Hitchin HOOP & Lavender Farm Walk (13.5 miles/22 km, Moderate - Booking Preferred)

Hosted by Stag Walkers for Hitchin Festival, an all-day walk along the Hitchin Outer Orbital Path (HOOP), with a detour to see the famous Hitchin Lavender.

Originally devised by North Herts Ramblers, the HOOP is a circular route along the perimeter of Hitchin and through its surrounding countryside. The terrain is a mix of surfaced paths and rural tracks, with a number of gentle slopes.

Along the trail we will walk through the nearby settlements of Charlton and Ickleford, both of which have village pubs; through the award-winning nature reserve at Oughtonhead Common, grazed by longhorned cattle; alongside two chalk streams, Ippollitts Brook and the River Oughton, going through the woods at Oughtonhead; and through farmland growing a variety of crops, including the famous lavender at Cadwell Farm. We’ll deviate from the waymarked HOOP route to walk by the lavender field which should be in full bloom at this time of year.

Our route will include an additional detour through the old Priory Park on the south-west corner of Hitchin, with a great view from the top of the hill overlooking Priory Fields.

We’ll also walk briefly through Letchworth, where the HOOP overlaps with the Garden City Greenway, taking us past a Bronze Age burial mound and beside post-war prefab houses which may soon be lost to redevelopment.

We will have a packed lunch stop partway round and also a pub stop (drinks only). Optional pub visit after the walk.

Dogs are welcome on a lead.

For information about walking with the group, including our dog policy, please visit the Stag Walkers website.

There is no limit on group size for this walk and booking is not essential; however, we do find it helpful to know who's coming, so:

* if you plan to come along, please book a place for yourself and any guests you are bringing

* if you have to cancel please update your RSVP so we know not to wait for you

* you can RSVP via our Meetup group or e-mail stagwalkers at gmail dot com

Please car-share or use public transport if possible. To offer a lift or ask for one from a fellow walker, please use the Meetup event page.