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Hitchin Circular Walk

Across the most north easterly Chilterns ridge to Pegsdon Hills and Knocking Hoe NNR. A motte-and-double bailey and an abandoned medieval village and the Oughton chalk river

Circular Hertfordshire Long

History

This is a list of previous times this walk has been done by the club (since Jan 2010). For more recent events (since April 2015), full details are shown.

Date Option Post # Weather
Sat, 11-Jan-25 Hertfordshire Downlands (the easterly end of The Chilterns): Hitchin Circular 7 sunny frosty day
Sun, 13-Aug-23 Hertfordshire Downlands (the easterly end of The Chilterns): Hitchin Circular 10 grey to just before lunch then mostly sunny
Sun, 18-Sep-22 Hitchin Circular 4 started sunny turned cloudy ended sunny
Mon, 30-Aug-21 Hitchin Circular 4 cool and gloomy
Sat, 11-Jul-20 The Northeasterly End of the Chilterns: Hitchin Circular 14 overcast clearing to mostly sunny and warm
Wed, 04-Sep-19 Hitchin Circular 8 sunny with a nice breeze
Sat, 02-Feb-19 Hertfordshire Downlands (the easterly end of The Chilterns): Hitchin Circular 7 bright mostly sunny skies
Sun, 29-Jul-18 Hitchin Circular
Sat, 24-Jun-17 Beds and Herts Downlands: Hitchin Circular or to Harlington (Pegsdon and Barton Hills) [SWC 234] & [SWC 229] 13 overcast clearing to sunny and hot
Sun, 03-Jul-16 2: Hitchin Circular 16 warm with sunny periods and a light breeze
Sat, 27-Jun-15 Saturday Second Walk – The North Easterly End of The Chilterns 13 largely sunny
Sat, 25-Oct-14 Hitchin Circular Walk 10

Saturday 11-Jan-25

Thomas G
Stargazer is away
Length: 25.6 km (15.9 mi) [with shortcuts down to 20.8 km/12.9 mi]
Ascent/Descent: 355m
Net Walking Time: ca. 6 hours
Toughness: 6 out of 10
Sunset is at 16.11, giving light for walking until 16.45, with the last 15 minutes or so under streetlights anyway.
Take the Royston bound Thameslink train from St Pancras at 09.01 (East Croydon 08.31, London Bridge 08.46, Blackfriars 08.52, Farringdon 08.56, Finsbury Park 09.11), arriving Hitchin 09.37.
Return trains (to St Pancras): xx.11, xx.25, xx.41; plus the xx.03 (to King’s Cross).


This Hertfordshire walk covers the hilly area west of Hitchin. The morning route leads along farm tracks, field boundaries, shaded grassy lanes and through a few woods across the most north easterly ridge of The Chilterns, in Great Offley, to the steep chalk downlands of Pegsdon Hills and Knocking Hoe, dissected by quiet flat-bottomed valleys, which form the scenery around the lunch stop in Pegsdon, where the terraced pub garden provides stunning views overlooking the hills.
From Knocking Hoe the ancient Icknield Way leads to the pretty village of Pirton, with its impressive remains of a motte-and-double bailey and traces of an abandoned medieval village.
On the outskirts of Hitchin, Oughtonhead Common Local Nature Reserve is a mature alder and willow fen woodland, whose diversity of habitats is surprisingly large. From there the route follows the high-quality chalk river Oughton all the way to its wellhead. The final stretch leads past a very charming farm gate café to Hitchin’s old town, which has kept its medieval market town feel and has many fine Tudor and Georgian buildings.
Pass St. Mary’s Church, the largest parish church in Hertfordshire and evidence of how Hitchin prospered from the wool trade, and brave a final steep ascent through a park to then re-trace part of the morning route back to the train station at the easterly end of town.
This is a stile-free walk.

Lunch: a couple of early pubs in Great Offley; then The View in Pegsdon (13.7 km/8.5 mi, table booked for 12.30) or - on the short walk - The Motte & Bailey in Pirton (14.4 km/8.9 mi, food to 14.30), this also makes for a good tea stop on the full walk.
Tea: plenty of options, see the pdf.
For walk directions, map, photos, height profile and gpx/kml files click here . T=swc.234
  • Tue, 07-Jan-25

    Hi does anyone know if an Oyster card can be used to exit Hitchin station. Thanks

  • Tue, 07-Jan-25

    No. Oyster can only be used up to stations in TfL Zone 6 on that line. Contactless can be used as far as Welwyn Garden City but Hitchin is further out. See https://tfl.gov.uk/maps/track/national-rail.

  • Sat, 11-Jan-25

    6 off the train, with 1 other having just missed it and starting half an hour behind. Fog was in evidence from the train once we had left London behind, but it had all burned off by the time we started walking (at 9.40). So, just sunny blue skies all day, with the ground frozen, apart from on a few field boundaries that were bathing in the sun, where it was a bit soapy. Hoar frost almost everywhere, fine vistas, happy locals, a good walking pace, it was simply a brilliant day out.

    We got to The View at 12.35 for our pre-booked table (for 6, the picnicker marched on and got the 16.25 train). Food service was a tad slow in coming and some people (ok: all) insisted on 'puddings', so it took us 105 minutes to get going again.

    That meant that on the last ascent to the first houses in Hitchin we only got to see the tail end of the longed for (by some) sunset, which was straight from the Photoshop Library: bright orange skies with some fluffy clouds and the moon towering in another corner.

    In town then, for once on this walk we eschewed The Half Moon and settled fot The Albert Inn, the pub closest to the station.

    17.41 train. 7 sunny frosty day

  • Sat, 11-Jan-25

    Supplementary info to the main report. Having been affected by public transport issues, this walker started walking at 10:17 nearly 40 minutes behind the main group and the recommended train he had planned for. Still an excellent walk and glad to have lunch and walk the remainder of the walk not solo. Highlights were the approach into the Pegsdon lunch stop with it’s views of Deacon Hill, the red kite sightings and the unusual meeting of a group walking with2 Llamas (🦙 on leads). This walk would also work in reverse with the Windmill pub acting as the tea stop. Departing Hitchin at 17:41.

Sunday 13-Aug-23

Thomas G
Length: 25.6 km (15.9 mi) [with shortcuts down to 20.8 km/12.9 mi]
Ascent/Descent: 355m
Net Walking Time: ca. 6 hours
Toughness: 6 out of 10
Take the Cambridge bound Thameslink train (East Croydon 09.09, Norwood Junction 09.13, London Bridge 09.26, Blackfriars 09.32, Farringdon 09.36, St. Pancras 09.41, Finsbury Park 09.48), arriving Hitchin 10.14.
Return trains : xx.00, xx.30, xx.34.
This Hertfordshire walk covers the hilly area west of Hitchin. The morning route leads along farm tracks, field boundaries, shaded grassy lanes and through a few woods across the most north easterly ridge of The Chilterns, in Great Offley, to the steep chalk downlands of Pegsdon Hills and Knocking Hoe, dissected by quiet flat-bottomed valleys, which form the scenery around the lunch stop in Pegsdon, where the terraced pub garden provides stunning views overlooking the hills.
From Knocking Hoe the ancient Icknield Way leads to the pretty village of Pirton, with its impressive remains of a motte-and-double bailey and traces of an abandoned medieval village.
On the outskirts of Hitchin, Oughtonhead Common Local Nature Reserve is a mature alder and willow fen woodland, whose diversity of habitats is surprisingly large. From there the route follows the high-quality chalk river Oughton all the way to its wellhead. The final stretch leads past a very charming farm gate café to Hitchin’s old town, which has kept its medieval market town feel and has many fine Tudor and Georgian buildings.
Pass St. Mary’s Church, the largest parish church in Hertfordshire and evidence of how Hitchin prospered from the wool trade, and brave a final steep ascent through a park to then re-trace part of the morning route back to the train station at the easterly end of town.
This is a stile-free walk.
Lunch: a couple of early pubs in Great Offley; then The View in Pegsdon (13.7 km/8.5 mi, food to 17.00) or - on the short walk - The Motte & Bailey in Pirton (14.4 km/8.9 mi, food to 15.00), this also makes for a good tea stop on the full walk.
Tea: plenty of options, see the pdf.
For walk directions, map, photos, height profile and gpx/kml files click here. T=swc.234
  • Sun, 13-Aug-23

    9 off the train, incl. 1 first-timer, with 1 car driver waiting outside, ie 10 in weather that was grey to just before lunch then mostly sunny

    At the start of the walk, there were some mutterings containing the 'S-word', but in the end all 10 completed the full route, incl. at least 2 stops at hostelries.

    In more detail: the weather was more autumnal than summery initially, but the fully grown corn field near the start (with a fine wide path through it) and some harvested (but not yet ploughed) cereal fields confirmed that we were in fact in mid-summer. Mature fields make for a fine pathcwork of colours in the rolling landscape, which everyone seemed to enjoy.

    We saw sticklebacks in the Hiz River by Charlton, speedwell and scarlet pimpernel, fields of clover, kites galore, partridges running wild and plenty of pheasants (and pheasant feeders).

    Upon approaching the Pegsdon Hills, the sun decided to make an appearance and the descent into the view was as marvellous as ever. There was a field of pyramid orchids en route (a 'weed reserve' apparently) and the sandwichers dropped off on the slope to have their break. They made it to The View just before us lunchers got our food, so took up another table on the terrace, both with 'The View' back to the hills just descended. The pub/restaurant has much improved since its last management (and name) change.

    On up to the Icknield Way past the Knocking Hoe NNR, and only a bit later we passed The Motte & Bailey in Pirton, where - by public demand - we sat down for a snifter. After passing the motte & bailey and the deserted medieval settlement, it was more fields with easy paths and fine views before going through the Oughtonhead Nature Reserve, which again everyone seemed to enjoy. Having had a 2nd pub stop, we were always going to be too late for the mega-charming Oughtonhead Farmgate Tea Room, but when it later came to the decison point: turn left to the station or right to The Half Moon, I was surprised to see that the vote went 8:2 for The Half Moon (a multi CAMRA-award-winning pub).

    Surprised as it had been a long day already, especially so for the first-timer (one of the longest walks she has walked) and for the 2 convalescents, for whom this was the longest walk in several years! Hitchin, the Lourdes of the North!

    Very fine day out, with plenty of great chat along the way. Group cohesion: 9.5 out of 10

Sunday 18-Sep-22

Mr M Tiger
Mr M Tiger
25.7 km (16.0 mi), 14.5 or 13 miles
Difficulty, 7, 6 or 5 out of 10
The full walk, visiting the Pegsdon Hills, is a bit long, especially for Mr Tiger, but it can be trimmed to 14.5 or even 13 miles by following two shortcuts and lunching in either Great Offley or Pirton. Pirton has the remains of a motte-and-bailey castle and an abandoned medieval village. After Pirton,, a stretch through Oughtonhead Common nature reserve leads into Hitchin’s old town (unless you take Shortcut 2).
Trains
Get the 9:41 Thameslink train from St Pancras towards Cambridge, arriving Hitchin 10:13. This train can also be caught at East Croydon 9:10 and Finsbury Park 9:48
Trains return at xx:00 for St Pancras and beyond. There’s an xx:30 and a slower xx:34 to Kings Cross. Get a return to Hitchin.
Lunch: full walk
The View, Pegsdon (01582 882555) 13.7 km (8.5 mi) into the walk. As its name suggests, there are stunning views. Recently revamped. Booking advisable.
Lunch: Taking Shortcut 1
The recommended pub for the shorter walk is the Motte & Bailey in Pirton after 9 miles. If that’s a pub too far, there are earlier ones in Great Offley. Of these, the Red Lion may be reached too soon. The Green Man (01462 768 256), reached later, is a more likely candidate.
Tea: Oughtonhead Farm Garden Gate Tea Room (07969 621 223). A charming facility 3.8 km (2.4 mi) from the end of the main walk. In summer they generally seem to be open till 16.00.
No shortage of places in Hitchin – see notes - but your day isn’t complete without a visit to The Half Moon 57 Queen Street (01462 452 448), Camra’s Hertfordshire pub of the year several times over.
Walk Directions here
T=swc.234
  • Mon, 19-Sep-22

    4 on a day that started sunny turned cloudy ended sunny We progressed at a fair rate of knots. Lunch was taken at the Green Man (which I hadn’t realised was on a lengthy detour) It was fine and the others liked their meals.

    On we sped. By now, yours truly was trailing. The others headed for the hills, I headed for Shortcut 1.

    I waited for them at the Motte and Bailey with a half of Old Rosey. They turned up eventually and we were off again. Zooming past the motte and the abandoned village and through the big fields, where I lost sight of them.

    Approaching Oughtonhead, I’m afraid, readers, I succumbed to the temptation of Shortcut 2. Never again. Should have gone on. A dreary disappointing end to an otherwise enjoyable walk.

    The others caught me up at the station in time for the 1730

Monday 30-Aug-21

PeteG
Hitchin Circular T=swc.234

Length: 14.3 miles (23km) 5 out of 10 (with the shortcut ending)
Somewhere the Bank Holiday crowds might not go?

"This Hertfordshire walk covers the hilly area west of Hitchin. The morning route leads along farm tracks, field boundaries, shaded grassy lanes and through a few woods across the most north easterly ridge of the Chilterns, in Great Offley, to the steep chalk downlands of Pegsdon Hills and Knocking Hoe, dissected by quiet flat-bottomed valleys, which form the scenery around the lunch stop in Pegsdon.

From Knocking Hoe the ancient Icknield Way leads to the pretty village of Pirton, with its impressive remains of a motte-and-double bailey castle and traces of an abandoned medieval village."

Hitchin Circular
Trains: Get the 0931 Thameslink Peterborough train from London Bridge ( 0945 St Pancras - this is a train from Horsham, so there are multiple other joining points) arriving Hitchin 1019. Frequent return trains.
Lunch: The Live and let Live seems to have changed into The View, with a pretentious website to match. The kitchen is closed Mondays, so best plan for a picnic on the hill and afternoon drink in the Motte and Bailey in the next village if doing the full walk.
Tea: Plentiful choice in Hitchin

  • Mon, 30-Aug-21

    Just 4 on this enjoyable walk on a cool and gloomy day. Making good time, we decided to head for the second pub, rather than have a picnic on the chilly hillside. After pop-up catering & good beer, we set off again & ended up doing the long walk, squeezing in a tea stop at the farm gate café. A final beer in Hitchin rounded off a great day out.

Saturday 11-Jul-20

Thomas G
Length: 25.6 km (15.9 mi), Ascent/Descent: 348 m
[with shortcuts down to 20.8 km/12.9 mi, also has one bus dropout]
Net Walking Time: ca. 6 hours, Toughness: 7 out of 10
Take the (Brighton to Cambridge) Thameslink train (East Croydon 09.01, London Bridge 09.16, Blackfriars 09.22, City Thameslink 09.24, Farringdon 09.26, St. Pancras 09.31, Finsbury Park [Victoria Line] 09.42), arriving Hitchin 10.08. Return trains : xx.04, xx.11, xx.26, xx.34, xx.41, xx.56.
This Hertfordshire walk covers the hilly area west of Hitchin. The morning route leads along farm tracks, field boundaries, shaded grassy lanes and through a few woods across the most north easterly ridge of The Chilterns, in Great Offley, to the steep chalk downlands of Pegsdon Hills and Knocking Hoe, dissected by quiet flat-bottomed valleys, which form the scenery around the lunch stop in Pegsdon, where the terraced pub garden provides stunning views overlooking the hills.
From Knocking Hoe the ancient Icknield Way leads to the pretty village of Pirton, with its impressive remains of a motte-and-double bailey and traces of an abandoned medieval village.
On the outskirts of Hitchin, Oughtonhead Common Local Nature Reserve is a mature alder and willow fen woodland, whose diversity of habitats is surprisingly large. From there the route follows the high-quality chalk river Oughton all the way to its wellhead. The final stretch leads past a very charming farm gate café to Hitchin’s old town, which has kept its medieval market town feel and has many fine Tudor and Georgian buildings.
Pass St. Mary’s Church, the largest parish church in Hertfordshire and evidence of how Hitchin prospered from the wool trade, and brave a final steep ascent through a park to then re-trace part of the morning route back to the train station at the easterly end of town.
This is a stile-free walk.

Covid-compatibility: you start along semi-narrow passages to get to the other end of Hitchin, there may be some pedestrian traffic there; else it is wide open countryside, almost entirely on car wide paths or tracks with little traffic.

Lunch: The Live and Let Live in Pegsdon (13.7 km/8.5 mi, food all day, fully refurbished acc. to the website);
or The Motte & Bailey in Pirton on the short walk (14.4 km/8.9 mi, food to 15.00), this also makes for a good tea stop on the full walk.
Tea: plenty of options, see the pdf.
For walk directions, map, photos, height profile and gpx/kml files click here. T=swc.234
  • Anonymous
    Fri, 10-Jul-20

    Thanks for scheduling what looks like a great walk in unfamiliar territory for many of us. Live and Let Live pub still closed, so picnic time.

  • Fri, 10-Jul-20

    Yes and no: I just called them. The Lady on the phone said they will be open, and be selling drinks and there will be a BBQ outside...(?) So, at least liquid refreshments should be available.

    But picnic on the hillside with views of the pub is at least as good as the real thing.

  • Sat, 11-Jul-20

    12 off the train, 1 off an earlier one, 1 car driver, 14 walkers in overcast clearing to mostly sunny and warm weather. Groups of 5 and 2 and 5 set off with the walk-checker plus 1 other staying behind, but the second group of 5 seemed to have problems following the route from early on and various members of it were then found later joining other subgroups (a yellow-card offence).

    Lots of swaying cereal fields, loads of wildflowers, especially in the Pegsdon Hills with the attendant butterflies, bees, wasps and bumblebees. Picnic was had on the slopes of the Pegsdon Hills, overlooking the Bedfordshire Plain (and the lunch pub), with the various groups spreading out along the two described descent routes. While the pub seemed shut from its main entrance, the group descending along the alternate route could see that there was some activity at the back, so we enquired about drinks, and were rewarded with freshly pulled pints. In fact they were just setting up and a BBQ was indeed fired up as we left (jerk chicken seemd to be on the menu).

    On to Hitchin along Icknield Way, fields and through the lovely Oughtonhead Nature Reserve. The Farm Gate Cafe is still Covid-shut, but Hitchin town centre was heaving, with lots of cafes, ice cream parlours and pubs being open.

    16.41 train for the first group.

  • Karen
    Sat, 11-Jul-20

    The ‘fast’ group picknicked at the recommended picnic spot on Pegsdon Hills, taking over the bench from a family who were just moving on as we arrived. A couple others caught up and dined an appropriate socially-distanced distance away. We set off hoping for refreshments at the Live and Let Live, but there were no obvious signs of the imminent opening the others discovered. We did have a lovely break at the Motte and Bailey in the next village. Very picturesque, well run spot. Upon arrival in Hitchin, we deemed town too busy and made our way to the station. Stopped for a drink en route, but discovered after we had set down in the beer garden that ordering was through an app only. No one had the patience for that, so we called it a day and made the 16:41.

    Great day. Beautiful blue skies and fields of gold. A field of poppies at one point. Perfect temperature. Only thing lacking was that the wonderful tea stop on the edge of the nature reserve was closed - hopefully they will be back in business soon.

  • Donal Flinn
    Sat, 11-Jul-20

    Thomas

    Thank you for organising todays walk, much appreciated. The SWC are a great group of people and I am very proud to be part of it.

Wednesday 04-Sep-19

PeteG
Hitchin Circular T=swc.234

Length: 14.3 miles (23km) 6 out of 10 - option at the end to do 2.5km for the full walk

"This Hertfordshire walk covers the hilly area west of Hitchin. The morning route leads along farm tracks, field boundaries, shaded grassy lanes and through a few woods across the most north easterly ridge of the Chilterns, in Great Offley, to the steep chalk downlands of Pegsdon Hills and Knocking Hoe, dissected by quiet flat-bottomed valleys, which form the scenery around the lunch stop in Pegsdon.

From Knocking Hoe the ancient Icknield Way leads to the pretty village of Pirton, with its impressive remains of a motte-and-double bailey castle and traces of an abandoned medieval village."

Trains: Get the 1001 Thameslink Cambridge train from St Pancras (London Bridge 0946, Blackfriars 0951 - this train is from Brighton, so there are multiple joining points) arriving Hitchin 1038. Frequent return trains.

Lunch: . The Live and Let Live in Pegsdon (13.7 km/8.5 mi, food 1200-1500), so a late lunch.


  • Thu, 05-Sep-19

    8 on a sunny with a nice breeze day. We lost one regular who stopped to get water. 5 took the lunchtime shortcut with 2 pressing on to the Pegsdun Hills, stopping in the pub after a picnic. 4 other walkers ordered just before us, & their food arrived just as we were finishing our pints, so not too bad. We all took the shorcut ending into town, stopping at the Molly Malone at different times. The Nightingale is now flats.

  • Anonymous
    Fri, 06-Sep-19

    3 of the 5 short cutters took a further unofficial shortcut but still ended up totalling a healthy 11.8 miles.

Saturday 02-Feb-19

Thomas G
Length: 25.6 km (15.9 mi), Ascent/Descent: 348 m
[with shortcuts down to 20.8 km/12.9 mi, also has one bus dropout]
Net Walking Time: ca. 6 hours, Toughness: 7 out of 10
Take the 09.35 Ely train from King’s Cross (Finsbury Park [Piccadilly and Victoria Lines] 09.42, Stevenage 10.03), arrives Hitchin 10.08.
Return trains : xx.11, xx.41, xx.55.
This Hertfordshire walk covers the hilly area west of Hitchin. The morning route leads along farm tracks, field boundaries, shaded grassy lanes and through a few woods across the most north easterly ridge of The Chilterns, in Great Offley, to the steep chalk downlands of Pegsdon Hills and Knocking Hoe, dissected by quiet flat-bottomed valleys, which form the scenery around the lunch stop in Pegsdon, where the terraced pub garden provides stunning views overlooking the hills.
From Knocking Hoe the ancient Icknield Way leads to the pretty village of Pirton, with its impressive remains of a motte-and-double bailey and traces of an abandoned medieval village.
On the outskirts of Hitchin, Oughtonhead Common Local Nature Reserve is a mature alder and willow fen woodland, whose diversity of habitats is surprisingly large. From there the route follows the high-quality chalk river Oughton all the way to its wellhead. The final stretch leads past a very charming farm gate café to Hitchin’s old town, which has kept its medieval market town feel and has many fine Tudor and Georgian buildings.
Pass St. Mary’s Church, the largest parish church in Hertfordshire and evidence of how Hitchin prospered from the wool trade, and brave a final steep ascent through a park to then re-trace part of the morning route back to the train station at the easterly end of town.
This is a stile-free walk.
Lunch: The Live and Let Live in Pegsdon (13.7 km/8.5 mi, food all day);
or The Motte & Bailey in Pirton on the short walk (14.4 km/8.9 mi, food to 15.00).
Tea: plenty of options, see the pdf.
For walk directions, map, photos, height profile and gpx/kml files click here . T=swc.234
  • Sat, 02-Feb-19

    After seeing growing amounts of snow cover on the train journey, 7 eagerly emerged on the platform in Hitchin under bright mostly sunny skies . As a Hitchin virgin, I was somewhat apprehensive about tackling this long walk in early February -- but it was a winter delight with good snow cover, particularly on the hills....Two opted for the short version, leaving 5 on the long-haul who had a rather leisurely (but educational) lunch or drinks at the quirky pub just below the escarpment with fine views back to the snow-capped hills. Once finished with lunch, we headed back up the hill with some nice afternoon views. The afternoon route is varied, including a nice section along a very clear chalk stream. Back in Hitchin at dusk, we did a circuit of the charming old town and church before enjoying some bevies in an old style pub with a wide selection of real ales and ultimately catching the 18:11... So, all in all, a really good winter outing....

Sunday 29-Jul-18

Mr M Tiger
Mr M Tiger
25.7 km (16.0 mi), 14.5 or 13 miles
Toughness, 7, 6 or 5 out of 10
The full strenuous 16 mile walk, leading to the Pegsdon Hills, Knocking Hoe, and a lunch stop with stunning views, will appeal to our tough cookies but it can be trimmed to an easier walk with the aid of Shortcuts I and II. The afternoon takes you to the pretty village of Pirton, with its remnant motte-and-bailey and abandoned medieval village, then through the fen woodland of Oughtonhead Common to Hitchin’s old town and, if up for it, a great pub.
Trains
Get the Peterborough train from Kings Cross at 10:11 (Finsbury Park 10:17), arriving Hitchin at 10:42.
Return to Kings Cross at xx:58 and xx:30. There's also a slower train at xx:34. Get a return to Hitchin.
Lunch: For the full walk, The Live and Let Live, Pegsdon, (01582 881 739 ) 8.5 miles into the walk.
The pub recommended for those taking shortcut 1 is the The Motte & Bailey in Pirton after 9 miles. (If that’s a pub too far, there are earlier ones in Great Offley, The Red Lion and The Green Man after 4.2 and 5.6 miles).
Tea:
Oughtonhead Farm Garden Gate Tea Room (07969 621 223), a charming facility 3.8 km (2.4 mi) from the end of the main walk. In summer they generally seem to be open till 16.00.
There's no shortage of places in Hitchin (see notes) and no visit to Hitchin is complete without a visit to The Half Moon , 57 Queen Street, Camra’s Hertfordshire pub of the year several times over.
Walk Directions here
T=swc.234

Saturday 24-Jun-17

Thomas G
SWC 234 – Hitchin Circular, or just to Pegsdon, and then combined with SWC 229 (Leagrave to Harlington)
[from Pegsdon follow the Bunyan Trail for an obvious link to Hexton, and on to Harlington, see route map linked below]
Length: 25.6 km (16.0 mi) [with shortcuts: 20.7 km (13.0 mi)] or 28.9 km (17.9 mi) to Harlington
Ascent/descent: 414 m or 476m to Harlington
Toughness: 7/10, or 8/10 to Harlington
9.22 Peterborough train from Kings Cross (9.28 Finsbury Park), arriving Hitchin at 9.52.
Return trains : from Hitchin - four per hour until very late, the fast ones are departing on xx.00 and xx.30;
from Harlington (to St. Pancras and all other Thameslink stations) – also four per hour on xx.08, xx.25, xx.41 and xx.55.
Note: you will need two separate singles for the Harlington Ending (both Off-Peak tickets cost £12.70 each at full price).
This Hertfordshire walk covers the hilly area west of Hitchin. The morning route leads along farm tracks, field boundaries, shaded grassy lanes and through a few woods across the most north easterly ridge of The Chilterns, in Great Offley, to the steep chalk downlands of Pegsdon Hills and Knocking Hoe, dissected by quiet flat bottomed valleys, which form the scenery around the lunch stop in Pegsdon, where the terraced pub garden provides stunning views overlooking the hills.
From Knocking Hoe the ancient Icknield Way leads to the pretty village of Pirton, with its impressive remains of a motte-and-double bailey and traces of an abandoned medieval village.
On the outskirts of Hitchin, Oughtonhead Common is a mature alder and willow fen woodland, whose diversity of habitats is surprisingly large. From there the route follows the high quality chalk river Oughton all the way to its wellhead. The final stretch leads past a very charming farm gate café to Hitchin’s old town, which has kept its medieval market town feel and has many fine Tudor and Georgian buildings. Pass St. Mary’s Church, the largest parish church in Hertfordshire and evidence of how Hitchin prospered from the wool trade, and brave a final steep ascent through a park to then re-trace part of the morning route back to the train station at the easterly end of town.
This is a stile-free walk.
Hexton to Harlington : the amazing Barton Hills, possibly the most scenic Downs north of the Thames (close to London) with their hillside springs, then rolling fields to Harlington.
Lunch: The Live and Let Live Country Inn in Pegsdon (13.7 km/8.5 mi, food to ) or The Motte & Bailey (food all day) or The Fox (food to 15.00), both in Pirton (17.0 km/10.6 mi into the main walk, 14.4 km if taking Shortcut I). If finishing in Harlington, there is also The Raven of Hexton (15.9 km/9.9 mi, food all day).
Tea: Oughtonhead Farm Garden Gate Tea Room , one of the finest tea stops on any walk (3.8 km/2.4 mi from the end, open to 16.00 usually, call ahead if running late), and plenty of options in Hitchin (see pdf). If finishing in Harlington , there is also The Olde Watermill (5.4 km from the end) and two pubs in Harlington.
For walk directions, a route map, photos or gpx/kml files: click here.t=swc.234
For the Harlington Ending you’ll find all necessary stuff here.
  • Kelda
    Sun, 18-Jun-17

    I should be there - let's hope the sun is still shining!

  • Karen
    Sun, 25-Jun-17

    13 overcast clearing to sunny and hot

    The weather turned out much better than forecast (resulting in sun burn for some) and 13 enjoyed a fine day out in the countryside near Hitchin. This a particularly lovely walk just 30 minutes from Kings Cross and with a sub £9 return ticket if you have a railcard.

    About 9 picknicked up on Pegsdon Hills (a particularly fine picnic spot) looking down a steep slope over the Bedforshire plain. The rest took lunch at The Live and Let Live. After lunch, the walk writer explored the link to another walk finishing in Harlington, but everyone else continued on the circular walk back to Hitchin. Anyone who had done the walk before couldn't resist the route back as it meant a chance to stop at Oughtonhead Farm Garden Gate Tea Room. A delightful place to stop for tea: homemade lovely cakes, tea served in vintage china, with seating outside in a lovely garden.

    The walk is simply lovely, maybe especially so at this time of the year. Fields of crops in various shades of green, some beginning to turn golden, gentle hills, footpaths through fields clearly marked, dramatic views from up on the Pegsdon Hills, a pleasant nature reserve on the outskirts of the town and a fine tea stop. Hitchin itself offers plenty of watering holes and 3 of us enjoyed a drink or two at the CAMRA-endorsed Half Moon pub. Back to London on the 18:30 train.

Sunday 03-Jul-16

Mr M Tiger
Mr M Tiger
Hitchin Circular SWC walk 234
25.7, 21.3, 18.8 km (16, 14.5 or 13 miles)
Toughness, 7, 6 or 5/10
The full morning route leads to the Pegsdon Hills and Knocking Hoe, and a lunch stop with stunning views. Afterwards the ancient Icknield Way leads to the pretty village of Pirton, with its remains of a motte-and- bailey and abandoned medieval village. Then through the fen woodland of Oughtonhead Common, and finally Hitchin’s old town, which still echos its medieval past.
The 16 mile walk is strenuous and sounds like one for the hardnuts but there’s still plenty to interest the rest of us. It's possible to miss out a few hills and whittle the length down to 14.5 or 13 miles thanks to two shortcuts. Last year, Mr Tiger himself managed the 14.5 mile version, no bother.
Trains
Get the 9:52 Cambridge train from Kings Cross (Finsbury Park 9:58) arriving Hitchin at 10:22.
Return at xx:58, xx:30 or on the slower xx:34. Get a return to Hitchin.
Lunch:
For the full walk, The Live and Let Live, Pegsdon, (01582 881 739), is recommended. It is 13.7 km (8.5 miles) into the walk.
The pub recommended for those taking shortcut 1 is the the Motte & Bailey (01462 712 730) in Pirton after 9 miles.
If these seem too far, there are earlier pubs in Great Offley, The Red Lion and The Green Man after 4.2 and 5.6 miles.
Tea
The Garden Gate Tea Room at Oughtonhead Farm (07969 621 223) is recommended, usually open till 16.00 in summer. A charming facility 3.8 km (2.4 miles) from the end of the main walk.
No shortage of places in Hitchin – see notes - The Half Moon, 57 Queen Street (01462 452 448), twice voted CAMRA’s Herts Pub of the Year, is specially recommended.
Walk Directions here
A shortcut around lunch reduces the length of the walk by 2.4 km. Another near the end reduces the length by 2.5 km. Taking either of these reduces the effort to 6/10, taking both makes it a 5/10.
T=swc.234
  • Anonymous
    Thu, 30-Jun-16

    Keen to do this walk, anyone else?

  • Thu, 30-Jun-16

    going

  • Anonymous
    Sat, 02-Jul-16

    we will be joining at finsbury park. looking forward to it.

  • Mon, 04-Jul-16

    16 on this walk with 1 making an early start and doing the "Letchworth variation". The weather warm with sunny periods and a light breeze .

    This superb stile-free outing in the rolling, verdant Hertfordshire countryside provided all with a splendid day out. Just before lunch you have some spectacular hill-top views which provides ideal picnic opportunities before descending to the lunch-time pub the Live and let Live. The pub was not very full but some still had to wait awhile for food, The picnickers, keen to get to the fabled Garden Gate Tea Room, set off early and by maintaining a steady pace reached the tea-rooms in good time and were not disappointed. Tea in proper china cups (little fingers appropriately cocked)and cakes to die for were enjoyed by about 10 of us - some pub-lunchers arrived with a few minutes to spare. Definitely a highlight and not to be missed. Although quite a long walk the easy trails, lanes and tracks means you can keep up a good pace without feeling unduly stressed. Some of us did a small circuit of Hitchen - not covered in the gpx file before catching fast train back to London. A superb day out with most opting for the full walk. The 9.22 train may be a better bet and gives you more time to reach the tea-room.

  • Anonymous
    Mon, 04-Jul-16

    Worth adding that this walk was dry underfoot, despite plenty of heavy rain in the last month. I put this down to the many fields of crops, drinking the ground dry. This was a good time of year to do this walk. The many fields might be dull in colder months and you'd miss the butterflies and wild orchids on Pegsdon Hill.

Saturday 27-Jun-15

Walker
A hilly walk in the Hertfordshire/Bedfordshire borders, half an hour from Central London, for less than a tenner (with a Railcard)

SWC Walk 234 – Hitchin Circular

Length: 25.7 km (16.0 mi) [with shortcuts: 20.8 km (13.0 mi)]
Ascent/descent: 394 m
Toughness: 7 out of 10

9.22 Peterborough train from Kings Cross (9.28 Finsbury Park), arriving Hitchin at 9.55

Return trains are four per hour until very late, the fast ones are departing on XX.00 and XX.30

First regular posting of this new walk, which was walk-checked to general acclaim last autumn.

It covers the hilly area west of Hitchin, on the Hertfordshire/Bedfordshire borders, features two notable climbs over the most north easterly Chilterns ridges, and is centred around the steep chalk downlands of Pegsdon Hills and Knocking Hoe Nature Reserves. Most scenic is the descent through Pegsdon Hills to lunch at The Live and Let Live Country Inn in Pegsdon (13.7 km/8.5 mi into the walk), from whose garden you have stunning views back to the surrounding hills. Before and after that the route follows mostly grassy lanes or the ancient Icknield Way, when it doesn't meander through a few woods.

The Motte & Bailey Village Inn in the pretty village of Pirton is an option for a mid-afternoon break, before another stretch along the Icknield Way leads to the outskirts of Hitchin. On the way Oughtonhead Common Nature Reserve – a mature alder and willow fen woodland – is passed through, where the route follows the Oughton chalk river to its wellhead. From there it is only a few minutes to one of the cutest and quirkiest tea stops: Oughtonhead Farm Garden Gate Tea Room, 3.8 km from the end of the walk.

After a short ascent to Hitchin's fringes the finish leads down through its old town, which has kept its medieval market town feel and features many fine Tudor and Georgian buildings, as well as more pleasant tea and dining options (one of the reasons why Hitchin was voted the 9th best town in the UK in which to live in a 2013 poll in The Times). From there just one more short and sharp ascent through a small park lies between you and the station.

For walk directions click here.
For a map click here.
For a gpx or a kml file click here.
To leave feedback after the walk click here.
  • Mon, 22-Jun-15

    Intend going.

  • Mon, 22-Jun-15

    Intend going. (Quo vadis?)

  • Anonymous
    Tue, 23-Jun-15

    Two girls have every intention of coming along. One promises to keep up, follow the instructions, leave the flowers alone and be good.

  • Thu, 25-Jun-15

    I fully intend going and having looked closely at the spider's web of walk directions, the OS map and the GPX downloaded route have some observations:

    1. From the station keep EAST, then 2. keep SOUTH until choices of routes at a. Luton Road and later at b. 4-way bridleway junction.

    After lunch at Pegsdon (ETA 1pm?) follow line of least resistance back to Hitchin in need of tea and a lie down in a quiet room.

  • Anonymous
    Fri, 26-Jun-15

    I may do the shorter version (still 13 miles) leaving an hour later.

  • Sat, 27-Jun-15

    I'm just wondering if anyone interested in doing this walk on Sunday as I can't make it Saturday.

  • Ian T
    Sun, 28-Jun-15

    13 largely sunny Nice walk for summer with sweeping views. Dry underfoot. One took the early shortcut, missing the hills, but finding a few orchids. At least one took the later shortcut. The garden gate tea stop was a good 'un with big pots of tea and homemade cake and as an added bonus, we got presented with the days leftover cake. It was a hot day and on arrival in Hitchin a massive hydration exercise was undertaken in the Half Moon (Camra Herts pub of the year). Later, some who were still suffering hydration problems had to move on the Bricklayers. Others, made of sterner stuff, headed for home.

  • Pia
    Sun, 28-Jun-15

    Glorious day with great views over the hills and into valleys. Very lucky with the weather which was sunny but with a slight breeze. iIt was one continues celebration of Paul's birthday who must now at least feel two years older. Amazingly, and totally in defiance of normal SWC outings, the group stayed together even after an unprecedented hold up at the lunchtime pub which kept losing orders behind the bar. The service at the tearoom however made more than up for it, see Ian's comment, which not only stayed open for late, slowish-after-lunch walkers like myself, but had still plenty of cakes to give away. The whole day was a complete treat.

  • Karen
    Sun, 28-Jun-15

    I really liked this walk. The countryside was very lovely; I must have counted at least 50 shades of green over the course of the day.

    I was one of the unfortunate souls whose lunch order got lost somewhere between the bar and the kitchen, but journalistic objectivity compels me to report that the lunches that arrived on time looked really, really good and everyone else was happy. (To add insult to injury, when my food eventually arrived, it turned out that I'd ordered poorly.)

    The walk was long, but not tough. The most exerting part of the day was when the pace really picked up so that we could reach the tea stop in time. But the rush was worth it. The nicest tea stop I've had the pleasure of visiting on a Saturday Walk. Nice people, great cake, gorgeous setting.