Anyone for “tennish”
The LALG trailwalkers meet again – Our eighth leg of the Hertfordshire Way was on Tuesday 9 May. It is Leg 10a (hence it is “tennish”), not the sport that requires new balls please for this walk. Chris once again led the walk, for this stage a mere half dozen of us. Being mid-May there was the potential for precipitation, it was a light drizzle as we began our walk, but was a pleasant temperature for walking the 12.5 miles or so planned.
The route takes us from Broxbourne to Cuffley, starting at the bottom of Mill Lane in Broxbourne, going along beside the New River and then plunging in to Hertfordshire’s only National Nature Reserve, for a great deal of the walk. We will walk through four tightly knit but separately named woods that comprise Broxbourne Woods National Nature Reserve. There is really something special about our native woodland. In this case the tree canopy is spectacular in mid Spring, the forest (which it really is) provides a host for all types of fauna and flora with woodpeckers working hard on the tress, and many native and visiting birds flittering busily amongst the trees.
The woods are said to have been in this area since the last great ice age, over 10,000 years ago, so are very precious, in places though the vegetation is very tight, with the path disappearing in to thick brush, which added to a ferocious cloudburst, got us all pretty wet from head to toe. Fortunately, with Ken and Chris as our guides and the trusty Hertfordshire Way roundels being in place. Although the footpaths and bridleways meander through the woods/forest, seemingly randomly in what is by nature, an unchanging landscape, we only missed our route once, giving us perhaps an extra mile for the day!
As always, once one becomes unclear as to where the route heads, do not trust to luck and carry on charging along a possibly incorrect route on an enticing path that looks as if it may be going in the correct direction. Do as we did, retrace your steps and stop to look around to pinpoint the correct logical roundel. Trouble is there are many roundels for separate trails which seek to bewilder the innocent walker to switch direction. We found the correct roundel and plunged deeper in to the woods on our way. This made us consider that we were all Forest bathing -This Japanese practice is a process of relaxation; known in Japan as shinrin yoku. The simple method of being calm and quiet amongst the trees, observing nature around you whilst breathing deeply can help both adults and children de-stress and boost health and wellbeing in a natural way. Forest bathing is great for teaching concentration and mindfulness; whilst also providing an excellent opportunity to learn from each other. We recommend it to all who read this article.
Whilst in the wood, we come across a solitary coal post in the middle of the wood, repainted and well maintained. On asking I am told – it is that duty once had to be paid on coal and wine from the London ports to help finance the rebuilding of the capital after the Great Fire of 1666, there were something like 288 of them, at each entry/exit point to London.
We leave the forest, wander through scrubby fields that match natural landscapes from 1000 years ago. Go through Goffs Oak, reached via the delightfully named “Bread and Cheese Lane. Along road side footpaths and down a very narrow path with lots of stinging nettles, shorts not such a good idea here! Then across open farmland towards Cuffley viaduct, chased along a broad track by giant tractors towing silage trailers. We then walk under the viaduct into Cuffley to the Car Park, ready to complete another fine day of walking in Hertfordshire. Thanks again to Chris and Ken, our ever reliable, cheerful guides.
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