5 Festive Walks

When you’ve had enough of Christmas shopping and the telly, head out for the rich gifts of nature. Isabel Crozier of the Countryside Management Service picks her top five festive walks in Herts

- Isabel Crozier

IT can all get a bit much, Christmas. There’s the shopping, visiting, eating out, parties, the children off school, days stuck in doors with the TV. What you need is some reinvigoration and frankly, a break. Pick a bright day, dig out your walking boots, wrap up warm, and get out and explore Hertfordshire’s fabulous countryside and green spaces on foot. Here are five routes with varying lengths and different interests to try either solo (when you need some ‘me’ time), as a couple or with all the family.

1. HAMPERMILL TRAIL

Discover the countryside at the heart of Watford on this new waymarked trail. The walk is just three miles long, taking about an hour, so it’s perfect for a quick distraction from the sale shopping and family commitments over the Christmas holidays. Using the Ebury Way and local footpaths you’ll pass by Hampermill Lake, the mill and the Clock House. Download or pick up a copy of the leaflet and explore the beautiful Colne Valley in South Oxhey.

2. STRAW PLAITERS WALK