The Ayot Greenway is a rail trail which extends from

Ayot St Peter Ayot St Peter is a village and civil parish in the Welwyn Hatfield district of Hertfordshire, England, about two miles north-west of Welwyn Garden City. According to the 2001 census it had a population of 166. At the 2011 Census the population ...

, just west of

Welwyn Garden City Welwyn Garden City ( ) is a town in Hertfordshire, England, north of London. It was the second garden city in England (founded 1920) and one of the first new towns (designated 1948). It is unique in being both a garden city and a new town and ...

and the A1(M) Motorway to

Wheathampstead Wheathampstead is a village and civil parish in Hertfordshire, England, north of St Albans. The population of the ward at the 2001 census was 6,058. Included within the parish is the small hamlet of Amwell. History Settlements in this area were ...

in Hertfordshire. Part of

National Cycle Network The National Cycle Network (NCN) is the national cycling route network of the United Kingdom, which was established to encourage cycling and walking throughout Britain, as well as for the purposes of bicycle touring. It was created by the cha ...

Route 57, it runs for three miles along a former

branch line A branch line is a phrase used in railway terminology to denote a secondary railway line which branches off a more important through route, usually a main line. A very short branch line may be called a spur line. Industrial spur An industr ...

from

Welwyn Garden City railway station Welwyn Garden City railway station serves the town of Welwyn Garden City in Hertfordshire, England. It is from on the East Coast Main Line. Train services are currently provided by Thameslink and Great Northern. History A station named ''W ...

towards

Luton Luton () is a town and unitary authority with borough status, in Bedfordshire, England. At the 2011 census, the Luton built-up area subdivision had a population of 211,228 and its built-up area, including the adjacent towns of Dunstable a ...

and

Dunstable Dunstable ( ) is a market town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in Bedfordshire, England, east of the Chiltern Hills, north of London. There are several steep chalk escarpments, most noticeable when approaching Dunstable from the ...

. The line opened on 1 September 1860 and was operable for more than 100 years. Passenger numbers declined sharply after the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

and passenger services ended in 1951, although commercial traffic continued until 1966. Most of the track was lifted apart from a line into the Blackbridge landfill site from the Hatfield end, which continued until 1971 before the whole line was finally closed. Today, there are still visual reminders of the line, with two bridges still intact, the original fencing and even part of a collapsed

railway signal A railway signal is a visual display device that conveys instructions or provides warning of instructions regarding the driver’s authority to proceed. The driver interprets the signal's indication and acts accordingly. Typically, a signal mi ...

. The trail starts at the White Bridge in Welwyn Garden City, behind the library and Campus West. It continues through Sherrards Wood to the Red Lion pub on the Great North Road. Walkers and cyclists then use a road bridge over the

A1(M) A1(M) is the designation given to a series of four separate motorway sections in England. Each section is an upgrade to a section of the A1, a major north–south road which connects London, the capital of England, with Edinburgh, the capit ...

and pick up the trail again just north of

at what was its

railway station Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a prep ...

. This was destroyed by fire in 1948 and never rebuilt. The area where it once stood is now part of a car park. Heading west along the trail is Hunter's Bridge, which crosses another public footpath, and then under another bridge (used for farm traffic) towards Robinson's Wood. Here, a small picnic area was built, and then the trail continues towards

. The original line is bisected by the B653 Wheathampstead bypass on the road to

, so the Ayot Greenway forks left through an

underpass A tunnel is an underground passageway, dug through surrounding soil, earth or rock, and enclosed except for the entrance and exit, commonly at each end. A pipeline is not a tunnel, though some recent tunnels have used immersed tube constr ...

. From here the trail follows the River Lea into Wheathampstead. The Ayot Greenway is one of three rail trails in the

Welwyn Hatfield The Borough of Welwyn Hatfield is a Non-metropolitan district, local government district in southern Hertfordshire, England, governed by Welwyn Hatfield Borough Council. It covers the two towns of Welwyn Garden City and Hatfield, Hertfordshire, ...

area. The other two include Alban Way from Hatfield to St Albans and Cole Green Way which connects

to Hertford.

References

{{reflist Rail trails in England Welwyn Garden City Footpaths in Hertfordshire