Wadesmill, Tonwell Tower and Sacombe Walk
This circular walk visits the Hertfordshire settlements of Wadesmill, Tonwell and Sacombe.
On the way you will pass through some lovely countryside and enjoy views of the River Rib and the striking Tonwell Tower. The converted water tower is now a popular holiday let. This walk also takes you past several historical sites, including a former Knights Templar farm, a country mansion, and a Roman road. The return journey follows The Bourne, a seasonal waterway that flows above ground in winter but vanishes underground during the summer months.
The walk starts and finishes in Wadesmill where you can enjoy refreshments at the Feathers pub. The inn serves good food and is also dog friendly.
The route runs for just under 7 miles following public footpaths and country lanes through the area. It is a reasonably easy walk with some small climbs on the way.
Postcode
SG12 0TN - Please note: Postcode may be approximate for some rural locationsWadesmill Tonwell Tower and Sacombe Walk Ordnance Survey Map 
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Photos
Wadesmill: Ermine Street. Ermine Street is an old Roman road. Normally these are very straight but occasionally, as here, the straightness principle was abandoned in order to overcome some particular geographical obstacle, probably in this case the crossing of the River Rib. There is an interesting historical name change going on in this village too. If you look at old Ordnance Survey 6" to the mile maps the whole settlement along Ermine Street on either side of the River Rib was shown as Wadesmill, while Thundridge was the name of the much larger parish centred on the church at the top of the hill at the southern end of the village. Certainly this naming arrangement was recorded as recently as the map edition of 1950, where the word Thundridge can only be found by zooming out of the mapping to show the whole parish. However all the current editions of the OS mapping now refer to Thundridge as the settlement on the south side of the river while Wadesmill has migrated so that it now only covers the village on the north side.
River Rib at Wadesmill
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Tonwell water tower
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Sacombe: Woodhall Park