keeping at the 340 degree bearing given. Your way will join the little river going upstream, with the trailer homes on the right, as described.

Double back and get thoroughly lost in the woods, like me.

If you use the book's sketch map to help with navigation then you need to be aware of something which can easily lead you astray. The last 1km before lunch looks like a straight path heading north, and this is also how the footpath looks on OS maps. But in fact the path curves right, staying alongside the river for a further 200m, where you are then supposed to turn left at a footpath marker. Well, if the marker was there we didn't see it, and there was no obvious path off to the left, so we just continued along the field edge. This takes you some way off to the east and you come to a different main road (the A5183, though that wasn't immediately obvious). You can reach the pub by turning left on this road but it's a long way round. So take care at this point!