WALK REPORT These are some photos from a trip we took back in February – a visit to Benington Lordship gardens in Hertfordshire. This was at the tail end of winter, with spring imminent. 31 shots. With friends Aleks, Anneli, and Tobi.
1. Goodbye London! Passing through the North London neighborhood of Finsbury Park, on the train up to Hertfordshire.
2. Aleks at Stevenage station. We’re changing trains here to get to the little village of Watton-at-Stone, where today’s walk starts.
3. Anneli and Tobi at the start of our walk. Taken on the bridge over the tracks at Watton station. A violently graphic public safety film (The Finishing Line, 20mins) warning kids about the dangers of playing on railway lines was shot here in the 70s, starring children from the local primary school.
4. Aleks, Anneli, and Tobi on the country lane that leads into the south end of Watton-at-Stone. The village takes its name from a type of conglomerate rock found locally, called Hertfordshire puddingstone.
5. The 15th-century tower of the church of St Andrew & St Mary, Watton-at-Stone. If you believe the Luton Paranormal Society, this place is haunted by the ghost of a jilted woman who jumped to her death from the parapets. Here are some photos from their recent night-time “investigations“.
6. Anneli in front of the small door to the church’s west tower (for scale). This may be the bellringers’ entrance.
7. Wrought iron finials on the church gates.
8. Outside The Bull on the high street in Watton village, admiring a 1973 Ford Escort mk I Super. This model, with its characteristic “dogbone” grille, was very successful as a rally car.
9. Local headlines on sandwich boards, High Street, Watton-at-Stone. Can you solve the mystery of the mill?
10. We followed the Hertfordshire Chain Walk out of Watton-at-Stone and into the countryside. First signs of spring!
11. Farming equipment: a heavy-duty cultivator parked in a field near Blue Hill Farm. This is what it looks like in action.
12. Anneli’s shoes started to get a bit muddy here.
13. Anneli and Tobi on the hill up to our first pub stop of the day in Hebing End. Thank you, Tobi.
14. Apple buds.
15. Aleks at the Lordship Arms, Hebing End. We stopped for a half here; they do good bitters.
16. En route to lunch in Benington village now. This is Benington Park, with Tobi pretending he actually lives here.
17. Sign on a house near Benington village.
18. We had lunch at The Bell in Benington. This car was parked in an old garage outside. It’s a 1.5L Singer from the mid-1930s.
19. Detail of the Norman folly at Benington Lordship gardens. It was designed by James Pulham, a noted Victorian landscape gardener.
20. Close-up of a willow bud in the gardens.
21. The manor house at Benington Lordship is the centerpiece of the gardens. The veranda makes it feel like something off the set of Gone With the Wind.
22. Spring crocuses at Benington Lordship. I think these are Crocus dalmaticus.
23. Pollarding on trees in the garden.
24. Just a few of the many thousands of snowdrops that crop up here at Benington every February.
25. A Moto Guzzi parked in the grounds of the gardens. The Ferrari of motorcycles.
26. Architect Tobi snapping a pic of the stylish water tower outside Benington.
27. A spot of mud on the path to Walkern village.
28. It’s not even 4pm, but dusk is near. Tobi and Anneli on the tree-lined drive near Box Hall. 45 minutes to go before we hit the pub at the end of our walk.
29. Tobi stops to talk with some friendly cows.
30. On the path near Walkern Hall.
31. The last sign. Taken on the hill down into Walkern village.
If you’d like to try this walk yourself, I’m running it on these dates.
– DW
