Walk 97: Ware South-East Loop

6.8 miles (11 km) with 91m total ascent

The River Lea Navigation features heavily in this walk

A great walk for anyone who likes canals, barges, locks, quiet woodland paths, walking along the side of secluded rivers, and old Hertfordshire towns. Bird-watchers should take binoculars, because sightings of kingfishers have been reported between points 6 and 8.

The walk starts and finishes in Ware, follows the River Ash NE before heading through Easeye Wood and down to Stanstead Abbotts, and then along the River Lea Navigation back to Ware. There are plenty of opportunities for refreshments in both Ware and Stanstead Abbotts.

Directions

Map for Walk 97: Ware South-East Loop
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There is an interactive map below the directions

Those with GPS devices can download GPX or KML files for this walk. We've added What3Words location references for those who use that system. If you print these walks you might want to use the green PrintFriendly icon at the bottom of these directions to delete elements such as photographs.

If you are travelling by car, you can use the pay-and-display car park, known as the Library Car Park, off Burgage Lane (location - https://w3w.co/voted.beats.woes). For those travelling by train, you could use either Ware station or St Margarets station at Stanstead Abbotts. If using Ware station you can join the walk at point 2, if using St Margarets station you can join the walk at point 16.

Ware Town footpath 18 at the start and end of the walk

1: Take the footbridge in the SE corner of the car park (location - https://w3w.co/invent.skinny.oiled) and cross the River Lea Navigation, turning left on the S side. You then head E along the southern bank of the waterway on Ware Town footpath 18 for 330m until you reach Bridgefoot, (location - https://w3w.co/salads.look.fingernails).

2: Cross the River Lea Navigation and head N for 65m until the road forks. Take the right fork, Star Street (location - https://w3w.co/papers.scary.brief), and head E for 680m until you reach Ware Town footpath 21 on your right at the point where the road starts to climb the hill (location - https://w3w.co/engine.moving.shirts).

3: Turn right here and follow the track SE for 240m past houses on your right and allotments on your left until you reach open ground where you will see a footpath sign directly ahead (location - https://w3w.co/busy.among.fell). This is a continuation of Ware Town footpath 21. Keep heading SE for 670m, ignoring a footpath on your right, until you reach Holly Cross Road (location - https://w3w.co/labels.matter.either).

Ware Town footpath 21 just past the allotments, mentioned in point 3

4: Diagonally opposite, about 20m to your right, you will see the continuation of Ware footpath 21 (location - https://w3w.co/pigs.poster.awards). Cross the road and take Ware footpath 21. After 90m you come to a footpath crossing (location - https://w3w.co/pays.toxic.yappy). Ignore the path to your left and head NE following the Wareside footpath 39 round to the right at a bend in the River Ash. At this point the river will be on your left. Continue for 240m until you reach a footbridge on your left (location - https://w3w.co/raced.invite.bunny).

The junction with Wareside footpath 39, mentioned in point 4

Walk along the side of the River Ash, mentioned in point 4

5: Cross the footbridge. You are now on Stanstead Abbotts footpath 1, which heads NE for 60m across the SE corner of the field to a stile in the hedgerow (location - https://w3w.co/guides.shirts.softly). Cross the stile and turn left, ignoring a path on your right, but, instead, head NE along a sunken wooded path between the fields. Continue along this path for 170m until you reach a second stile (location - https://w3w.co/weedy.sports.ballots).

The footbridge over the River Ash, mentioned in point 5

Stanstead Abbotts footpath 1, mentioned in point 5

6: Cross the stile and turn to your right heading ESE, E, and then NE for 620m as the path follows the River Ash (on your left), and skirts Mead Wood, also on your left. Continue until you reach a track (location - https://w3w.co/pools.fear.hunter).

Stanstead Abbotts footpath 1, mentioned in point 6

7: Follow this track NE for 310m. As you pass a cottage on your right the path becomes Wareside footpath 75 and continues to a T-junction (location - https://w3w.co/noise.ideas.agenda).

The T-junction, mentioned in points 7 & 8

8: Turn right at the T-junction on Wareside footpath 35 and head SE or 640m through Easneye Wood to the top of the hill and then continue SW (here your path becomes Stanstead Abbotts footpath 16). Continue past Chaseway Cottages and North Lodge on your right until you come to a gate (location - https://w3w.co/suffer.apples.loves). Go through the gate and continue heading SSW.

The gate on Stanstead Abbotts footpath 16, mentioned in point 8

9: After 240m you will reach a T-junction (location - https://w3w.co/translated.transmitted.cards). Turn left here and take Stanstead Abbotts bridleway 18 and head SE and S for 1.25km until you reach Little Briggens farm (location - https://w3w.co/also.edge.tube).

Turn left on Stanstead Abbotts bridleway 18, mentioned in point 9

10: Follow the path through the farmyard and continue for 220m until you reach Pelly Cottages and a fork in the track (location - https://w3w.co/dating.dust.clues). Take the footpath on your right, Stanstead Abbotts footpath 6 and follow it SW for 190m until you reach a five-way junction in the paths (location - https://w3w.co/pound.nods.giant).

Turn right on Stanstead Abbotts footpath 6, mentioned in point 10

11: At the five-way junction, your way is to continue heading SE along Stanstead Abbotts footpath 6, which follows a line of telegraph poles at this point.

The five-way junction - follow the line of the telegraph poles, point 11

12: When you reach the end of the field, go through a gap in a giant laurel hedge (location - https://w3w.co/achieving.paused.needed). Turn left after passing through the hedge and then follow the steps down to Chappelfields (location - https://w3w.co/town.bend.natively). Turn left here, and then immediately right, heading W and downhill along Abbots Way until you reach Cappell Lane (location - https://w3w.co/club.jumpy.dwell), where you turn left and follow the road into Stanstead Abbotts.

* There are several pubs, restaurants, cafes and shops in Stanstead Abbotts. 

Continue heading SW down High Street until you reach Stanstead Bridge over the River Lea Navigation and a footpath on your right, Great Amwell footpath 10 (location - https://w3w.co/formed.types.dare).

The start of Great Amwell footpath 10, mentioned in point 13

13: Take Great Amwell footpath 10, and follow it along the tow path on the W side of the river. Continue along this path as it heads NW for 3.3km past Stanstead Lock and then Hardman Lock. After you pass Hardman Lock the path becomes Ware Town footpath 19. Continue until you reach point 2 in the directions.

* If you are a bird-watcher you might want to cross the River Lea Navigation at Stanstead Lock and walk the path running along the E side of the river and adjacent to the Amwell Quarry Nature Reserve, which, according to the Herts & Middlesex Wildlife Trust, has “outstanding communities of breeding birds”, and is home to “21 species of dragonfly and damselfly”, making the site the “county’s best for dragonflies”. You can rejoin the route by crossing the river from E to W when you reach Hardman Lock.

When you reach point 2 again you should continue heading E along Ware Town footpath 18 back to the car park.

Stanstead Lock

Hardman Lock

Interactive map

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