Ivinghoe Beacon and the Ashridge Estate

Date: Sunday January 22nd
Route: Tring Station to Ivinghoe Beacon, through Ashridge Estate to Bridgewater Monument and back via Aldbury
Distance: 8.3 miles

The last time we did this walk, I seem to remember ice cream being a feature - today, the key feature was very blustery wind. It doesn't seem to matter which time of year we do this walk, it is always a great one to do - and it certainly blew the cobwebs away today!

After yesterday's flat, linear city walk, we wanted something hillier and more challenging and so we opted for an old favourite walk, to Ivinghoe Beacon. This walk features in a number of different walk books - including the Rough Guide, the Pathfinder Guide and 100 Greatest Walks in Britain - but we did the short version from the Time Out Book of Country Walks Volume 2.

It is a very easy walk to follow - and quite difficult to get lost. The first section all follows the Ridgeway Path, starting off in woodland but soon emerging on to the exposed chalky hillsides. There is quite a bit of steady climbing, with a final heart-pounding steep climb up to the Beacon, the start of the Ridgeway and popular with walkers, runners, mountain bikers, kite-fliers and model aircraft enthusiasts.

The second section is much more sheltered, following a well-maintained and popular path through the beech woods of the National Trust Ashridge Estate, all the way to the Bridgewater Monument, the memorial to the canal builder, who is buried nearby. Apparently the woods feature in films including Sleepy Hollow and Harry Potter & The Goblet Of Fire. From hereon in, the paths are all either flat or downhill.

The cafe at the monument does hot drinks, sandwiches and outrageously enormous cream scones (very tempting, but we didn't succumb!).

The final section leads downhill into the very picturesque, pond-centric village of Aldbury, complete with pubs and a shop, before returning through fields to the station.

A really lovely walk, no matter what time of year you do it.