Trip to Harperbury.

Although I live and work in Stevenage I often have to go out of town to access training. 
As a health care assistant in the NHS (wonder how much longer that will last) I am subject to a whole raft of mandatory training, which has to be repeated at set intervals. Some is obviously essential, some is useful and some, like today's, is practically irrelevent to an employee of my grade. Still I attended on my day off and have not claimed back the time, so very little taxpayers' money was wasted.

Anyway, I don't have a car and there was no space to spare in my colleague's car, so I got a chance to cycle! My destination is a site near Radlett. It is about 70km for the round trip.

I planned to use a new route. This was so that I could avoid London Colney High Street during the rush hour. 
It was essentially the same as my usual one until I reached the Alban Way. Here, instead of leaving it at Smallford and using the A414, I stayed on it as far as London Road in St Albans. A bit of wiggling took me to the Napsbury estate. This is an old asylum that was sold off for yuppie homes (showing my age). Here the tall, mature hedgerows and plethora of paths soon had me going around in circles, and time was running out. Despite leaving Stevenage in good time, I walked into the training room with just one minute to spare. 
Afterwards, looking at my cycle computer, I discovered that my new rout had added 5km to my journey.

In future I shall reserve this route for homeward travel at my leisure.

Old Parkbury Farmhouse.

Napsbury, I missed most of the estate on the way back so this is the only picture.

Sopwell Mill, much restored.

And I did. I returned through Napsbury, then headed for Sopwell. What looks on the map like a quiet backwater unfortunately turned out to be a rat-run.
I stopped in Verulam Park for my lunch, then wandered past the Abbey and up the High Street. 
I was enjoying myself so much that I stopped again in Sandridge for another sandwich. Here were house martins, a species that is visibly less common each year.

Roman Wall. Take that Northumberland!

 I returned to town via Coleman Green, Water End (one of several in Hertfordshire) Codicote and Knebworth.

Verulam Park.

Awkward view of Abbey. The tower, and much of the central structure is built with Roman bricks re-used from the town of Verulamium.

Mediaeval town. 

St Leonards Church, Sandridge, including more re-used Roman bricks.

Remains of cottage, Coleman Green. John Bunyan stayed here.

Water End.

River Lee at Water End.

This is how I imagine Devon to be.