Distance 7.5 miles (12.1km)
Classification Moderate
Duration 3 hours
Begins East Lane car park
OS grid reference TL178141

Walk in a nutshell
A circuit around a pretty patch of rural Hertfordshire, including a stretch that George Bernard Shaw often would have walked himself, and a visit to the house he lived and worked in. Most of the route is on well-established paths with a few steps to negotiate and a short, steep section early on.

Why it's special
The beautiful Arts and Crafts villa now known as Shaw's Corner is worth a visit on its own merits. The spirit of the great Irish playwright, wit and thinker still infuses the space he lived in for 44 years. Visitors today find his clothes still hanging in the wardrobe, his typewriter still sitting on his desk, and even his glasses sitting next to it. In the garden you'll find his famous writing hut, which revolved throughout the day to follow the sun.

Keep your eyes peeled for
Perhaps Shaw's most remarkable honour is that he remains the only person ever to have won both a Nobel prize and an Oscar, which are on display together inside the house. When he died, his ashes, commingled with his wife's, were scattered around the garden – where doubtless some fragments of them remain. As you go down Lime Avenue at Lamer Park earlier in the walk, you are retracing Shaw's route back to his house after a visit to his good friend, the explorer Apsley Cherry-Garrard.

Recover afterwards
Ice-creams and soft drinks are available en route in the garden at Shaw's Corner. The village, Ayot St Lawrence, also contains a rather special pub called the Brocket Arms. Built in the 14th century, it retains many original features and serves excellent food. A humbler alternative is the The Goat Inn, a traditional pub around 5 miles away in Codicote.

If it's tipping down
It's a 20-minute drive to Hatfield House, which is one of the 10 Treasure Houses of England. The interiors are overflowing with history (Henry VIII's children lived here) as well as some jaw-dropping Jacobean craftsmanship. In St Albans, there are also two excellent local history museums : the Verulamium Museum specialising in Roman Britain, and the Museum of St Albans, which focuses on everything after the Romans left the town.

How to get there
Harpenden train station is 3.5 miles away, and Welwyn Garden City station is 5 miles away. You can get the number 620 bus from St Albans or Harpenden, the 366 from Luton or Welwyn Garden City, or the 304 from St Albans or Hitchin, all of which stop nearby.

Step by step

1 Starting in East Lane car park in Wheathampstead turn right on to East Lane, then right again on to Station Road. Follow the road uphill until you come to the site of the old station platform. Bear right and then take the first lane on the right, past Harpenden Recovery, before taking the footpath to the left, signposted Ayot Greenway.

2 Follow the footpath until you reach a set of steps that lead down on to Sheepcote Lane. Head left through the underpass, before taking the first path on your left, up the slope and through the iron gate. Follow the path across the field then cross the disused railway and up the bank again on the other side, through the kissing gate. Follow the path until you reach Codicote Road.

3 Cross the road then take the path that follows the line of the drive. When you reach the gates of the former golf course club house, take the path that runs to the right of the fence. When you come to a junction turn left on to the Hertfordshire Way.

4 At the kissing gate take the right‑hand path and follow it until you reach the drive for Lamer House, marked as a private road. Continue straight until you reach the gates of Lamer Park Farm. Take the footpath to your right through the avenue of limes.

5 At the end of the avenue take the footpath to your right and follow it for around 180m before taking the steps up to your left. Follow the path alongside the hedgerow and exit on to Bibbs Hall Lane. Turn right and follow the lane for 180m until you reach Shaw's Corner on your right.

6 From Shaw's Corner turn right on to Bibbs Hall Lane, then right again on to Bride Hall Lane. Follow Bride Hall Lane for 90m then take the public bridleway on the left-hand side of the bend. Follow the footpath that runs alongside the woods until you reach Codicote Road.

7 Cross Codicote Road with care then take the footpath on the other side, signposted Hunters Bridge. When you reach the gate take the path to your right up the hill towards Three Groves Wood. At the top of the hill bear left across the field, heading for the next copse.

8 Follow the footpath (look out for the little yellow arrows on posts) until you cross Sparrowhall bridge. Keep straight on then head straight across the next field. At the bottom of the steps turn right on to the Lea Valley Way.

9 Follow the path across the bottom of the river valley for around 1 mile until you reach the steps down to Sheepcote Lane. Head through the underpass.

10 Keep walking up the lane and cross the ford. After 270m take the footpath on your right between the hedges. Bear right at the playing fields, keeping the football pitch on your left.

11 When you reach the river bear left towards the forge. Pass the forge and head out on to the lane beyond. Follow until you reach a T-junction, then turn right. The entrance to East Lane car park is 90m on your right.