Cycling and walking

The Canal Centre offers a great deal of information leaflets and maps on walking and cycling in the Batchworth area. Many of our volunteers have invaluable local knowledge of the area and what it has to offer. The Ebury Way is for cyclists, walkers, and horse-riders. The track crosses the Colne, Chess and Gade rivers and the Grand Union Canal. Cycling is permitted along the whole length.

Take a gentle stroll along the Canal or visit Rickmansworth Aquadrome offering walks around three lakes, Bury, Batchworth, and Stockers lakes together with a surrounding area of wooded and parkland. If you intend to explore further by foot you will need: Ordnance Survey Explorer No 172 Map, which covers all of the local and surrounding areas.

Circular Walks from Batchworth with an introduction by Jillian Christensen

The idea for a series of circular walks came from visitors to Rickmansworth, who regularly ask for this information at the lock centre. It seemed a good idea to include information on the canal, and its importance to the local area over the past 200 years or so. After I had completed a couple – up the canal and down the canal- it was inevitable that walks would become longer and leave the canal behind. I now hope that people who live in the area will find a different route to enjoy.

I thoroughly enjoyed researching the routes, both on foot and in print. There will not be a 'stroll' suggesting a trip along the towpath from London to Birmingham (145 miles), although this is graded 'easy' and would make an interesting holiday!

www.ramblers.org.uk

I would like to thank all those who have given me advice and encouragement on writing this series of walks. My information on the history of the area has been acquired from a variety of sources, none of which I have acknowledged due to lack of space.