Walk Report

Lea Valley Walk 3, Saturday 12th September 2009
9 walkers, 22.5 miles - leader Rob Myers
9 of us turned up in sunny conditions in Harpenden ready to travel to the source of the River Lea. Having only the last 12 miles of the Lea Valley Walk to cover we first had an enjoyable morning walk in the Hertfordshire countryside, involving sections of the Hertfordshire Way and Chiltern Way. We had a drink stop in Wheathampstead churchyard before arriving at our lunch stop at the Bright Star, Peters Green. This was an excellent pub which was not only "walker friendly" but also "horse friendly" as they had their own tethering bar and water trough. It also sold McMullen's ales and reasonably cheap food. Definitely recommended for future walks. The afternoon began with a visit to the ruins of Someries Castle which was the oldest brick building in Bedfordshire. We skirted around Luton Airport and then walked through the centre of Luton (am I the first LDWA leader ever to do this?). After a couple of miles streets gave way to parkland and then fields and we stopped off for a drink in the Old Moat House. This was a pub in the oldest secular building in Bedfordshire with a thatched roof and lots of large carp swimming in the moat. Fully refreshed we then visited the source of the River Lea. This was the third of a series of walks, the first from Limehouse to Broxbourne took place on a freezing January day, the second from Broxbourne to Harpenden was on a beautiful spring day in April. In total we covered the full 52 miles of the Lea Valley Walk. Congratulations to Corinne for doing all 3 walks.

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