20/07/19 - London Countryway - Stage 16 - Kings Langley to St Albans

Distance - 8 Miles
Start - Kings Langley
Finish - St Albans
Geocaches - 4
Pub - Fighting Cocks, St Albans
Previous Stages - Stage 1, Stage 2, Stage 3, Stage 4, Stage 5, Stage 6, Stage 7, Stage 8, Stage 9, Stage 10, Stage 11, Stage 12, Stage 13, Stage 14, Stage 15


If you told a stranger that you were walking a circular loop around London, 20-ish miles from the centre, they would probably assume you were walking the hard shoulder of the M25.

The previous 15 legs have largely avoided it - but not today.    The roar of the traffic is never out of our ears, as we complete this easy section - with the added reward of an ending at St Albans.   It's always been one of my favourite cities.   I spent 12 years with a company who's head Office was just up the road at Hatfield and one thing you can say with certainty is that St Albans is a far better bet for evening entertainment.

We leave Kings Langley Station, fail to spot the Ovaltine Egg Factory and find a good farm track for today's first crossing of the M25.

Looking back over Kings Langley - failing to identify what an egg factory looks like

Nothing at all memorable, as we skirt the edges of Abbot's Langley and thank the lord that they remembered to maintain the public footpaths, allowing the rambler to cut across Junction 21 - where the M25 meets the M1.

Not every blog brings you the M1 from underneath

Junction 21 - from the handily placed footbridge

A climb of Bone Hill and through recently planted woodland on paths that bear no resemblance to my elderly copy of the OS map.   Its easy enough to navigate and we're grateful of the tree cover for shelter for a 20 minutes monsoon - that was originally forecast to last all day.

Safe to come out from the trees - Monsoon over Essex and we are approaching St Albans

It's always nice to enter a City at the end of a walk and Verulamium Park is quite the gateway.  Plenty of ancient architecture to admire - including the remains of the Roman Wall.    The only question is whether to turn left for the Six Bells in St Micheal's Street or go straight on for one of those "Oldest Pubs in Britain" - Ye Olde Fighting Cocks.

Either way - its a twenty minute wait before the midday scrape of the bolt - heralded here by the peel of the Cathedral Bells.

Roman Walls of Verulamium Park

It was Ye Olde Fighting Cocks that won out.

• C11th Building
• Unusual Octagonal Shape - due to its former use as pigeon house
• Put up Oliver Cromwell for a night in the English Civil War
• Has an old Cock Fighting Pit
• Location for my first ever pint of Hophead 13

Hanging around, waiting for the midday bells to announce its opening

The Old Cock Fighting Pit

Mind you head

Knowing how much there is on offer in St Albans (it is the home of CAMRA, after all) we are staying the night.   Plenty to see and do and I was hoping for my first visit inside the Cathedral.  Alas, there was a wedding on and Mrs M thought it would be inappropriate for ramblers.

Many times seen, never entered

Abbey Gate at Romeland

Clock Tower - opposite the Boot Pub

Plenty more pubs to do too - but these have been blogged here and here. 

Even I drew the line at revisiting them all.  There's more London Countryway Walking tomorrow.