Sunday Hike Hatfield - West End - Bell Bar - Welham Green circular 11.1 mls

Join us for a "Tour d'Hatfield Park' hike all the way round the outside of Hatfield Park in Hertfordshire on public rights of way. Explore the picturesque Hertfordshire countryside on our 11.1 mile circular route that includes some little-known public rights of way between Hatfield Park and Essendon. You can shorten it to 8.3 mls if you like.

Meet 10:30 for a 10:45 start outside Hatfield Railway Station by the red pillar box and the BT phone boxes.
Nearest post code: AL9 5AB
Lat/Long (WGS84): 51.764015 , -0.215244
O.S. Grid Ref: TL232087
What3Words https://w3w.co/update.enter.sports

HIKE DESCRIPTION:
From Hatfield Station to Mill Green, West End, Bell Bar, Welham Green, Howe Dell and back to Hatfield Station. The route goes around the outside of Hatfield Park on public footpaths and public bridleways but it doesn't actually go into Hatfield Park, so there is no admission charge to pay.
Most of the route is on public footpaths and public bridleways in the countryside plus some roads in built-up areas. Take care on a 300 metre section of Grubbs Lane with no footway and also when crossing the A414.
Total distance is 11.1 miles (17.8 km) with some hills, 123 metres (403 ft) of ascent and descent. This is a bit longer than our usual 8 - 10 mile hikes, as there are no public rights of way across Hatfield Park. You can shorten the route to 8.3 mls (13.4 km) if you finish at Welham Green station and take a train from there.
We plan to finish the hike by 17:30 or earlier.

PLACES OF INTEREST:
Café at Dutch garden centre, Bell Bar https://dutchmarketplace.co.uk/dutch-cafe/
Cock O' the North pub, Bell Bar https://www.mcmullens.co.uk/cockothenorth

ONLINE MAP:
This route was devised by South Herts Hikers. There is a static map in the event photo above and we have also uploaded it to Wikiloc. See: https://www.wikiloc.com/hiking-trails/hatfield-station-west-end-welham-green-loop-v2-167784357
You can select map or aerial view (OpenStreetmap recommended) and you can zoom in and look at photos. If you set up a free Wikiloc login, you can download a .GPX file to use with any GPS app such as OSMand, Komoot, All Trails or Outdoor Active or a .KML file to use with Google Maps.

PUBLIC TRANSPORT TO MEETING LOCATION (SUMMARY):
You can get to the the meeting location by train or by bus in under 60 minutes journey time as follows:
Fast train from London Kings Cross, Finsbury Park or Potters Bar (25 mins or less)
Local train from Moorgate, Finsbury Park and all local stations to Hatfield
Fast train from Cambridge, Royston, Baldock, Hitchin, Stevenage, Welwyn Garden City to Hatfield
Bus 301 from St Albans to Hatfield
For further details of bus and train times, please see below

CAR SHARING FROM BARNET:
We may be able to offer car sharing from High Barnet Station (Northern Line). You can request this when you RSVP.

CAR PARKING NEAR MEETING LOCATION:
Hatfield Station multi-storey car park, 79, Great North Road AL9 5AB £3.40 on Sundays. APCOA Parking, location code 3016. Pay by APCOA Connect App or buy on-line before you leave home https://www.apcoaconnect.com/locationDetail/?id=2441
Alternatively, it may be possible to park in nearby streets (please park considerately).

WHAT TO TAKE
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 (optional).

IMPORTANT TO KNOW
Mid morning stop 4.4 km from the start. Lunch stop at Bell Bar 10.5 km from start, you can can go to Café at Dutch garden centre or visit the Cock O' the North pub.
Although this event is shown on Meetup as free, so you don't need to pay when you sign up, Meetup group organisers have to pay a subscription to Meetup. This cost increased by 80% in July 2024 to 429.58 US Dollars for 12 months.
We have an annual membership fee of £2 if you join in Jan, Feb or Mar. After that it’s £1.50 from April onwards, £1.00 July onwards, or 50p October onwards. You need to be an annual member to participate in our events. Annual members can also join our group email list. We also suggest an additional voluntary donation of £3 for each hike for each participant including guests. That's £4.00 for your first hike after July 2025 or £3.00 per event after that. This contributes towards the running costs of this Meetup Group. Cash is preferred or you can use 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/

BUS AND TRAIN TIMES (please check before travel)
Train 25 mins from London Kings Cross [KGX] 10:02, Finsbury Park [FPK] 10:08, Alexandra Palace [AAP] 10:13, Potters Bar [PBR] 10:21 to Hatfield [HAT] 10:27.

Train 45 mins from London Moorgate [MOG] 09:27 calling at Old Street, Essex Road, Highbury & Islington, Drayton Park, Finsbury Park [FPK] 09:42, Harringay, Hornsey, Alexandra Palace, New Southgate, Oakleigh Park, New Barnet, Hadley Wood, Potters Bar, Brookmans Park, Welham Green to Hatfield [HAT] 10:12

Train 45 mins from London Moorgate [MOG] 09:42 as above to Finsbury Park [FPK] arr. 09:55, change, dep. 10:08 then fast train to Hatfield [HAT] 10:27.

Train 56 mins from Cambridge [CBG] 09:28, Royston [RYS] 09:43, Ashwell & Morden [AWM] 09:47, Baldock [BDK] 09:52, Letchworth Garden City arr. 09:55, change, see below

Train 26 mins from Letchworth Garden City [LET] 10:00, Hitchin [HIT] 10:04, Stevenage [SVG] 10:10, Knebworth [KBW] 10:14, Welwyn North [WLW] 10:17, Welwyn Garden City [WGC] 10:22 to Hatfield [HAT] at 10:26

Bus 301 28 mins from St Albans City Railway Station Stop "A" at 09:40 to Hatfield Railway Station Stop 5 10:08.
Intalink bus travel in Hertfordshire https://www.intalink.org.uk/