After the rapid start with four legs in fourteen days it was time for some rest. The weather was awful on the Wednesday so that was easy to miss. SMOC put on an orienteering event at Stowe on the Sunday so we went there instead and ran round a selection of statues and temples with a backdrop of autumn colours. The best day weatherwise this week looked to be Wednesday so we set off, with rain forecast to arrive by 2.00pm.
It was only as far as Junction 6 on the A1(M) today, which caused a long debate about why Junction 5 was northbound entry only. Then it was country roads with a preview of some places we would come to later that day, followed by a chance to gamble on ignoring the road closure sign on the edge of Whitwell before parking at Whitwell AFC car park.
The path across the field out of Whitwell proved elusive since it had been churned up by a recent tractor. This was to be today's theme: lots of mud and puddles making for heavy going much of the time. The mud also started the debate about what was growing in the field. The bright green leafy tops and large brown root was sugar beet. This was not a crop either of us had seen before in Hertfordshire but we were in for acres of it today, along with the associated machinery needed to harvest it. The narrow trodden path through the first few fields of greenery disappeared completely when we came to a harvested field that was now just a sea of mud. After a quick stop to remove clothing layers, since it was turning out a bit warmer than expected, we headed off up a muddy tractor trail that was closest to the direction shown on the map, hoping to come out in roughly the right place. Helen helpfully pointed out that one of the routes back involved running through this field again. I resolved to do the route choice for the second half.
Reaching the gap in the hedge line through to the next field we came upon an enormous pile of sugar beet, along with a large yellow octopus-like machine with arms to scoop up enormous piles of sugar beet and more arms to disgorge it via conveyor belt into lorries. A tractor and trailer soon appeared with the latest addition to the pile, so it was obvious that harvesting was going on somewhere nearby. The path now headed east into the parkland around Hoo Park and the mud subsided somewhat, although it was still quite damp underfoot. There were glimpses of a big house through the trees, and then the path dropped into the Mimram valley and onto a large stone bridge on a driveway. This seemed slightly overengineered given that it was totally dry underneath the bridge, even if there were hints of marshy areas either side of it where the ornamental lake used to be. The main river turned out to be a bit further along the road. As we crossed the river a car emerged down the drive with registration D 2 HOO: obviously a local.
The Mimram here was a bit more impressive than its earlier appearance in Whitwell, and the route ran parallel to it for quite a distance. We passed another watercress bed, although this one looked rather run down and neglected, and then it was a steep climb up through woods to the fields behind Codicote. The road through the village provided an opportunity for the mandatory photo stop at the village sign with the half-timbered house in the background. Coming out of Codicote there was a long steep descent back to the river. We couldn't really work out how we were losing so much height given we didn't remember climbing that far into Codicote, but finally we got to the road at the bottom. This turned out to be Codicote Bottom: I guess the clue is in the name. On the road past the mill we had to give way to two large lorries full of sugar beet on the way to the processing plant somewhere in East Anglia.
The right turn off the road was helpfully marked with a stretch limo, a jeep on monster truck wheels, a brightly painted Chevrolet Camaro SS350 and various other exotic car species. Checking it back home on Google Streetview revealed a fire engine that definitely wasn't there today. But the farmyard did contain a tractor complete with caterpillar tracks, presumably to cope with the local underfoot conditions.
The path rose steadily on the approach to Ayot St Lawrence with views of Ayot Park and Ayot House in the distance. Reaching the village we passed the Brockett Arms and stopped for photos at Old St Lawrence Church, which is now a ruined shell. Wikipedia tells me that this was "partially demolished in 1775, because it was obstructing the view from Sir Lionel Lyde's new home". I reckon you would have to demolish quite a lot more to make any difference so we'll put that down to local folklore.
Ayot St Lawrence is mainly known for George Bernard Shaw's house at Shaw's Corner, so it seems a little strange that the Hertfordshire Way gets as close as 200m to it without quite managing to go past it. Instead the route makes for New St Lawrence Church which Wikipedia thinks "was designed in a neo-classical style by Nicholas Revett and features a Palladian-style frontage with Doric columns". It feels like they are on more solid ground with this assessment, and we did a quick loop round to admire what is really quite a strange layout. A buzzard soared low over the track ahead, making a change from the innumerable red kites that continue to float around everywhere you look. There was then just a final kilometre into Lamer Park to complete before we set off towards Kimpton on the return trip.
We had a quick stop for snacks sitting on a fallen tree and then pressed on steadily. A stretch along a road was more entertaining than expected when it turned out to be single track with signs of grass growing down the middle of it and a large deep puddle completely blocking it. We managed to find a way around on the verge, and then watched as a cyclist splashed through. Turning off the road the path now descended into the valley with views of Kimpton Church on the far side, the water tower in Whitwell on the far skyline and the industrial sugar beet landscape off to the east. The enormous sugar beet heap was clearly visible on the far hill. I had vetoed the direct muddy route back, so instead we headed into Kimpton and out to the north. There was a quick stop to take the mandatory photographs of the Parish Church of St Peter and St Paul, and a rather longer stop to put on raincoats as the skies had rapidly darkened and it was now beginning to rain. The forecasters had been an hour out in their timings.
The rain got heavier as we climbed the muddy path out of Kimpton and I assured Helen it wasn't as bad as the previous leg had been. Five minutes later it was, but there was bright sunshine ahead and it did eventually stop raining. We were heading for the Chiltern Way and helpfully someone had been trying to improve the path, with evidence of new drainage ditches down either side. Unfortunately, these were full of water and the path itself was partially flooded for some distance. It has really rained a lot recently. Even the Chiltern Way itself was a string of puddles interspersed with mud. You may remember that this was my route choice to avoid the mud in the ploughed fields: Helen certainly did. The only distractions were the many pheasants that fled as we approached, and the water tower gleaming in the sunshine and getting steadily closer.
Eventually we reached the recreation ground in Whitwell to discover a sugar beet harvesting machine was churning up the adjacent field. This resembled a stocky combine harvester, with a very-heavy duty cutter at the front, a large storage tank at the back and a conveyor belt in the middle ready to load the beet into the tractor and trailer driving alongside. So there we had it. Mud and sugar beet. That was leg 5.
