Sunday Hike St Albans Abbey Station-Sandridge-Heartwood Forest Circular 10.6 mls
Details
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Discover green belt countryside around the edge of St Albans including the edge of Heartwood Forest and Verulamium Park. If you don't want to walk the whole route you can finish at lunch time and take a bus.
Meet 10:30 for 10:45 start. Hike starts and finishes at St Albans Abbey station, Holywell Hill, St Albans, Herts AL1 2DN
Nearest post code: AL1 2DN
Lat/Long (WGS84): 51.7447, -0.3426
OSGB National Grid Reference: TL145064
What3Words: https://w3w.co/racing.locate.pools
HIKE DESCRIPTION:
A circular hike around St Albans via the Alban Way (shared with cyclists), Oaklands College, Oak Farm to Sandridge for lunch stop. You can finish the walk here if you like. After lunch via the edge of Heartwood Forest and New Greens to Verulamium Park and back to the start.
Total distance 10.6 miles (17.1 km) with slight hills (total 90 m ascent & descent), mostly on footpaths with some built-up areas.
We are likely to finish the hike by 17:15 or earlier so there is time for an optional visit to the cathedral which is open to visitors until 17:45.
PLACES OF INTEREST:
Roman Verulamium https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Verulamium
St Albans Cathedral https://www.stalbanscathedral.org/visit/
Heartwood Forest https://heartwood.woodlandtrust.org.uk/
HIKING MAP:
We use Ordnance Survey 'Explorer' 1:25,000 scale, Sheet 182 St Albans & Hatfield.
ONLINE MAP:
There is a static map in the photo album for this event and we have also uploaded it to Wikiloc with notes about the route and 59 photos. See:
You can select map or aerial view (OpenStreetmap recommended) and you can zoom in. Navigating the trail outdoors using the Wikiloc app needs the premium version but you can also set up a free Wikiloc login then download a .GPX or .kml file to a mobile device to use with a GPS app such as OSMand, Komoot, All Trails, Outdoor Active, Organic Maps or Google Maps.
PUBLIC TRANSPORT TO MEETING LOCATION (CHECK TIMES):
Train from London Euston 09:28, Platform 12, change at Watford Junction (WFJ). Leave WFJ 10:18, arrive Albans Abbey (SAA) 10:35. We will wait for the 10:35 train.
Alternatively, train from London St Pancras, Elstree & Borehamwood, Luton, Harpenden etc. to St Albans City (SAC) Station then 25 mins walk to St Albans Abbey station. Note, we are meeting at St Albans Abbey station not St Albans City Station.
By bus - for Hertfordshire bus services see Intalink https://www.intalink.org.uk/
Bus 602 from Watford High St. Stop F 08:47 via Bushey, Radlett, Shenley, London Colney to St Albans Victoria Street outside Police Station arriving 9:50 then walk 14 mins to St Albans Abbey station.
Bus 302 from Hatfield Town Centre Stop U 09:33 to St Albans Victoria Street opposite police station 09:58 then walk 14 mins to St Albans Abbey station.
Bus 302 from Hemel Hempstead Marlowes Stop E 09:34 to St Albans Victoria Street outside police station 10:01 then walk 14 mins to St Albans Abbey station.
Bus 84 from Potters Bar High St. bus garage 08:55, Railway Station Stop B 09:00, via South Mimms, London Colney to St Albans, St Peter's Street 09:35 then walk 16 mins to St Albans Abbey station.
CAR PARKING NEAR MEETING LOCATION:
St Albans Abbey station car park (£3.70 Sundays), you can pay online in advance https://www.sabaparking.co.uk/car-park/st-albans-abbey-station-car-park or buy parking ticket from machine.
St Albans City & District Council Car Park, Westminster Lodge, Holywell Hill AL1 2DJ now costs £17.50 for over 4 hours even on a Sunday so it is not recommended!
Various small on-street pay-and-display car parks 15 mins walk away including 64 London Road, St Albans, AL1 1NG or Keyfield Terrace, St Albans, AL1 1PD (both £2.50 all day Sundays)
CAR SHARING FROM BARNET:
Car sharing from High Barnet tube station TfL Northern Line (meet 09:20 for 09:30 departure). If you would like a lift, please answer the question about car sharing when you RSVP. Here are details of the meeting location:
http://southhertshikers.uk/event-details/2018/12/01/meeting-places.html
Driving distance from High Barnet to St Albans is 10 miles each way in about 30 minutes. Suggested contribution to driver for transport £1.50 return from High Barnet.
Car sharing from Potters Bar Station is also possible.
WHAT TO BRING
Much of the route is on public footpaths in the countryside. Some of these may be slippery, muddy or stony in places. We recommend:
- adequate footwear, preferably hiking boots, with thick soles and good grip
- waterproof jacket or umbrella for rain
- sun hat if sunny
- drink essential (1 - 2 litres)
- packed lunch recommended.
IMPORTANT TO KNOW
Mid-morning stop 4 km from the start. Lunch stop 9.5 km from the start in Sandridge with pubs, a café and seats where you can eat your packed lunch outdoors. Before going into the pub or café, please take your boots off. If you like, you can finish the walk at lunch time and take a bus to St Albans.
There will be a mid-afternoon stop about 13 km from the start.
Although this event is shown on Meetup as free, from 1st Jan 2025, this group has introduced a monthly membership subscription of £4 per month. You only pay for months when you actually attend an event. Anyone who attends an event needs to be a member of South Herts Hikers, including guests and your membership subscription lasts for one month from the date when you pay. During that time you can attend any other Group events with no extra charge. There will normally be at least one more event in the 31 days after you join, possibly more. This subscription contributes towards the costs of running this Meetup Group including the fees that organisers need to pay Meetup which increased by 80% from July 2024. You can use cash or Paypal https://paypal.me/SouthHertsHikers
Please note our membership criteria and guidelines. From this Meetup Group's home page https://www.meetup.com/southhertshikers/ see What we're about > Read More
For our policy on dogs on our hikes, please see our FAQ page, http://southhertshikers.uk/faq/
Sunday Hike St Albans Abbey Station-Sandridge-Heartwood Forest Circular 10.6 mls