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The path now lead downhill, with a huge ploughed field on my right. At the bottom of the valley I reached a lane on the edge of the village of Nettleden. I turned right, away from the village, and within a few yards took a path forking right across the huge ploughed field. This path is usually an interesting one, running along the bottom of a small valley for over a mile without passing any habitations or even so much as a hedgerow. However, as I’d descended the hill to Great Gaddesden I’d noticed that the ground was no longer frozen, and so I knew this long path along tractor tracks through the enormous ploughed field was going to be a little laborious. I soon passed the solitary tree standing guard at the entrance to the valley, and started to make my way along the valley, the path very gradually rising. The mud was soon sticking to my boots, and so this section was a bit of a slog, rather than the pleasure it usually is when the ground is dry and there are skylarks singing overhead. I plodded along for about 20 minutes, only passing a small circle of bushes enclosing a pond, but eventually reached a fence and a small paddock (I usually think of it as a meadow, but there was a horse in it today - I have twice seen the lovely Fox-and-cubs here). On the far side I went over a stile to reach the road through Little Gaddesden.
Near the start of the long valley walk from Nettleden to Little Gaddesden
The long valley walk from Nettleden to Little Gaddesden - the bushes surround a pond
The long valley walk from Nettleden to Little Gaddesden - it's usually a delightful section of the walk, but the bare ploughed fields and sticky mud made it a bit of a chore today
The paddock or meadow just before Little Gaddesden
I turned right and followed the road for a couple of hundred yards, passing a couple of families out walking with their pony-riding daughters. I turned right onto another footpath, which soon took me through a stables and onto a track between paddocks. It descended slightly into the shallow valley I’d been plodding through before - I spotted another group of Fallow Deer here, in the paddocks on the opposite hillside, though they were possibly the ones I’d just seen before (they were about a mile from where I’d seen them, further along the same hill). The path went left, and then turned right, going uphill between a hedge and a paddock fence on my right. There were two large Fallow bucks with impressive antlers in the paddock, feeding next to the wood that I was approaching. They watched me nervously as I approached, but didn’t move off and allowed me to get some reasonable photos.
The track between paddocks, heading away from Little Gaddesden
The path from Little Gaddesden to Hudnall
A Fallow Buck, between Little Gaddesden and Hudnall
The path entered the small wood, and I sat on a fallen Silver Birch tree to eat my lunch (I usually stop here when I do this walk). It was now about 1.30pm. As I munched my sarnies, I spotted a couple of Fallow does in the trees, and later on the two large bucks joined them. Lunch over, I continued the short distance through the wood to reach the continuation of St Margaret’s Lane which I’d earlier crossed by the Buddhist Monastery. Ahead of me was a large area of grassland, sloping down and out of view, part of Hudnall Common (owned by the National Trust). I turned left along the lane, and followed it through the small village of Hudnall.
Looking across the Gade Valley from Hudnall Common
The lane through Hudnall
I crossed over a minor road, following a dead-end lane past some more residences and then continuing ahead on a footpath along the right edge of a small paddock. In the far corner, I reached a junction where five paths met, and where there was a distant view of Little Gaddesden church.
Looking towards Little Gaddesden church
I turned right, heading down towards the Gade Valley once more, initially with tall garden fences on my right. Beyond the gardens, the path steepened as I followed a hedge line down into the valley.
Looking across the Gade Valley, from the edge of Hudnall
Looking across the Gade Valley
The path across the Gade Valley
I re-crossed the road running through the valley, and followed the equally steep path up the opposite side, now with a hedge on my left. Towards the top of the hill, I caught up with a couple of walkers who’d paused where the path switched to the left of the hedge. We chatted for a minute or two about our walks and the wildlife we’d seen, then I carried on.
The path across the Gade Valley, heading uphill towards Studham
Looking along the Gade Valley towards Great Gaddesden
Home Long-distance paths Lake District Chiltern Hills Photographs Links Huntington's Disease Association