Date: Monday 29th August
Route: St Albans Circular via Gorhambury Park, Potters Crouch and Verulamium Park
Distance: 9.3 miles
Trying out different walks from different walk books means that you're never quite sure how a walk is going to be until you get out there and do it. No matter how descriptive the text, or how well-drawn the maps, it's not until you start down the path that you really get a sense of whether a walk is good, bad or indifferent.
Unfortunately, today's walk fell into the indifferent category - not because of St Albans itself, more because of a combination of pretty dull tarmac paths the whole way round, large stretches of walk with motorway views and/or noise, a flooded road and the ultimate disappointment - a lunchtime pub without chips!
This one is from the Rough Guide to Walks in London & Southeast England, which is generally not quite as detailed in its descriptions as the Time Out Guides, but has come up with some great walks in the past (see the Wendover walk below as an example).
The town of St Albans has plenty of history, from medieval buildings to the mainly Norman cathedral and the remains of Roman Verulamium. The walk starts out promisingly, skirting the Cathedral before heading into Verulamium Park, an incongruous mixture of ornamental ponds, municipal greenery and random bits of Roman masonry alongside the (not hugely impressive) River Ver.
On the other side of the park is the Verulamium Museum and a Roman Theatre, but after this point the walk gets out into the countryside. The path through Gorhambury Park is clearly signposted (virtually every single gateway by the side of the road has its own "private" sign) but ultimately it's just a tarmac road that passes through a nicely manicured park, with occasional glimpses of the manor house. The best bit about this stretch of walk is the ruin of Francis Bacon's house, which English Heritage maintain in a state of picturesque decrepitude.
From the ruin onwards, the path leads under the M10, over the A4147 and along a lane flanking the M1 (see photo above) - it's noisy, there's nothing to see apart from the lorries coming to tip large quantities of wood at the recycling centre and the most exciting part is wading through the flooded section of lane en route to the pub, the Holly Bush at Potters Crouch.
The final third of the walk adds to the excitement with a path alongside a wood (the only unpaved section of the walk), a footbridge over the M10, a track across a field and a path between fences in what the guide book accurately describes as a "1970's housing estate" before returning to Verulamium Park.
Obviously, if motorway noise, housing estates and tarmac do it for you, you will love this walk! Sadly, I don't think I'll be returning to St Albans for a while.
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