Details
Location:
Around Stotfold using the Etonbury Wheel, Astwick Road and Mill Lane past Stotfold Mill.
Weather:
Cool initially but quite pleasant later on as the sun warmed the air up
Distance:
5.1 miles – Average speed 2.3 mph
Elevation Gain/loss:
230 feet
Our Group
Comprised 16 walkers led by Bob Whaley.
The Walk
This was our 4th visit to Stotfold and our 1st to the Stag.
We turned left out of the pub and then left again on a footway that took us along the course of Pix Brook to Valerian Way. From there we walked to Hitchin Road, where we went straight across onto a field footpath. This footpath took us round the edge of a field until we got to Etonbury Wood.
We walked through the wood until we got to Etonbury Wheel where the track crosses the Stotfold Bypass via a new bridge. We turned in the opposite direction of the bridge and walked along the Etonbury Wheel past Etonbury School and the closed Fox and Duck pub.
After crossing Arlesey Road, we continued along Etonbury Wheel until we got to Astwick Road where we had a short refreshment break. We walked along Astwick Road past the Crown pub and The Green, then turned left onto Malthouse Lane then right onto Mill Lane. After a brief stop at Stotfold Mill we continued to The High Street, then Brook Street and back to the pub for the food that we had ordered before the start of the walk
The map of the walk is shown below
Stotfold
The name of the town has seen many forms including Stodfald in 1007. The general consensus is that the name is derived from the fact that ‘Stots’ (half grown horses) were folded in the parish on their way along the Great North Road.
Once upon a time there were 20 pubs in Stotfold including 6 pubs round The Green. Of those pubs only 6 pubs are open in 2025, including 2 round The Green. Most of the ‘ex-pubs’ have been converted to domestic dwellings or replaced with houses. However, two of the ‘ex-pubs’ retain names that show their history (The Cricketers on The Green and Black Lion House on the High Street)