Welwyn Circular walk

An easy walk through Hertfordshire countryside, visiting Ayot St Lawrence and an ivied Gothic ruin of a church.

Old St. Lawrence's Church, Ayot St. Lawrence SWC 69 - Welwyn Garden City Circular
Old St. Lawrence's Church, Ayot St. Lawrence

SWC 69 - Welwyn Garden City Circular

Sep-19 • thomasgrabow on Flickr

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River Lea in Wheathampstead SWC 69 - Welwyn Garden City Circular [Wheathampstead Lunch Diversion]
River Lea in Wheathampstead

SWC 69 - Welwyn Garden City Circular [Wheathampstead Lunch Diversion]

Sep-19 • thomasgrabow on Flickr

swcwalks swcwalk69 walkicon 48852549427

Miller & Carter Steakhouse on the River Lea in Wheathampstead SWC 69 - Welwyn Garden City Circular [Wheathampstead Lunch Diversion]
Miller & Carter Steakhouse on the River Lea in Wheathampstead

SWC 69 - Welwyn Garden City Circular [Wheathampstead Lunch Diversion]

Sep-19 • thomasgrabow on Flickr

swcwalks swcwalk69 walkicon 48852004938

Path through Field with Jogger and Dog SWC 69 - Welwyn Garden City Circular
Path through Field with Jogger and Dog

SWC 69 - Welwyn Garden City Circular

Sep-19 • thomasgrabow on Flickr

swcwalks swcwalk69 walkicon 48852544842

Rolling Fields of Hertfordshire SWC 69 - Welwyn Garden City Circular
Rolling Fields of Hertfordshire

SWC 69 - Welwyn Garden City Circular

Sep-19 • thomasgrabow on Flickr

swcwalks swcwalk69 walkicon 48852355611

Large Cedar On the golf-course stretch, Welwyn Circular
Large Cedar

On the golf-course stretch, Welwyn Circular

Jan-10 • moontiger on Flickr

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Two trees On the golf-course stretch, Welwyn Circular
Two trees

On the golf-course stretch, Welwyn Circular

Jan-10 • moontiger on Flickr

hertfordshire book3 swcwalks walk69 4301070699

Length

18.3 km (11.4 miles)

OS Map

Landranger 166, Explorer 182

Toughness

2 out of 10.

Features This walk benefits from a fast and frequent train service, which whisks you well past the M25 in less than half an hour. Once out of the Garden City and over the A1(M) you are in some attractive Hertfordshire countryside, including the landscaped parkland of Brocket Hall and Lamer House. In the afternoon you reach the picturesque village of Ayot St Lawrence, which has two unusual churches – one reminiscent of a Greek temple, the other an ivied Gothic ruin – and if you wish you can visit the home of George Bernard Shaw, Shaw's Corner, now owned by the National Trust. (Open to the public from March – October.)
Shortening the walk An infrequent 366 bus service operates Mon – Sat between Welwyn Garden City and Wheathamstead if you wish to shorten the walk.
History

To be written.

Saturday Walkers Club Take the nearest (fast) train to 10.05am from Kings Cross Station to Welwyn Garden City. If stopping at the earlier lunch stop at Wheathampstead, take the nearest (fast) train to 10.35am
Lunch

The Brocket Arms Ayot St. Lawrence, AL6 9BT (01438 820250) Located 11 km from the start of the walk

The Bull 11 High Street, Wheathampstead, AL4 8BS (01582 833379) Food served Sun - Thu: 12pm - 10pm Fri - Sat: 12pm -10:30pm (Add 1km extra to walk: divert from route to Wheathampstead.)

The Swan 56 High St, Wheathampstead, AL4 8AR (01582 833110) (Add 1km extra to walk: divert from route to Wheathampstead.)

Tea

The Waggoners Brickwall Close, Ayot Green, AL6 9AA. (01707 324241) Located 1 km from the end of the walk

Various Cafés and pubs in Welwyn.

Profile
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By Train

Out (not a train station)

Back (not a train station)

By Car

Start AL8 6HA Map Directions

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Help

National Rail: 03457 48 49 50 • Traveline (bus times): 0871 200 22 33 (12p/min) • TFL (London) : 0343 222 1234

Version

May-21 DAC

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