A little cross country walk: Hatfield - St Albans and back

 A lot of people who live in the area probably don't even realise that there was  a time when you could catch a train direct from Hatfield to St Albans. I decided to investigate. I caught the train from New Barnet to Hatfield on the old Great Northern main line from Kings Cross. Although Hatfield Station itself has been modernised it still retains one unusual feature - the Northbound and Southbound platforms are staggered instead of being alongside each other as is normal practice. Apparently the reason for this is connected to Hatfield House which is virtually next door to the station. The platforms were staggered so that when members of the Royal family such as Queen Victoria visited Hatfield house they would have privacy from members of the public waiting for trains on the other platform as they alighted from the Royal Train.

Like most stations on the line Hatfield is a shadow of it's former self with it's extensive sidings for goods traffic and importance for the local area long gone. Also gone is the junction just North of the station where the line to St Albans branched off to the East. There is no trace of this still visible from the main line, but if you know where to look you can find the remains of a railway cutting a few minutes walk from the station. Nearby can be found this modern sculpture depicting Hatfield's historic railway and aviation connections.

From this point you can trace the track of the old branch line to St Albans opened in 1865. The line closed to passengers in 1951 Very little of the old trackbed has been built on, and the rest has been converted in to a cycle/footpath called the Alban Way. It has been well surfaced and must be very easy cycling to St Albans as being an old railway line there are effectively no hills. It also takes quite a direct route - and of course there is no traffic! If you fancy walking the route it's about seven miles from Hatfield to St Albans - so this is what I did. The local Councils of Hatfield and St Albans have taken a very enlightened view by not only making this route open to the public but also providing many information boards along the way. I found all the old photos of the railway line and other local points of interest fascinating! There are maps and a lot of interesting information on the history of the line and the area it passed though.

I follow the path of the old railway through the town of Hatfield and discover the overgrown remains of the platform and the steps leading to the former Lemsford Road Station, built for the workers at the nearby de Havilland aircraft factory - once the major employer of the town. The halt built to serve the aircraft works was built during WW2 and was only open for a few years. Like the station the factory and airfield are now also history and very little trace of them remains. A little further on the former trackbed is dissected by the A1M road just before the motorway disappears into the tunnel under Hatfield and the modern Galleria shopping centre. I rejoin the old railway just on the other side of the A1M before it dives under the Great North Road just South of the former de Havilland/Hawker Siddley/British Aerospace site - I nearly ended up working there once...

Soon after leaving the outskirts of Hatfield I arrived at this former Level Crossing Keeper's House.

Just on the other side of the former level crossing I discover something rather charming - the wonderfully named Nast Hyde Halt - originally opened in 1910. The platform remains but the building that once stood on it is long gone. Something really nice has happened here - some of the local residents have taken it on themselves to try and recreate some of the atmosphere of the old Halt and surrounding area. This was all done by local volunteers with their own time and money not the council who only paved the old trackbed. 

Not original items but the locals have added a level crossing gate, a signal, a short length of track to represent the siding which was once here, and many signs to add character and provide information. A lot of time and trouble have gone into trying to recreate a feel of what this place must have looked like in the past - not an exact recreation but a lovely atmosphere has been created here.

I love what has been done here and spend quite some time looking around. I find much of interest on the rest of the seven mile walk from Hatfield to St Albans, but this is my favourite part of the whole line.

So I continue on towards St Albans. I find that the good people who did so much work as Nast Hyde have been adding character further along the line as well...

Beware of the trains.

Thereby hangs a tale...

There is no sign here, but I think this marks the council line between Hatfield and St Albans - and also the end of the influence of the residents of Nast Hyde.

Soon after crossing 'the border' the bridge at Smallford appears. This is one of the more interesting parts of the line.

On the platform at Smallford Station can be found the only surviving station building on the whole line - apart from the London Road station in St Albans itself. There were other buildings at Smallford Station but they are all long demolished. This one surviving building is 'Listed' (for what that's worth) but is not in great shape and slowly deteriorating.

The section of line between Smallford and St Albans used to run through open country, but these days from this point onwards the northern side is mostly industrialised.

Butterwick sidings used to be in open countryside and served a huge refrigerated warehouse that was intended to store meat in bulk during WW2 safe from the Blitz in London. It was later used for storing bananas and trains continued to serve the sidings at Butterwick because of this until 1968. There was little passenger traffic on the line after (or indeed before) the war and one the the main uses of the line was goods traffic to the sidings here as well as Smallford to service a scrap metal dealer until 1968 when the line finally closed for goods traffic. The refrigerated warehouse is now gone and an industrial estate now occupies the site of the former sidings to the West of Smallford.

Most the road bridges on the line still remain like this one at the road to Colney Heath, although some do appear to have been rebuilt at some point in the line's history as they don't appear that old. The bridges and engineering of the line were built to accommodate a double track railway line, but only a single track was ever laid.

Walking over another former level crossing and as the outskirts of St Albans are reached the platform that marks the site of Hill End Station can be found. This once served a large hospital where many casualties from the two Word Wars were sent.

At Ashley Road the line dives under another bridge that looks surprisingly modern. It must have replaced the original one very late in the life of the branch - possibly due to road widening.

By this point you are right in the town of St Albans itself, but you wouldn't know it as this stretch of the line mostly runs through cuttings. These are now very overgrown so the old trackbed has quite a rural feel even though it runs through a built up area. Because of this it is also a haven for wildlife.

A little further down the line is the site of the old Fleetville Sidings and it's old industrial area near the now missing bridge. As with many other locations along the line there is a useful information board with details of what went on here and old photos to give you and idea what the place used to look like before it became a residential area. Walk a few minutes more and the remains of another platform can be found.

This was the Salvation Army Halt. They had a large factory, printing press, and siding by the railway - for many years the famous 'War Cry' Salvation Army magazine was printed here and shipped out by rail. This halt and siding remained in use until 1964. Again an information board provides much fascinating detail. Maybe I should have taken pictures of them all, but if you really want to know more you'll just have to visit the area yourself...

Keep on walking and you get closer to the heart of St Albans, but you wouldn't know it. After a while you reach this impressive bridge which carries the four tracks of the Midland main line out of St Pancras. A footpath can take you from the former GNR line to the nearby St Albans City Station.

Just on the other side of the Midland Railway bridge the line passes under London Road.

Just on the other side of the bridge is the old London Road Station. This was originally the terminus of this branch line from Hatfield - hence it once having two tracks under the bridge and two platforms. Part of one platform survives today, and on it is the most substantial railway building left on the entire line. The former station is in excellent condition and now has a new life as an office and school building.

Sadly none of the other station buildings remain. New housing has been built where the former sidings used to be. Keep walking along the 'new' section of the line and the scenery changes. Up until this point the line has run through pretty flat and featureless countryside with very little to see. Suddenly the ground falls away and St Albans Abbey can be seen in the distance.

Below can be seen the old cress beds adjoining the chalk stream - the River Ver which gave it's name to the ancient Roman town of Verulamium - later to evolve into Saint Albans.

Crossing the River Ver is the only substantial piece of engineering on the entire Hatfield to St Albans line.

In spite of still being in the town of St Albans the old line still retains a rural air as it continues on it's way. After going under one final and now reinforced road bridge it is no longer possible to follow the old trackbed the short distance to it's final destination.

After going under the bridge you can either turn right to walk the rest of the way via residential streets, or if you turn left...

...you can cross the still in use branch from the L&NWR main line out of Euston via this unguarded pedestrian crossing that has somehow escaped today's all-encompassing Health & Safety culture and take a longer route towards the former gasworks site that was also served by the railway until 1964. Either way you can make your way to the end of the line.

This is the still in use St Albans Abbey Station and was also the final terminus of the GNR Hatfield to St Albans line. This once proud station is now reduced to what is effectively a couple of bus shelters at the end of a long siding connecting it to the L&NWR main line - you can get to train to Euston from here. The line from Hatfield joined up with it at a junction a few hundred yards away not far from the bridge in the previous photo - that part of the trackbed is no longer accessible. Sadly the impressive station building here has been demolished and passengers these days have to rough it on a bleak platform devoid of any facilities. I wouldn't fancy having to wait for a train here late at night. Such is progress...

And so I make my way back to Hatfield - walking is probably quicker than getting the train from St Albans Abbey Station to Euston, walking to Kings Cross and getting another train out of central London to New Barnet. If only I could go cross country by train? 

Taking a slightly different route through Hatfield itself I come across a well known landmark at the art-deco former Comet Hotel - now a Ramada Inn. Ironically although this record breaking de Havilland Comet racing aircraft from 1934 is associated with the factory at Hatfield these aircraft were actually built at de Havilland's factory/airfield at Stag Lane in Edgware, London shortly before everything was moved to the new site in Hatfield.

The large de Havilland/Hawker Sidley/British Aerospace factory and airfield in Hatfield closed in 1993 and sadly there is already virtually no trace of it left apart from one remaining hanger which also incorporates the airfield control tower. It only survives because it is a listed building. There were plans to house a museum devoted the former aircraft plant and the many famous aircraft that were designed and built there, but that fell through and it's now used as a leisure centre. The runway has been torn up and most of the site covered in new offices and warehouses with virtually no trace of it's history, although there is a massive Wetherspoons pub in a corner of the site which is themed on the former airfield/factory.

I found much of interest and thoroughly enjoyed my walk from Hatfield to St Albans and back. I noticed that along the route there was a signpost pointing to a pub across some fields - maybe I shall return and do the walk again, but with a slight 'pub crawl' theme visiting various hostelries along the way. There are only a few and they are several miles apart - what could possibly go wrong?