We’re a Ramblers group aimed mainly at people in their 20s, 30s and slightly older, offering led walks and social events across Herts, Beds and south Cambs.
Gavin F
Join us for the last in a series of short walks along the HOOP!
This walk, hosted by Stag Walkers for Hitchin Festival, will cover the northeast of the HOOP (Hitchin Outer Orbital Path), a waymarked route around the edge of Hitchin and through the surrounding countryside, which has its 15th anniversary this year. For those who are new to country walking or might prefer short routes, we’ve split the HOOP into four leisurely walks of around 5 to 7 miles. Each of these walks starts near Hitchin town centre and includes a variety of green space around the town and nearby. The route is partly on surfaced paths and partly on rural tracks, including some gentle hills.
After meeting outside the Queen Mother Theatre, we’ll walk on pavement and paths to the east side of Hitchin, passing through Purwell Meadows Local Nature Reserve. We’ll join the HOOP on the edge of town, where the route overlaps with the Letchworth Garden City Greenway. We’ll head uphill on a wooded path alongside Letchworth Golf Club, before crossing Hitchin Road and heading towards Letchworth's Westbury Estate.
As we skirt the edge of Letchworth we’ll have a wide view over farmland down to Hitchin and the surrounding countryside. We’ll also see Ickleford Barrow, an ancient burial mound now covered in trees. In 1816, archaeological excavations at this site found bronze spear heads and a copper blade.
We next pass through an area of Letchworth known as 'Tin Town' where prefab houses were built in haste using surplus metals from World War Two aircraft, which is likely to be demolished in the future. We will then pass Icknield Way Cemetery, where Letchworth's founder Ebenezer Howard is buried, and the Wilbury pub, which will be familiar to anyone who has watched the film ‘The World's End’.
Leaving Letchworth and its Greenway, we’ll deviate from the official route of the HOOP to walk alongside the world-famous lavender fields at Cadwell Farm. The lavender should be in full bloom at this time of year and we’ll pause here briefly to enjoy the scene and the scent.
After this, we’ll cross the East Coast Main Line railway via a reverberating bridge (listen for the echo as we go over), and will pass the pond known as Gerry’s Hole, opposite a mural which commemorates the former Hitchin to Bedford railway line. The HOOP then takes us into Ickleford, where we’ll break for packed lunch on the village’s Upper Green and will have an optional pub stop at The Plume of Feathers.
Following lunch, we’ll leave the HOOP and return through the edge of town, to our start point, passing through Bancroft Gardens along the way. After the walk, there will be an optional pub stop in town for those who’d like to join us for a sociable drink.
Dogs are welcome on a lead.
For information about walking with the group, including our dog policy, please visit the Stag Walkers website.
There is no limit on group size for this walk and booking is not essential; however, we do find it helpful to know who's coming, so:
* if you plan to come along, please book a place for yourself and any guests you are bringing
* if you have to cancel please update your RSVP so we know not to wait for you
* you can RSVP via our Meetup group or e-mail stagwalkers at gmail dot com
Unless you opt in to further communications, we will only use contact information you provide to get in touch about the walk.
This is a circular walk.
The start time is when we aim to start walking and the finish time is an estimate.
Walks are graded Easy, Leisurely, Moderate or Strenuous in increasing order of difficulty. Please read the walk description to check it is within your abilities and contact the group if you are unsure.
Please:
We are a Ramblers group, non-members are welcome to try us out for three free walks before joining Ramblers as a full member.
As a charity we ask that non-members consider making a voluntary donation to Ramblers until they purchase membership. We suggest £3-4 per walk. You can donate in person or online.
The Ramblers’ Association is a company limited by guarantee, registered in England and Wales. Company registration number: 4458492. Registered Charity in England and Wales number: 1093577. Registered office: First Floor, 10 Queen Street Place, London EC4R 1BE.
Meet by Queen Mother Theatre, Woodside car park, Walsworth Road, Hitchin, SG4 9SP. Free parking on Sundays. Accessible by public transport: start point is 10 minutes' walk from Hitchin railway station and close to Hitchin town centre.
