Start & Finish: Free car park on West Common, Redbourn, St Albans AL3 7ND
Distance: 9 km (6 miles)
Elevation change: +/- 74m
Hertfordshire Way section covered: Redbourn to Redbournbury: 4 km
GPX File: get via Buy Me a Coffee
Other routes touched (walk): Hertfordshire Way, Chiltern Way, Ver Valley Walk, River Ver Trail
Other routes touched (cycle): Nickey Line
Pubs / Cafes on route: The Cricketers of Redbourn at start and end
Map: St Albans & Hatfield Map | Hemel Hempstead & Welwyn Garden City | Ordnance Survey | OS Explorer Map 182
Links: Redbourn, Redbournbury, Redbournbury Mill, River Ver, Nickey Line

The Hertfordshire Way offers an incredible opportunity to circumnavigate one of England's home counties, revealing its hidden charms and surprising variety. This circular long-distance footpath, stretching around 273 km (170 miles), guides walkers through the county's most picturesque landscapes, proving that green spaces are never far, even in this area close to London. We walked the Chilterns part of the Hertfordshire Way in 15 sections over a couple of years. We used my “Greater Chilterns” definition that takes the trail from the River Lea near Wheathampstead to the River Colne near Garston. This route is one of those 15 circular walks.

The guidance below will help you navigate but don’t use it as a fully accurate turn-by-turn guide. Always take a map and/or a GPX route and prepare well for the weather and terrain.

For this walk we parked at the free car park on West Common near the cricket club. Walk along the tree-lined avenue in a south-westerly direction then take a right onto Flamsteadbury Lane. Take a left onto Ben Austins (road) and then a right onto the footpath next to house number 13. When you reach the field corner take a left to follow the Hertfordshire Way in a south-westerly direction along the field-edge. Keep following both the Very Valley Walk and Hertfordshire Way to pass through the grounds of St Mary’s Church, across Hemel Hempstead Road and onto the Nickey Lane disused railway.

Take a left onto the Nickey Line and follow it for 1.8 km until you reach a path junction just after crossing over the River Red. Take right at this path junction to leave the Nickey Line to stay on the Hertfordshire Way. Follow the Hertfordshire Way in a south-easterly direction for 2.6 km as it runs parallel to the River Ver. Approximately 0.5 km south of the Redbournbury Watermill leave the Hertfordshire Way to cross over the River Ver into a cow field. There’s a section of stepping stones where you can cross an arm of the Ver after the footbridge.

Cross the cow field and over the A4183 Redbourn Road then onto Punchbowl Lane. Follow Punchbowl Lane in a south-westerly direction for 3.3 km then take the footpath on the right to follow the Ver Valley Walk across fields in a northerly direction. Keep on the Ver Valley Walk heading north for approximately 3 km back to the start at West Common.