Walks in Herts with kids: Watton at Stone circular walk
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Family friendly and buggy friendly walk in Hertfordshire
As a number of Hertfordshire friends have asked me to recommend a buggy-friendly walk, I thought I’d write up this circular amble along the country lanes and tracks of Watton at Stone, near Hertford. The walk passes through woodland and farmland and it’s great for a family stroll or as a refreshing morning’s walk if you’ve been awake half the night with a young baby.
There are plenty of ways to extend this walk with nearby woods to dive into for den building, bluebell admiring (mid April to mid May) or welly-muddying.
Where to start the walk and where to park
You can start and end the walk at the Nigel Poulton Community Hall which has toilets and a play area in the surrounding park. The car park is used by people hiring the hall so it’s best to park on the High Street (check parking restriction signs).
The route
Behind the play area you’ll find a footpath which leads up to St Andrew and St Mary’s Church. From the church, walk up the slope (steep and gravelly) and turn right onto Church Lane. After a few hundred metres, you’ll cross a railway bridge, from here take the left hand fork in the lane.
This stretch of lane is quiet, flat and has good visibility (aside from the first bend) so it’s a popular spot with young children building up their cycling and scooting skills.
Follow the lane, with views over farmland on either side, passing a couple of houses on your left and then a small wood and a pond on your right. After about 750 metres, you’ll reach a larger farmhouse. With the farmhouse ahead of you, the road becomes a track (often muddy) which you should follow round to the left past a small pond.
The track slopes down and then back up towards some woods. The track is usually quite muddy at its lowest point but I have managed to push a buggy across it on numerous occasions (it might be impassable with a buggy after particularly heavy rain). The track leads through some woodland, which is usually full of snowdrops and bluebells in the spring, before reaching Perrywood Lane and a farm. Note, the stretch of track through this woodland has recently been disturbed by diggers so it may be very muddy and have large puddles after heavy rain.
If you turn right, Perrywood Lane becomes a track which will take you into a larger and rather beautiful stretch of woodland, called Bramfield Woods. The bluebells put on a particularly impressive display here. This area is all owned managed by the Woodhall Estate.
The woods are great for a wander if you’re not ready to head back to the village yet. If you have older children, this is a fantastic place for a bike ride. There are a couple of rewarding pubs in neighbouring Datchworth which can be reached along the woodland paths. You can also do a 10 kilometre loop walk if you take this direction with the route taking you back across open fields with far reaching views.
If you’d prefer to stick to the shorter route, follow the paved part of Perrywood Lane in the opposite direction as it winds its way downhill and then back uphill over the railway line towards Watton at Stone. In summertime the hedgerows are filled with wildflowers and it’s a joy to wander along here in the sunshine.
After about 1km, once you’ve walked up the hill and over the railway bridge, you’ll reach Watton at Stone Common on your right which is great for a picnic and blackberry picking. From the common, the lane slopes steeply downhill to meet Church Lane where you can retrace your steps through the churchyard back to the community hall.
Further information
Length: approx 3.5km
Features: beautiful spring flowers, far reaching views over the countryside, woodland to explore.
Terrain: aside from a slightly muddy area (which I managed to get my buggy through) you’ll be walking mostly on farm tracks and quiet lanes.
Refreshments: The Bull in Watton is family friendly, there’s a good sized garden and they do a decent Sunday roast. There’s also an excellent bakery and cafe, Crumbs, plus a second pub, the George and Dragon, further up the High Street. For more family friendly pub ideas, check out my post about pubs in Hertfordshire.
Parking and transport: Parking at the Nigel Poulton Community Hall (postcode SG14 3SF) should be used by hirers so try the High Street (check restrictions on weekdays), otherwise there is free parking at the train station (SG14 2RJ). There are direct trains from London Moorgate via Finsbury Park and Hertford North, plus bus services to and from Hertford, Ware and Stevenage.
More family-friendly walks in Hertfordshire:
Heartwood Forest near St Albans
The best bluebell woods in Hertfordshire
Mardley Heath near Welwyn Garden City
Have you done this walk? Do you have any tips to add? Let me know in the comments below.
It’s not easy to find walks as picturesque as this that are also suitable for buggies. Thanks for sharing!
I find it very therapeutic!
Hi I was just wondering I take it this is a short walk under an hour perhaps if not less? Thank you anyway for noting down the walk great inspiration to go out see somewhere new
Hi Helen, thanks for getting in touch. If I’m walking quickly I can do this walk in about 45 minutes. So if you’ve not done it before it might be more like an hour.
It is quite muddy around the farm at the moment so if you have a buggy you’ll need to lift it through that section.
If you’d like a longer walk and you’re buggy-free there’s a walk of around 5 miles which takes you through Bramfield woods and back across fields – it’s lovely on a clear day but again it can be a bit muddy at the moment! It should be fairly easy to plot using the Ordnance survey website or equivalent map.
The village is also pleasant to walk through – there’s a path running alongside the river through a field known locally as the Lammas – there’s a small parking area on Mill Lane. The local land owner has also created a walk through the Lammas which is signposted.