Pete's Walks- Hudnall and Potten End (page 1 of 2)
If you are considering walking this route yourself, please see my disclaimer. You may also like to see these notes about the maps and GPX files.
I did this circular walk of about 6.3 miles on Sunday, 18th January 2015. It was a repeat of a walk I've done a few times now, with minor variations (this time I started at Hudnall Common and did 'Alternative 2' on the map), but I think this was only the second time I'd done it in the anti-clockwise direction.
I parked in the small car park at Hudnall Common, and started walking about 11.10am. With the open common on my left I went a short way along the lane and then turned right on a bridleway that headed through a small wood. Beyond the wood, it continued between hedges and fences for almost half a mile to reach a stable yard. The route through the stables was well-signposted, going a few yards right to a gate leading to a short alley that emerged on a gravel drive between buildings, just a few yards from the road through Little Gaddesden. Across the road a wide track descended slowly through a wood (Cromer Wood) on the edge of the Ashridge estate, turning right at a hairpin bend and continuing down to reach a broad stretch of grass at the bottom of Golden Valley
Near the start of the bridleway from Hudnall Common to Little Gaddesden
The bridleway from Hudnall Common to Little Gaddesden (you can see it continuing near the top left of the photo)
The bridleway from Hudnall Common to Little Gaddesden, approaching the stables
The path from Little Gaddesden descending to the Golden Valley
I turned left and took a path rising at an angle up the other side of the valley - the path was clearly visible ahead of me, as it seemed to have retained more of the small amount of snow we'd had yesterday morning than had the surrounding grass. I stopped a couple of times to take photos, looking left along Golden Valley in the direction of Nettleden, a village I'd reach later on. Near the top of the slope the path went through a gate and continued between fences. It then joined a private drive, which dropped steeply down to reach the road that runs from Frithsden to Ashridge House.
The path rising up the other side of Golden Valley
Looking left along Golden Valley, in the direction of Nettleden
The path continuing from Golden Valley towards Frithsden Beeches
The pat
h descending towards Frithsden Beeches
Across the road, I went through a small parking area and some trees to reach the edge of a large grassy area (with a small copse in it) where I turned left. I soon reached a track emerging from the left, and immediately across this I entered an area of Beech trees known as Frithsden Beeches. As always it was enjoyable following the bridleway through this area, though it was sad to see one or two of the trees had been victims of recent storms. After moving away from the large grassy area to my right, the bridleway went up and down a small dip and eventually came to a bridleway crossroads, where I turned left.
Near the start of the path through Frithsden Beeches
The path through Frithsden Beeches
The bridleway through Frithsden Beeches
Approaching the bridleway junction beyond Frithsden Beeches, where I turned left towards the golf course
The new bridleway was soon running through a narrow belt of trees with the fairways of Berkhamstead Golf Club on either side. Further on, it crossed a fairway and then went over a minor road, continuing on with another fairway on the right. After several hundred yards the bridleway crossed a fairway in front of a tee, and a few yards further on I left the bridleway, turning left onto a path which within yards was running between garden fences. Across a private drive (part of Potten End, I think) the path continued on as a track that soon reached Little Frithsden Copse, and dropped gently downhill to reach the village of Frithsden, by the village pub.
The bridleway through the golf course
The bridleway through the golf course, having crossed the minor road
The bridleway through the golf course, crossing a fairway by a tee
Start of the path from near the golf course
The path to Frithsden
The path to Frithsden