Details
Location:
Rabley Heath to Knebworth House, through the park,
past the Knebworth Park Cenotaph and back to Rabley
Heath avoiding the flooded road
Weather:
Very muddy near the start of the walk, but less so later
in the walk. Light rain during the walk.
Distance:
4.8 miles – Average speed 2.0mph
Elevation Gain/loss:
369 feet
Our Group
Comprised 19 walkers led by Frank & Pauline Everest.
The Walk
This was our second visit to Rabley Heath (our previous visit was in 2013)
We turned left out of the pub and walked on the road until we reached a footpath between 2 houses to the right of the road. On that path the surface was not too bad until we got to the end of the gardens. At that point we turned into New Wood in an attempt to avoid the worst of the mud. The path through the wood was still very muddy, but everybody got to the north edge of the wood without any mishaps.
From there, we continued north along the track / footpath through more mud until we got to Park Lane where we turned left until we got to the west end of the houses. There we turned north again and walked past the recreation ground and turned left towards the church entrance to Knebworth Park. We walked through the grounds of the park towards Wintergreen Wood. Near the footpath exit to that wood we turned left and walked to the Codicote road pedestrian exit from the park. There, we turned left again, still in the park, and walked to the Cenotaph and finally left the park at Nup End.
We walked along Slip Lane until we got to a footpath just before New Wood. This footpath took us across fields through several kissing gates until we got to Sally Deards Lane. A short distance along Sally Deards Lane we turned left on a footpath that took us back to Slip Lane. From there it was a short walk along the lane to the pub. After a quick change out of walking boots we entered for that welcome drink and some food. One of the items on the menu was Cullen Skink, which was a popular choice amongst the walkers.
The map of the walk is shown below
Note – Slip Lane has a tendency to flood in wet winters. It is best avoided, if possible. The loop that we took down Sally Deards Lane was taken to avoid that flood