Pete's Walks- Hudnall, Ashridge, Dagnall (page 3 of 3)
Through a gate, the bridleway went right. Just before it ended at a road (the one through Little Gaddesden again, but a long way from where I crossed it earlier), I turned very sharply left, almost doubling back on myself. I went through a couple of metal gates and continued across a pasture, with Little Gaddesden church in view ahead. There were sheep and a few of the white cattle in this field, along with three white calves, presumably the offspring of the bull I'd just seen. The path continued across a smaller grass field to reach the car park next to the church. I went straight on here, passing the church on my left, and going on across a grassy field. There was then a long section beside a hedge, with a huge ploughed field stretching away on my right.
The path to Little Gaddesden church
Approaching Little Gaddesden church
The path from Little Gaddesden church to Hudnall
The path from Little Gaddesden church to Hudnall
I went straight on at a path crossroads, to reach some houses in Hudnall, on the edge of Hudnall Common. I could have simply turned right here to return to where I'd parked (following a private drive, crossing a road and continuing along St Margaret's Lane), but I decided to take the opportunity to explore a bit of the common. So instead I took a footpath starting almost opposite where the previous one ended. This led through trees, but soon came out on a large open grass area, which surprised me as I did not realise it was here (its on the OS map, but screened from the road that bisects Hudnall Common by trees and bushes). I crossed this open area, heading slightly left to reach a yellow-topped post on the far side. The path continued through bushes and trees, going gently downhill, before becoming almost a track as it reached the road through the common.
The start of the path downhill through Hudnall Common
The path downhill through Hudnall Common
The path downhill through Hudnall Common, crossing the large grass area
The path downhill through Hudnall Common
The path downhill through Hudnall Common
The path downhill through Hudnall Common, shortly before it meets the road
A path started on the other side of the road, but I went a 100 yards or so down the road and took a bridleway on the other side - pointless, really, as it soon brought me back to where the path started opposite where I'd met the road. The bridleway continued back uphill through this wooded section of the common, before reaching another large open area. I could just about follow the route of the bridleway as a faint impression in the grass - it passed immediately left of a solitary tree and went on to reach a bridleway sign beside St Margaret's Lane. I turned right, and walked the last hundred yards back to my car.
Near the start of the bridleway back uphill through Hudnall Common
The bridleway back uphill through Hudnall Common
The bridleway back uphill through Hudnall Common
The bridleway back uphill through Hudnall Common
The bridleway back uphill through Hudnall Common, approaching ST Margaret's Lane
The walk took around 3 hours, which is about right for me over a distance of roughly nine miles. I didn't try to work out the distance beforehand, but this was exactly the right length for me today. Hopefully next weekend I'll feel up to doing around 12 miles, but I'll have to wait and see - I'll certainly be glad when I've finally got my strength back after that virus.
All my photographs look rather grey, but I think it was actually a bit sunnier than they would seem to indicate. Although almost all the paths were ones I'd walked many times before, it was still an enjoyable walk for me and certainly one I'd happily do again (if I wanted to do a shorter walk than usual). I was glad to explore the paths that went up and down Hudnall Common - the reason I'd not walked them before is that they don't really connect with any other paths, so I'm not likely to use them again too often.