Wild Flowers from Cassiobury Park

Start and Finish: Cassiobury Park car park, Gade Avenue, Watford. Nearest postcode (WD18 7LH). Grid ref: TQ 092 968.

(S/E) From the car park, take the surfaced path which leads down to (B) the river Gade. Turn right along the riverbank past the playground and miniature railway. At a major junction of paths turn left and cross the bridges over the river and the Grand Union Canal (C).

(1) Walk ahead for 20m then turn right on Footpath 30. Follow it as it gently rises up the hill then levels out between the golf fairways. After 800m the track meets a major junction of paths.

(2) Where Footpath 30 swings to the right, continue straight ahead on Footpath 1 towards Chandlers Cross as indicated on a waymark post. Go past the (E) Whippendell Wood information board and follow the path downhill. Continue for 1.3km keeping to the wide path and ignoring all paths left and right to exit the wood at Rousebarn Lane. Cross over the lane and go through the gate to enter (F) Harrocks Wood.

(3) After a few paces turn right on a narrower woodland path. Follow it for 500m past a bench to a T-junction.

(4) Turn left past an electricity pole and stay in the same direction for 350m to leave the wood first through a wooden gate and then a metal one. Follow the path between fence and hedgerow and through the next gate into a lane. Keep straight ahead past Oak Farm cottages on the right and past the farm barns on the left.

(5) Just past the entrance to the barns /farm buildings turn left through a gate onto a path signposted to Rousebarn Lane - a distance of 1.5km. After 730m, walk past the entrances to Newlands Spring and Dell Wood and continue ahead along the right-hand edge of a field. Go through a gap in the hedgerow and straight across the next field down to a kissing gate at Rousebarn Lane. Cross the lane and enter the wood opposite.

(6) Walk forward a few paces and turn immediately right along a path that runs parallel to the lane. After 500m the path emerges back into the lane. Cross over to the pavement on the other side and stay in the same direction to the junction with Lodge End.

(7) Turn left and follow the lane uphill towards (G) Gade Bank. At the bottom of the hill continue straight ahead over the canal bridge towards Cassiobury Farm.

(8) Opposite the entrance to Cassiobury Farm, bear left on a rough track and follow it over two bridges to meet a junction of paths.

(9) Turn left along a surfaced path to the next footbridge over the river. Do not cross the bridge but turn right, continue beside the riverbank for 240m then turn right to go back up to the car park.(S/E)

"We hope you have enjoyed your walk. Please remember to rate the walk and add comments. We are interested in how we could improve the instructions or the route and would like to hear about any issues with paths on the walk."

Start and Finish: Cassiobury Park car park, Gade Avenue, Watford. Nearest postcode (WD18 7LH). Grid ref: TQ 092 968. An alternative start point is the free Grove Mill Lane car park. Nearest postcode WD17 3TU. Grid ref: TQ 080 982. Directions for joining the route below.

Parking: Cassiobury Park car park or the alternative in Grove Mill Lane. The Cassiobury Park option can get very busy, especially at weekends and during school holidays. The car park is free for only 2 hours, so please remember to buy a ticket.

Local Transport: Close by is Watford Metropolitan Station, with direct trains to Baker Street. The are many buses that pass close to Cassiobury Park, please check on www.travelinesoutheast.org.uk

Alternative Start Take the path at the back of the car park past the metal barrier. Ignore all tracks left and right, continue straight ahead for 550m to a major junction of paths with information board and footpath signs (this is waypoint 2). Turn right and follow the main route until returning back to this point then stay on Footpath 30 to the car park.

Food and Drink: Cedars Cafe at The Hub (visible 300m from the car park) and The Tea Pavilion (run by Cafe in the Park) located 500m up the hill from the car park. None on the walk.

This walk was created for the book "50 Great Walks in the Chilterns" available from the Chiltern Society or from Amazon.

(A) The Nature Reserve occupies the area of land between the river and the canal and is managed by Herts and Middlesex Wildlife Trust. The former watercress beds have developed into marshland surrounded by alder and willow woodland. It can be explored by following the Heron nature walk.

(B) The River Gade is a chalk stream that rises in the hills around Dagnall and flows down to join the river Colne at Rickmansworth.

(C) The Grand Union Canal runs for 137 miles from the River Thames at Brentwood to the junction with the Digbeth Branch Canal in Birmingham. It is part of an amalgamation of a number of historic waterways that took place between 1894 and 1929. The section through Cassiobury Park was part of the Grand Junction Canal and was cut through in 1796. It has been described as ‘one of the loveliest sections of a canal so near a town anywhere in Britain.’

(D) Lime Walk: Remnants still remain of an avenue of 296 lime trees planted between 1672 and 1720.

(E) Whippendell Wood: The name comes from the Anglo-Saxon name Wippa denu, meaning ‘Wippa's valley’. The site encompasses 165 acres of ancient woodland owned and managed by Watford Borough Council. Since 1954 it has been designated a Site of Special Scientific Interest for its diverse flora and fauna. In times past it was managed for timber, firewood and game. Most of the trees are oak, beech, ash and silver birch. In 1995 a very rare fungus, Crepidotus cinnabarinus, was found, only the fourth example of this species recorded in Europe.

(F) Harrocks Wood and the nearby Merlins and Dell woods are all classified as ancient woodlands and are managed by the Woodland Trust. In spring there is a magnificent display of bluebells and the wood is also well known for some important flora including wood sorrell, red campion and the rare coralroot bittercress. In the 18th century Harrocks Wood was part of the Redheath Estate. The house, built for Charles Finch, is now York House prep school, and is passed at point 13 on the walk.

(G) Gade Bank: The houses in the row were built c1924 by the Metropolitan Railway for their workers.