Therfield Circular

We start at Therfield Heath, only this time we walk through the woods to the top of the chalk bank to see if the Pasque flowers are out - they are! The striking, purple Pasque flower has a beautiful, upward bell-shaped flower is now a very rare plant in the UK, restricted to just a few chalk and limestone grasslands and found on only a handful of nature reserves - one of them being Therfield Heath. From the bank there is a good view of the gallops, which we walk along again to reach Thrift Farm.

From the farm we carry straight on up the incline - this is part of the Hertfordshire Way, a 194 mile circular walk around Hertfordshire - and see Therfield water tower on the horizon. As we approach the top we enter Slipe Woods and enjoy the view down towards the heath and fields; we then walk past the water tower, leaving the Hertfordshire Way, and pass the Church of St Mary's to reach Therfield itself. We cross the Causeway and village green to the The Fox and Duck, a well known pub in the area, and proceed to the other side of the village where we join the Icknield Way; this is an ancient trackway in southern and eastern England that runs from Norfolk to Wiltshire and follows the chalk escarpment that includes the Berkshire Downs and Chiltern Hills.

As we head back towards Therfield Heath, we enjoy the view and pass giant haystacks en route (Giant Haystacks was the ring name of a famous British wrestler who was active in the 1970s and 1980s), and walk back through the woods that skirt the southern edge of the golf course back to the car.Read more