Pete's Walks - Kensworth to Little Gaddesden (part 2)
The path soon switched to the left side of the hedgerow, continuing beside another huge green arable field on my left. There were pleasant views either side, and I spotted a Hot-air Balloon just above the horizon. On eventually reaching the field corner, I went a few yards left and then through an empty gateway (NOTE: the path seems to have been changed, and you may now just have to continue with the hedge on your right) and turned left alongside a smaller hedge. I was surprised to see sheep in this field (contained by a wire fence as there were several gaps in the surrounding hedges) as it is usually arable. The hedge turned to the left and soon came to a corner, where I went through a gap and turned right along the far side of the hedgerow, spotting some Lapwings in the field on my left. At the end of this field (the same huge arable field I’d been in earlier) I went through a gate and followed a tall hedge on my left - this field was also arable, but is usually a sheep pasture, so the farmer has obviously been doing a bit of rotation. After a couple of hundred yards I came to another metal gate, which brought me to a hedge-lined track. As usual there were some barking dogs as I passed a farm on my left and reached a lane on the edge of Gaddesden Row.
The path between Pedley Hill and Gaddesden Row
Looking back along the path between Pedley Hill and Gaddesden Row
The farm track leading to the edge of Gaddesden Row
I turned right along the lane for a few yards as it went down a slight dip, then I turned left on another field path. This went along the left edge of a meadow, then went through a gap and continued on the other side of the hedgerow in a larger meadow sloping up to my left. As I walked along here, I suddenly spotted two foxes exiting the meadow and entering some woodland on the far side - I think this is the first time I’ve ever seen more than a solitary fox. The path soon switched back to the right of the mature hedgerow - there was now a nice view down a side valley leading to the Gade Valley, and on the skyline I could see the temple of a Buddhist monastery that I would pass later. It was very frosty in the corner of the field where the path entered Hoo Wood (for many years I thought it was called Hob Wood, due to the unfortunate positioning of a line on my map appearing to turn the second ‘o’ into a ‘b’!).
Looking back along the path from Gaddesden Row
Heavy frost at the entrance to Hoo Wood
The path went half-right through the wood, along a clear gap between the trees. I soon spotted something about 100 yards ahead of me on the path. I thought it might be a Muntjac Deer, but as it ambled off it was obviously a fox, presumably one of the two I’d just seen. It soon re-appeared on the path, and I managed to get a distant poor-quality photo. A bit further along the path, I simultaneously spotted a Goldcrest and a Tree Creeper! The Goldcrest was right next to the path, and didn’t seem concerned at my presence. I spent two or three minutes trying to photograph it, but as usual it was flitting about amongst the leaves of some low bushes and I was unsuccessful.
A distant shot of a Fox in Hoo Wood
Looking back along the path through Hoo Wood
The path through Hoo Wood
Beyond Hoo Wood, the path descended across another arable field, with a nice view over Great Gaddesden and the Gade Valley. I turned right along the hedge on the far side, soon reaching the road running through the valley. A fairly new wooden kissing gate on the far side led into a large empty cattle pasture in the valley bottom, where I crossed the similarly new footbridge over the river Gade (spotting another Lapwing), then turning half-left across the pasture to reach the edge of Great Gaddesden. A short distance (straight on, or right) along a village street, I went over a stile on the right and followed a path through a continuation of the empty pasture, heading uphill to a gate in a field corner. Beyond the gate, the path continued less steeply uphill through another pasture, where five small bullocks were drinking from a cattle trough just to my left. There were nice views here, back over the Gade Valley. The path then continued along the right edge of a paddock (Note: the path is now fenced in, separating it from the paddock) to reach the long lane running through the hamlet of St Margarets.
The footbridge over the River Gade, at Great Gaddesden
The river Gade and the Gade Valley from the footbridge
The path between Great Gaddesden and St Margarets
Looking back from the path to St Margarets - Hoo Wood is on top of the hill on the left
The Buddhist monastery that I’d seen earlier was on the opposite side of the lane. I took a footpath that went just left of the monastery grounds, initially along the drive of a house. Further on the path ran beside an empty paddock on my right. Here I met a couple coming the other way with their two dogs (Samoyeds, I think), who told me they’d just passed a small group of deer. Sure enough, a little way down the path I spotted the Fallow Deer in a small area of trees and bushes between two fences. I met two lady walkers here, and we watched the deer together for a few minutes, as we walked slowly past. The trees and bushes were entirely enclosed by a wire fence, about four feet high, but some of the deer demonstrated that it was no problem to them, as they leapt it from a standing start - I managed to get a couple of photos of them.
The path from St Margarets to Nettleden
A Fallow Buck leaping the fence
Another Fallow Buck leaping the fence