St Margarets Circular walk

Quiet rolling Hertfordshire countryside, a haunted, ruined church and long stretches in scenic river valleys.

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
Sun, 26-Nov-23 Sunday Walk: St Margarets Circular 12 cold but dry and overcast
Sun, 08-Jan-23 Sunday Walk: St. Margaret's Circular (Herts) 9 damp with occasional showers and hail
Sun, 30-Jan-22 Sunday Walk - Rivers, a Bird Reserve and Rolling Landscapes in East Hertfordshire - St. Margarets Circular 11 sunny
Sun, 28-Jul-19 Sunday Walk: St Margaret's Circular 5 cool and showery weather
Sat, 09-Mar-19 Saturday Walk - Rivers, a Bird Reserve and Rolling Landscapes in East Hertfordshire - St. Margarets Circular 14 sunny and windy
Sat, 03-Mar-18 Snowy Saturday – St. Margarets Circular 9 grey and slightly foggy conditions
Wed, 08-Nov-17 a Wednesday Walk - St. Margarets (Hertfordshire) Circular 7 overcast later sunny
Sun, 18-Sep-16 a Sunday Walk 1 – the East Hertfordshire countryside 8 dry mild and cloudy
Sun, 05-Apr-15 St Margarets Circular 13
Wed, 18-Sep-13 a St Margarets Circular (short walk, omitting Wadesmill)
Sat, 17-Nov-12 St Margarets Circular
Mr M Tiger
Mr M Tiger

12.6 km (7.8 mi), Difficulty1/10
Ancient tracks and green lanes lead us through the quiet, rolling Hertfordshire countryside and back along the Lea Navigation We'll take Shortcut 1 which reduces the length to 12.6 km (7.8 miles). Our lunch stop is in Wareside 3.6 miles into the walk.
Trains
Get the 09:57 Audley End train from Liverpool St and change at Tottenham Hale onto the Hertford East train (arr 10:10, dep 10:26 same platform, 4), arriving St Margarets at 10:52.
You might prefer to take the Victoria Line to Tottenham Hale and catch the second train there (10:26).
That Hertford East train starts from Stratford at 10:15, which may suit Eastenders.
Return trains at xx:17 and xx:47 changing again at Tottenham Hale.
Lunch
Chequers Inn, Ware Road, Wareside (01920 467 010).
Tea
There are several pubs on your approach to St Margarets
The Jolly Fisherman' Station Road, Stanstead St. Margarets, (01920 870 125). A McMullen’s pub.
The Oak, 36 High Street, Stanstead Abbotts (01920 877 294).
The Red Lion, 1 High Street, Stanstead Abbots, (01920 410 056). One of the oldest buildings in the area.
Directions: here. We’ll be taking shortcut 1. t=swc.165

  • 27-Nov-23

    12 on a cloudy cold day. A pleasant walk, tinged with autumn colour. Most of the walk was firm underfoot but there was a little mud in the afternoon. We got to the Chequers just after 12. Some of the group sped on, either because it was early or because they wanted to avoid the forecast rain. Wrong on both counts. No rain and they missed out on a pleasant stay in an old fashioned, homely pub. (I’ve been asked to mention how clean the toilets were- and how luxurious and fluffy the towels). Those who ate there got large Sunday roasts. Mr Tiger settled for a pint of Happy Daze - and, would you believe it readers, This turned into two pints, thanks to a kindly benefactor.

    Shortly after the pub, there’s an overly high stile, and, crossing it, Mr Tiger remembered a previous time when he had considered it unwise to tackle it after two pints. And here he was again, same stile! Coincidence or what?

    The stile was safely crossed, you’ll be relieved to hear.

    Most of the rear group must have got the 15:17. Mr Tiger only just missed that and got the 15:47.

  • 27-Nov-23

    12 walkers set off on this cold but dry and overcast morning. A very pleasant and easy stroll through varied countryside. Five decided to give the Chequers Inn a miss (it was just after 12.05 at this point), reaching the end of the walk in a mere 2 hrs 35 mins, and having barely broken sweat. But for our muddy boots, we might well have tried The Jolly Fisherman, but decided to catch the 13.47 London train, instead. The directions were easy to follow at all times.

Mr M Tiger
Mr M Tiger

12.6 km (7.8 mi). Difficulty, 1/10
Ancient tracks and green lanes lead us through quiet, rolling, East Herts countryside and back along the Lee Navigation.The full walk is quite long but we won’t be doing that. Taking a shortcut, mate. Shortcut 1 reduces the length to 12.6 km (7.8mi). Our lunch stop is in Wareside 3.6 miles into the walk.
Trains:
Get the 10:02 Stansted Airport train from Liverpool St and change at Tottenham Hale* (arrive 10:20 platform 2) onto the Hertford East train (depart 10:28 platform 4), arriving St Margaret's at 10:52 (this train starts from Stratford, London at 10:16). *Tottenham Hale is on the Victoria Line, if that’s easier.
Return trains xx:17 and xx:47, changing again at Tottenham Hale.
Lunch:
Chequers Inn, Ware Road, Wareside (01920 467 010).
Tea: There are several pubs near St Margaret's station.
The Jolly Fisherman Station Road, Stanstead St. Margarets, (01920 870 125). A McMullen’s pub.
The Oak 36 High Street, Stanstead Abbotts (01920 877 294).
The Red Lion 1 High Street, Stanstead Abbots, (01920 410 056). One of the oldest buildings in the area. Under new management.
Directions: here. Shortcut 1 is recommended, given the hours of daylight. There is also a mid length (12.2 mile) version, utilising Shortcut 2.
t=swc.165



  • 08-Jan-23

    9 assembled on a day that could be euphemistically described as damp. At times it was more than damp. Like during the two hailstorms. There were dry spells too and the sun came out for all of 30 seconds. A bit muddy but not sinky-in muddy. And the puddles. Don’t get me started on the puddles. damp with occasional showers and hail

    Our hardy band made good progress and we got to the Chequers earlier than planned. The fare proved popular. Most had roasts. One had cider. They had 4 types of cider and Mr Tiger had the strongest on offer. Lilleys Dark at 7.5%. Yum! The afternoon was more of the same. Except, you try climbing stiles after a pint of Lilleys Dark Cider. Takes nerves of steel to do that. We got to the station in good time and, as there was a train soon, nobody stopped for ‘tea’.

Length: 25.7 km/16.0 mi or 19.7 km/12.2 mi
Ascent/Descent: 270 or 204m
Net Walking Time: ca. 5 ½ hours or 4 ¼ hours
Toughness: 5 out of 10 or 3 out of 10
Take the 09.40 Hertford East train from Liverpool Street (Hackney Downs 09.46, Tottenham Hale [Victoria Line] 09.50), then all stations via Broxbourne, arrives St. Margarets (Hertfortshire) 10.22.
Return trains are on xx.17 and xx.47
This walk leads along ancient tracks and green lanes through some very quiet, rolling East Hertfordshire countryside defined by wheat fields and woods, in-between extensive stretches along the Ash, Rib and Lea rivers. Cold Christmas hamlet and a haunted, ruined church are passed just before lunch. Long parts of the afternoon route are spent in the scenic Ash valley, before passing through Amwell Nature Reserve, a bird watcher’s paradise. The final stretch leads along the Lea Navigation back to St. Margarets.

Lunch:
[Long Walk] The Anchor is closed, as far as I can see. So it’s just The Feathers Inn (Greene King) in Wadesmill (10.9 km/6.8 mi).
[Short Walk] The White Horse or The Chequers Inn (food to 14.45) in Wareside (12.9 km/8.0 mi).

Tea: The Jolly Fisherman, The Oak, The Red Lion, all minutes from the station.


For walk directions, map, height profile, photos and gpx/kml files click here. T=swc.165

  • 30-Jan-22

    11 walkers, I think (but may have been 12), on a sunny day. This included 2 car drivers and 1 first-timer. Virtually mud-free apart from one short fenced and rutted stretch. Very fine views from the minor rises the route entails. Peace and quiet most of the way. The few punters wanting to walk the full walk were talked out of it and the avantgarde group then lunched at The White Horse. Leaving there, we were spotted by the laggards from their table in The Chequers. Everyone was more than happy with their meals and with the pubs' hospitality. The route was then finished as one group again (minus the first-timer who went awol at some point), arriving in time for the 16.17 train. Group Cohesion Factor: 6/10

Mr M Tiger
Mr M Tiger
19.5 km (12.2 mi) Difficulty 3/10
Follow ancient tracks and green lanes through fields and woods in rolling East Herts countryside. There are stretches along the Ash and Lea rivers. The final stretch leads along the Lea Navigation back to St. Margarets. We will be using shortcut 1 to do the shorter version with lunch in Wareside.
Trains Take the 9:57 Cambridge North train from Liverpool St. Change at Tottenham Hale onto the 10:25 Hertford East train (platform 11) arriving St Margarets at 10:51.
Buy a return to St. Margarets (Herts).
Return trains at xx:17 and xx:47 changing at Tottenham Hale for Liverpool St.
Lunch: Two choices in Wareside:
The White Horse, (01920 464 433). Open 12.00-22.00.
Chequers Inn (01920 467 010). 12.00-14:00
Note that Wareside is 8 miles into the walk. You might want to bring drinkies and snackies to keep you going. (A glance at the map suggests one could, if necessary, cheat to arrive earlier - something Mr Tiger would never EVER do).
Tea
The Jolly Fisherman 8 Station Road, St. Margarets.
The Oak 36 High Street, Stanstead Abbotts.
Walk directions here.
Take shortcut 1. This cuts out the outer loop of the walk.
T=swc.165
  • Anonymous
    25-Jul-19

    St Margaret’s Station is within the Oyster Card Zones,

    which could be cheaper than buying tickets.

    Not within the Freedom Pass Zones.

  • Anonymous
    31-Jul-19

    5 in cool and showery weather . All possible short cuts were taken

This slot is swapped with Bridie2 against 23 March...

Length: 25.6 km/15.9 mi or 19.5 km/12.1 mi
Ascent/Descent: 300 or 230m
Net Walking Time: ca. 5 ½ hours or 4 ¼ hours
Toughness: 5 out of 10 or 3 out of 10
Take the 09.43 Cambridge train from Liverpool Street (Hackney Downs 09.50, Seven Sisters [Victoria Line] 09.57, Cheshunt 10.10), change at Broxbourne onto the Hertford East train (10.15/10.19), which arrives St. Margarets (Hertfortshire) 10.25.
Return trains are on xx.19 and xx.49 (change Broxbourne).
This walk leads along ancient tracks and green lanes through some very quiet, rolling East Hertfordshire countryside defined by wheat fields and woods, in-between extensive stretches along the Ash, Rib and Lea rivers. Cold Christmas hamlet and a haunted, ruined church are passed just before lunch. Long parts of the afternoon route are spent in the scenic Ash valley, before passing through Amwell Nature Reserve, a bird watcher’s paradise. The final stretch leads along the Lea Navigation back to St. Margarets.
Lunch:
[Long Walk] The Anchor or The Feathers Inn (Greene King) in Wadesmill (10.9 km/6.8 mi). The White Horse in High Cross is now shut for conversion into dwellings.
[Short Walk] The White Horse or The Chequers Inn in Wareside (12.9 km/8.0 mi).
Tea: The Jolly Fisherman, The Oak, The Red Lion, all minutes from the station.

For walk directions, map, height profile, photos and gpx/kml files click here. T=swc.165
  • 08-Mar-19

    Now I might do the Walk Tomorrow. But I am not sure yet. If I do. Then I will take the Bus as it's a bit more convenient.

  • 09-Mar-19

    Grey skies and drizzle on the train out, blue skies within 5 mins of walking, a further 30 mins along a short and sharp shower, then blue skies for the rest of the day. Fierce wind whenever exposed, so I'd call it sunny and windy . The overnight rain and strong wind made for far views from the 'tops': Canary Wharf and City of London towers were spotted. Mud was only a factor in a couple of places: one fenced path, one farm track. 7 lunched at The Feathers (Greene King) to mixed reviews. Some of the picnickers moved on meantime.

    Plenty of birds at Amwell Reserve.

    4 walked the short version.

    Plenty of us frequented The Jolly Fisherman at the end.

    Return trains: 16.49 to 17.49.

    12 off the train, 1 had driven in from Welwyn, 1 must have been on a later train. She was encountered on the platform by one of the 16.49 finishers, and claimed to have walked 3/4 of the walk. 14

Stargazer
Stargazer
SWC Walk 165: St. Margarets Circular (Short or Long) T=SWC.165

Distance: 12.2 Miles or 19.5 km for the shorter option and 16.0 miles or 25.7 km for the longer option

Difficulty: 3 out of 10 (up to 5 out of 10 for the main walk)
Train: Take the 9:43 AM Greater Anglia Cambridge train from London Liverpool Street, changing at Broxbourne (arriving 10:15 and departing 10:19) for a Hertfordshire East train, arriving at St. Margarets at 10:25. Return trains from St. Margarets are at 19 and 49 minutes past the hour (again changing at Broxbourne). Buy a day return to St. Margarets.
This is a very charming walk in the gentle rolling hills of Hertfordshire with hopefully reasonable deposits of Siberian snow over the next few days. It passes through several picturesque river valleys. Towards the end of the walk, you also pass through a nature reserve before finishing along the Lea Navigation. As the outbound route of this walk passes by the inbound route in several places, it would also be possible to shorten the walk further if the snowy conditions make the going difficult (so bring a print out of the map with you for added optionality). You can find more information about the walk and download the walk instructions here.
The recommended lunch stop is the White Horse or the Chequers Inn in Wareside on the short route (8 miles into the short walk) or the Feathers Inn or The Anchor in Wadesmill (6.8 miles into the main walk). Tea and other late afternoon refreshments can be had at the Jolly Fisherman near the station back in St. Margarets.
Dress warmly, wear your best boots (and socks) and enjoy the walk!
  • 28-Feb-18

    There might be some confusion on the platform as a Ramblers group (Capital Walkers) are starting an 11-mile walk from this station at the same time. Their walk is also in and around the Ash valley, but I don't know how much the two walks will overlap.

  • 02-Mar-18

    Odds are that it is the same walk with the two short cuts. However it is advertised as a packed lunch, though with a pub stop.

  • 03-Mar-18

    9 SWC Walkers managed to quickly disentangle themselves from a similar number of Capital Walkers who disembarked from the train at St. Margarets (based on a casual observation, our average age seemed well below theirs). Not sure where they went as we only really saw some of them again at the Jolly Fisherman at the end of the walk...

    We set off under grey and slightly foggy conditions . In the morning there was a reasonable amount of snow on the ground -- though not the heaping blankets hoped and dreamed of....Nonetheless, enough to illustrate the stride of quite a vast number of critters walking the area....We authoritatively identified a pheasant footprint after one ran down a snowy lane just ahead of us...Reaching the balmy heights of 2 degrees above in the afternoon saw much of snow melt with a return of some muddy patches....

    Although efforts were made to bring the whole group on the long walk.....in the end, 5 did the long walk and 4 the short. We all reconvened at the Jolly Fisherman for a bevie before catching the 17:19 back to London.

  • Anonymous
    04-Mar-18

    Well done Stargazer for doing the 12m walk before doing a half-marathon today. Best of luck. I am sure yesterday was execellent training.

Thomas G
Length: 19.5 km/12.1 mi or 25.6 km/15.9 mi
Ascent/Descent: 230 or 300m
Net Walking Time: ca. 4 ¼ hours or 5 ½ hours
Toughness: 3 out of 10 or 5 out of 10
Take the 09.42 Hertford East train from Liverpool Street (Hackney Downs 09.48, Tottenham Hale [Victoria Line] 09.55, Ponders End 09.59 etc.), arrives St. Margarets 10.21.
Return trains are on xx.17 and xx.47.

This walk leads along ancient tracks and green lanes through some very quiet, rolling East Hertfordshire countryside defined by wheat fields and woods, in-between extensive stretches along the Ash, Rib and Lea rivers. Cold Christmas hamlet and a haunted, ruined church are passed just before lunch, taken in one of three recommended pubs, either in Wadesmill or High Cross (Long Walk). Long parts of the afternoon route are spent in the scenic Ash valley, before passing through Amwell Nature Reserve, a bird watcher’s paradise. The final stretch leads along the Lea Navigation back to St. Margarets.
Lunch:
[Short Walk] The White Horse or The Chequers Inn in Wareside (12.9 km/8.0 mi).
[Long Walk] The Anchor or The Feathers Inn in Wadesmill (10.9 km/6.8 mi). The White Horse in High Cross is now shut for conversion into dwellings.
Tea: The Jolly Fisherman, The Oak, The Red Lion, all minutes from the station.
For walk directions, map, height profile, photos and gpx/kml files click here. T=swc.165.a
  • Marion
    08-Nov-17

    This walk is not suitable for a mid-week winter walk where the short version is 12 miles long with lunch after 8 miles. As a founder member of the mid-week walkers could I remind walk posters that the group mainly consists of senior walkers who prefer a more leisurely pace using senior railcards which cannot be used until after 9.30 or10.00 am if using a Network card for our younger walkers on a day off from work.

  • 08-Nov-17

    I disagree, and on several accounts. (I) It is autumn, not winter. There is light until 17.00 hours. (II) The train posted was at 9.42 (ie after 9.30) and the full price rtn ticket was - at £11,80 - below the minimum threshold of £13.00 for the Network Railcard, so the 10 o'clock cutoff for that didn't matter. (III) And, arriving in St. Margarets at 10.21, it meant that there was ample time for slower walkers doing the short walk to get to a pub 8 miles away, had they tried.

  • 08-Nov-17

    As it was, the delayed 9.42 was terminated at Broxbourne "to regulate the service", so we had to wait for the 10.12 anyway, and were half an hour behind the posted schedule upon arrival at St. Margarets.

    7 walkers were up for this ramble in overcast later sunny conditions, which featured gently rolling fields, plenty of small woods showing autumn colours, streams and rivers, grassy valleys, a haunted ruined church, a birdwatchers' paradise, the Lea Navigation and just one stile and only 500m of arable field crossings. What's not to like?

    4 opted for the main (long) walk with lunch at The Anchor, which proved to be exceptionally good value: main course plus drink for £15 for two people, and tasty it was as well, and the beer was delicious! The other 3 took Shortcut II, cutting all of 1 mile from the main walk (ie no one walked the short walk). The 4 long walkers caught the 'shortcutters' mid-afternoon and we arrived back in St. Margarets as one group. As we turned from the Lea Navigation onto the road, the level barriers were down for the 16.47 train, and one tried (but failed) to catch it, the rest went straight into The Jolly Fisherman for a bevvie. A jolly good day was had by all.

  • Anonymous
    08-Nov-17

    A day return fare from Tottenham Hale to St Margaret's using an Oyster pay as you go is £9.70.

  • Sandy
    09-Nov-17

    Same price as my ticket from the machine then!

  • 09-Nov-17

    To be pedantic about the fares, there is no such thing as a day return on Oyster. A paper day return ticket is £9.70, as Sandy says. If you use Oyster you'll probably pay £3.60 out (off-peak, touch-in after 9.30am) + £5.70 back (peak, touch-in 4-7pm) = £9.30, so slightly cheaper.

    If you have a Senior Railcard the paper day return is £6.40. If your railcard is linked to your Oyster card the fare out is reduced to £2.40 but there's no discount on the peak fare back. In this case the paper day return is cheaper (£6.40 vs. £8.10).

    For other journeys the prices will obviously be different, but in general if your return journey is in peak the paper day return will be cheaper if you have a Senior Railcard and Oyster PAYG cheaper if you don't.

  • Sandy
    10-Nov-17

    Thanks for all this detailed information Sean. It only came up because we were surprised to see Oyster card readers at St Margarets and I wondered if I needn't have bothered buying a paper ticket. I'm inclined to think if you have to do that much research to know the answer, I'll be sticking to old tech for a while yet.

Extra Walk 165a – St Margarets Circular (omitting Wadesmill)
Length: 19.5 km (12.2 miles), with longer options. Toughness: 3/10

09:44 Hertford East train from Stratford (Lea Bridge 09:50, Tottenham Hale 09:55, etc), arriving St Margarets (Herts) at 10:21. If it's more convenient you can take the 09:32 Stansted Airport train from Liverpool Street (or a Victoria Line tube) and change at Tottenham Hale.

Trains back to Stratford via Tottenham Hale are at 17 & 47 minutes past the hour.

St Margarets is one of those stations outside the TfL Zones which now take Oyster PAYG, which is convenient but might not be your cheapest option.

I'm suggesting you do the ‘short’ version of this walk through “quiet rolling East Hertfordshire countryside”, although it seems to me that 12 miles is still a pretty decent workout. However, I've chosen a slightly earlier train than recommended in case you want to do the full 16 miles instead. In fact the lunch option on the short walk comes after a slightly longer morning; on this variation you do two-thirds of the walk before lunch in Wareside, whereas the lunch stops on the full version (in Wadesmill or High Cross) come before halfway. At any rate you don't have to decide which option to go for until you've got a fair way through the walk.

You'll need to print the directions from this pdf document, which lists a number of pubs for refreshment at the end of the walk. T=swc.165.a
  • Kelda
    19-Sep-16

    Thank you Pete (& everyone) for a fantastic day out! You'll be pleased to hear we safely caught the 15.47 so were safely back in London in time (phew)!

  • 19-Sep-16

    8 alighted from the train but one stayed behind at the station to wait for a friend who was driving but sadly we never saw them again.

    Perfect early autumnal weather for walking, dry mild and cloudy , and we set off at a medium pace to try to reach the lunch-time pub around 1pm as we all opted to do the 12 mile option. The splendid rolling countryside and woodland was only marred by the sad sight of the horse chestnut trees autumnal leaves ruined by the depredations of the leaf miner ant. Will they ever find a way to get rid of this pest?

    Excellent roasts and fish at the lunch-time pub before the gentle amble back along lovely riverside valley paths. Three opted for the 15.47 whilst 3 others (Moontiger was marching to his own drum) had a riverside drink before catching the next train 30mins later. Lovely day out on one of our often under-appreciated Hertfordshire walks. One or two issues with the written directions which will be passed on to the walks author. I also made a note to make a winter visit to the bird watching and nature reserve near St Margarets which would make a nice short day out.