Paths

Our paths

Contacts

Path issues

Recording paths

Two path pictures

Link to Some Wall Hall Paths (temporary)

Duplicate link

Our Paths
New members of BADFA get sent a map of paths in the more central area that was drawn by Richard DeBoise especially for us.

The BADFA area

With the incorporation of the Watford Fieldpath Association, the BADFA area greatly increased.
It now is roughly bounded by Borehamwood, Harrow, Rickmansworth, Chenies, Chesham, Berkhamsted, Hemel Hempstead, St Albans, Radlett; but focuses mainly on Bushey, Aldenham, Watford, and Watford Rural 'parishes'

We hold a full set of definitive maps for our area which may be consulted on request.

Thanks to the kindness of the County Council we hold air photos of nearly all our area for 1973, 1980 and 1990. These overlap to allow stereo viewing and may be seen on request.

Contacts

BADFA is particularly anxious to receive feedback from the general public on what they want from the paths network and to hear what it is felt our priorities should be. We cannot undertake to do everything asked but we do undertake to consider all suggestions. paths2008@badfa.org.uk)

For path problems locally contact:

Chris Beney of BADFA (paths2008@badfa.org.uk)
Phone 01923-211113  12 Woodlands Road, BUSHEY, WD23 2LR

or contact County Council Officers:

For physical path problems, signs, obstructions etc. you can contact our area officers:

Dawn Grocock
for Aldenham, Elstree, Shenley and beyond and temporarily for Bushey, Watford, Watford Rural
 

And for issues on whether paths are public and precisely where they go etc.
Rosalinde Shaw 01992 555285, Definitive Map Team leader.
Rosalinde Shaw

Address for letters for any of these officers is:
Rights of Way, County Hall, Hertford, SG13 8DN
They each have phone numbers but you can use 01992 555555

When contacting these officers BADFA would be pleased to be informed too.
A list of officers and their areas for the whole county is available on Herts County Council's rights of way web site. Unfortunately County don't always update it when staff change, so it is often out of date, but you can contact us to see if we have more up to date information if you wish.

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Path Issues

Where do we start? We have hundreds. Hertfordshire County Council (HCC) whose job it is to keep them in order, appears unable even to record the path defects that we report onto their database. We believe that many (most?) of those we reported jointly with the Ramblers and the Radlett Society and the Open Spaces Society two years ago have still not gone on their database. This is one of HCC's largely secret databases and it seems even the officers have difficulty accessing it.

Many issues have in fact been sorted out, often with BADFA and HCC co-operating, sometimes entirely done by HCC, sometimes entirely by us. But progress is absurdly slow.

Here are just three examples. We make no claim that they are typical. The Tykeswater one is very current. Aldenham 31A and Bushey 50 are shall we say currently quiescent, but far from resolved.

Tykeswater and Woodhall lanes link Watling Street, south of Radlett, to Shenley.
Both lanes predate Queen Victoria, both are impassable along some of their length.
go to Tykeswater/Woodhall

Aldenham 31A and Bushey 50. Two paths which have had problems for years are Aldenham 31A at Common Lane, Letchmore Heath, and Bushey 50 (Bride Street) from Elstree Road to Stanmore Common. The major activity is over on these now (late 2006) though both are far from being resolved. The reports on this web site built up over the years so they may appear a bit disjointed now.
In both cases the blame of course lies with the offending landholders, but a large part of the blame must go to Hertfordshire County Council whose statutory duty it is to enforce against such obstructions and who still seem not to have grasped that a stitch in time saves nine.
go to Aldenham 31A
go to Bushey 50 (Bride Street)
 

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Recording Paths

BADFA is working on the process of getting the numerous unrecorded paths onto the definitive map, we have had much success but there is a long way to go.

.......meanwhile:
Here is a view along Bushey 12, Finch Lane to Patchetts Green
Cleared by members Steve and Jennifer McCormick and Monica Shelton, this team is not currently
active, and it is not nearly as clear as this at the time of writing (late 2006)..

This is the 'Tessa Yates' path. A Greenway from Little Bushey Lane to the Watford Bypass. A new path provided as part of a deal involving BADFA, Open Spaces Society, British Horse Society, County Hall, Hertsmere Council and the then landowner Tessa Yates, sister of Mr Dalton, who used to farm around here.

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path list temp

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