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| Walkers following our routes do so at their own risk |
Those using our directions do so at their own risk. Hertfordshire Walker can take no responsibility for accidents and injury that might happen along the way. Walking in the Hertfordshire countryside is, in our experience, mostly risk free, but accidents do happen.
Accidents
Walkers could slip on mud or ice, they could injure themselves when climbing stiles, be cut by brambles, stung by nettles, bitten by insects, or chased and possibly hurt by livestock.
Some surfaces, such as bridleways, which have been repaired by landowners with rubble, might contain sharp items which could injure feet.
Some gates on public rights of way might have sharp metal edges. Paths and tracks are often fenced with barbed wire or electric fences.
We can take no responsibility for injuries to walkers or their dogs caused by the surface or obstacles encountered along public rights of way or permissive paths.
Where there is a 'Bull in the Field' sign at the time we test the walk we always try to find an alternative route along a public right of way. We suggest all walkers do the same.
If walkers ignore any signs asking for dogs to be kept on leads we can take no responsibility for the consequences. All walkers crossing a livestock field do so at their own risk.
We always mention when public rights of way that feature on our walks cross livestock fields (at the time we tested the route). We take no responsibility if a landowner decides to put livestock in a field that was not used by livestock when our walk directions were published.
There is also the danger of being hit by traffic when our walks follow a country lane or road without a pedestrian pavement. Hertfordshire Walker can take no responsibility for such accidents.
Ill health
Those using our walks need to make sure they are healthy and fit enough to do so. Some of the walks are physically strenuous, and some walkers might suffer because of this.
It is important to stay hydrated. We have tips on how much water you should drink, but that amount will be different for each person, so please prepare for a walk by making sure you have enough fluid.
Please check the distance of the walk before you set off. It's important that walkers have the capacity to follow the walks safely.
We have a page that sets out the distances and total elevation of all walks so you can assess whether you are up to the challenge.
If a walk has a total elevation of 120m that will be the equivalent of climbing up and down 40 flights of stairs, so please make sure you are up to it.
Changes to routes
Our walks follow public rights of way or permissive paths. Our routes never involve the need to trespass on private land. If you stray from the routes set out in our directions in order to follow an unofficial shortcut you do so at your own risk.
All the public rights of way we follow when we test the walks are correct at the time we published the walks. We use the Hertfordshire County Council definitive public rights of way map and the Ordnance Survey maps to check the status of all footpaths, bridleways and byways before we publish walks. However, some routes might be diverted or changed over time, sometimes because of new housing, road development, or the landowner succeeding in challenging the right of way.
Old wooden stiles, gates, and footbridges which we might have used as landmarks in our directions could change. The Hertfordshire County Council Countryside Management Service has a rolling programme of rights-of-way improvements, so please be aware that what we describe in the directions could be different when you walk the route.
Photographs
We add photographs to our directions to try to help walkers identify some junctions. Depending on what time of the year we took the photographs the scene will change. In the summer it will be overgrown, in the winter it will be less so.
As a result, some marker post which appear in our photographs might no longer be visible when you follow the route.
Some might be obscured by brambles and nettles, others might have fallen over, been stood up by walkers in the wrong place, or just missing. See the examples below.
The first image is of a junction taken in 2022, the second is a photograph of the same junction taken in 2024. In the first a marker post is clearly visible, in the second it is hidden by brambles.
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| Junction at point 9 on walk 8 - 2022 |
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| Junction at point 9 on walk 8 - 2024 Image courtesy of Gerry Gross |
Fallen trees
Most of our walks go through woodland. Taking useful photographs to illustrate a particular junctions in woodland is difficult because many look similar.
If trees are used to illustrate a turn there is always the risk of a tree falling down or a sapling snapping after the photograph has been published on Hertfordshire Walker.
Fallen trees, especially after heavy winds in the autumn, are a common issue. We can't hope to correct every image of a tree that has snapped. See the example of two images taken at the same spot two years apart.
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| Arrow showing the route to the left of five trees - 2022 |
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| The same spot taken in 2024 - note the snapped tree Image courtesy of Gerry Gross |
So, if when you follow one of our walks you come to a junction that doesn't look like the accompanying photograph in the directions, please use the other indicators we add, such as the distance from the last point, the rough compass direction for the turn, the What3Words reference, or, if you have a smartphone, the free GPX satellite navigation route to ensure you are at the right spot in the walk.
The Hertfordshire countryside ages like the rest of us resulting changes to features and complexion. :-)
Official updates
The Hertfordshire Rights of Way (ROW) team has a page where people can report changes to routes. Hertfordshire Walker can take no responsibility for any changes to routes.
We publish the latest tempory ROW closures which are sent to us monthly by Hertfordshire County Council's ROW team. For this reason we recommend people take an up-to-date Ordnance Survey (OS) map with them or use the OS app.
Having said all the above we hope you enjoy using Hertfordshire Walker and have some lovely incident-free days out exploring the wonderful Hertfordshire countryside. We have a page of tips that walkers might want to read before setting out. Happy walking.
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| Dave and Ellie Brewer, the Hertfordshire Walker team |
Dave and Ellie Brewer
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