Berkhamsted, Autumnal Ashridge 🍂 Famous Films 🎥 and Haunted Halloween Hike 👻

Moderate 10.3 miles / 16.6 km 300 m ascent
Led by Paul: 07974 696 802
Meet at the rear entrance to Berkhamsted Station.

It's Halloween, and there's no better way to mark it than a full day's walk through Berkhamsted's castle ruins, old wartime trenches and the ancient, atmospheric woods of the Ashridge Estate, including a genuinely haunted sunken lane. Boots are recommended as the ground may be muddy, and waterproofs are worth packing too. Please bring a packed lunch.
Leaving the station past Berkhamsted Castle, we climb into Frithsden Beeches, where the hollows are WWI practice trenches, dug by soldiers training for the front. Continuing further into the beech woodland used as the Quidditch World Cup campsite in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2005) and the woods outside Paris in Les Misérables (2012). From here we cross Berkhamsted Common, into the wider Ashridge Estate; we pass a dark and spooky icehouse, one of the largest and best-preserved in the country, before reaching Ashridge House itself. An imposing early Gothic-style mansion whose castellated walls doubled as a prison in The Dirty Dozen (1967). The Ashridge Estate has also featured in Maleficent (2014), Into the Woods (2015), Stardust (2007), Enola Holmes and Bridgerton series two.
Dropping into Capability Brown's sweeping Golden Valley, designed to show off Autumnal colours with sweeping, woodland-fringed dips and curves. Climbing out of the valley, we head towards Little Gaddesden and after a short distance on the Hertfordshire Way, we pass the Amaravati Buddhist Monastery and descend into the village of Great Gaddesden. The village is overlooked by the grand Palladian mansion of Gaddesden Place, the setting for films Legend of Tarzan (2016) and The Current War (2018). As we climb out of the village of Nettleden via haunted, sunken 'Spooky Lane' under Devils Bridge, said to be haunted by a monk and a Roman soldier. One final hill takes us past the War memorial at Potten End and back past the other side of Berkhamsted Castle to end the walk with a visit to a local pub.

Travel: There is free parking along the roads around the station on Sundays, White Hill (HP4 1LJ) and Castle Hill (HP4 1HB) Lower Kings Road Multi-storey is 5 mins away (HP4 2AB) is £6 or the station at £8 for the full day! Trains arrive: Northbound at 10:17 & 10:26, Southbound 10:20 & 10:30

Please wear suitable shoes and bring a packed lunch. Look forward to seeing you on the walk. If you sign up and later find out you cannot attend, please change your RSVP on Meetup so we don't wait for you.

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Become a full member: CYW are part of the Ramblers and you may try up to three walks free. When you decide to continue walking with us, please join the Ramblers via 'Become a member'.