The intrepid four of Sandra Scott, David Izod, John Kelly and Jim Webb set off at 8.00 from a very wet Royston to travel to St Albans to drop off a car and then on to Codicote to start what was to be the longest leg so far executed. The promised weather was rain with possibly snow later. By the time we reached St Albans the rain had stopped and from then to the end of the walk more rain came off the trees than from the overcast sky. Unlike the preceding day the walk proved to be good underfoot with mainly hard tracks on country estates, golf courses and meadows. As the latter had not been ploughed up by horses the result was a pleasant but long stroll.
The first 1.8 miles of the walk was through Codicote via Codicote Bottom Farm to Ayot House. On route we passed along an avenue of trees with a bird box on every tree on our left and were greeted by a large family of Long Tailed Tits. Ayot St Lawrence is a very interesting village with a lovely pub, the Brocket Arms, George Bernard Shaw's House, owned by the National Trust, and the summer house where he wrote many of his plays. The queen Anne style Ayot House in Tudor times was owned by William Parr the brother of Catharine Parr, Henry the VIII sixth and surviving wife. The old parish church shown was pulled down by Sir Lionel Lyde, a later owner of the house, and replaced with the classical building shown. We were closely attended here by a lovely tortoise shell cat as we took our morning break.
The walk through the Latimer Estate woods and fields and via a golf course, privately owned by a Japanese company, to Wheathampstead was particularly pleasant. See Photo 3. As you can see we had to negotiate the water at ford over the river Lee. (Photo 4) The Nelson pub is now closed so we passed on to Coleman Green via the prehistoric earthworks of Devils Dyke. (Photos 5 & 6) The earthworks is part of an iron age settlement of the Belgae tribe who ruled large parts of Hertfordshire and were conquered by Julius Caesar in 54 BC. If you walk through the bottom of the dyke as we did you climb the steps to exit and at the road turn left. On reaching Coleman Green we dropped in to the John Bunyan pub (Photo 7) for a warm by the fire and a welcome pint. Mine host and the locals were very hospitable and contributed to our Polio Plus funds and the food looked good. Just north of the pub is a house chimney stack where John Bunyan preached. The house was demolished in 1877.( 5.5 miles) 
A short break was made on route to Sandridge for lunch. The stone church in the this village is the oldest in Hertfordshire and there are several interesting epitaphs to be found in the church yard (7.8 miles)
After a pleasant walk through the Estate we reached the brow of a hill to see St Albans and the cathedral, our ultimate destination, ahead. The last climb up the hill reminded us all how foot weary we were after the two day 24.4 mile hike. ( Photo 12)
Jim Webb
