Between May 1969 and June 1970, Percy Birtchnell, writing as “Townsman” but also known as “Beorcham”, offered his readers the chance to combine exercise with an appreciation of the countryside with his popular series of local walks. So popular were they that pages were torn out of the Berkhamsted Review so that walkers could take his instructions and maps with them. That’s how we are missing walks 3, 4 and 6 (let us know if you find them). It is interesting to note how much (or how little) these routes have changed in the intervening half-century or so! Click on the links to find Beorcham’s original instructions…
Walk 1: The Valley of the Bourne
(7 miles)
“At any time of the year the Bourne valley is worth a visit. But it is especially lovely in springtime. The Bourne Gutter, to use its full and inaptly ugly name, is usually dry. According to tradition it is a ‘woewater’ which flows only in times of war, but the town’s top scientists now believe that very rainy seasons encourage the occasional flow of water.”
Walk 2: Over the hills to Tring
(7.5 miles)
“This ramble to Tring has several good features [including] two well-known mansions in spacious parks [Rossway and Rothschild Mansion]… Hertfordshire’s highest village [Wigginton].. we end our walk in a sister town with a fine parish church, a wonderful museum, and some of the finest woods to be seen anywhere in the Chilterns.”
Walk 5: Fieldpath way to Gade Valley
(7.5 miles)
“Hertfordshire in a Nutshell… different types of scenery… ridge walk to the Common… woodland way to Frithsden… splendid views to Nettleden… little-known fieldpaths to Great Gaddesden… Water End… down Gade valley to Hemel. If you go no further than the Common, you will be rewarded by the views from the signposted but surprisingly little used fieldpath which runs high above New Road. Do at least try this breezy ridgeway – it may become your favourite walk.”
Walk 7: Quickest way to Aldbury
(5.5 or 9.5 miles)
“As TV viewers and cinema-goers know, outdoor scenes of many films have been shot at Aldbury. The parish church interior is fascinating. This route is short, and sweet, and direct – just right for the shorter days of autumn and winter. A quick return by train… or walk home along the canal towpath.”
Walk 8 Bullbeggars to Winkwell
(varies, 3-7 miles)
Beorcham liked to avoid roads where possible. “If you have ever flattened your back against a prickly hedge while a speed merchant whooshed by, you will know what I mean. By using the lanes we have a walk with several variations – the choice is yours. Start by going up Ivy House Lane (which runs past St. Michael and All Angels’ Church, Sunnyside). The return to the valley is via Little Heath and then by one of three different lanes.”
Walk 9: The Call of the Crinkle-Crankle
“Walking up the Crinkle-Crankle, I often met an old gamekeeper known as Oily Jack. This unkind nickname was bestowed upon him by the poachers whom he often outsmarted. [This is] the winding track which starts at Bottom Farm and climbs up the Buckinghamshire side of the lovely valley of the Bourne, the intermittent tributary of the Bulbourne. I think you will enjoy this shortish excursion into Beechy Bucks; it is made to measure for the short days of mid-winter. But be prepared for mud!”
Walk 10: Potten End and Ladies’ Mile
(4 miles)
This walk “begins and ends at Potten End… spacious green with an out-size pond. Grim’s Dyke, said to have been made by the devil, a theory to which some golfers still subscribe. The gem of the village is its church… little more than a century old and quite unlike [other] Victorian churches. Holy Trinity is light and bright… and quite beautiful. From Water End to Ladies’ Mile (the valley road from Nettleden to Water End… the way the owners of Ashridge used when they did not wish to travel via Berkhamsted); High Park Wood is a high spot in every sense, with several good, clean paths, all worth exploring.”
Walk 11: Clipperdown and Pitstone Hill
(5.5 miles)
“My mood is always a happy one when tramping the hills of Ivinghoe and Pitstone. On Pitstone Hill you will see and walk along some very ancient tracks which score the hillside. Here, on the chalk-hills high above the Icknield Way, early man made his home. For part of the way you will walk along tracks that were used long before the Romans came.”
Walk 12: Hilltop Way to Bovingdon Green
(9 miles)
“Bovingdon is seldom visited by local ramblers. There are still pleasant green lanes and footpaths [with] long downhill walks from the village to the Bulbourne valley. Two alternatives… Bourne End and [preferable] Boxmoor. Bovingdon Green, a lovely open space where cricket has been played for generations. Through Bovingdon church-yard, no doubt you will find time to visit the well-proportioned church, an 1840 rebuilding and enlargement of a church which has stood on the site since 1200. Plod well shod.”
Walk 13: Ridgeway, Hawridge to Chesham Vale (5-6 miles with bus ride, 9-10 walking)
” The first part of this walk, the footpath to Marlin Chapel, must be familiar to many readers [see Walk 2]. But how many, or rather how few, have ever walked along the ridgeway from Hawridge Church to Chesham Vale? I always feel on top of the world when ambling high above the road, with no hedges to obstruct the views. Instead of a round tour, [try] a short bus ride home.”
Walk 14 Up Hill Down Dale to Nettledon
(8-9 miles)…
“A splendid walk, with ever-changing scenery : park-land, common, heath, woods, deep-cut lanes and springy fieldpaths… some short but rather stiffish climbs… nice old houses to photograph in Frithsden, the hamlet with the pub and no church, and at Nettleden, the village with the church and no pub. Be sure to visit Nettleden church and wander round the beautifully kept churchyard.”
Berkhamsted Local History & Museum Society 