Ayot Greenway

First of all, if you're not familiar with the area, you might want to check the location on Google maps - it is not obvious! You're looking for the location of the old Ayot railway station, which burned down in about 1948. It's this old railway which has given way to make room for this walk. The station is just off Ayot St Peter Road - look for the brown wooden sign, similar to those National Trust ones, which says "Ayot Green Way car park". At the time of writing, the owners of the old station house had also tacked a piece of white A4 with "Station House" on the sign.

Follow this gravel track down to the free car park. Be warned - there is a width limiter at the entrance which means a car can just about pass through. Forget it if you're driving a caravan or people carrier. Even in our VW Golf, it was a very tight fit - literally millimetres on either side of the wing mirror. They have obviously had trouble with fly tippers and unwanted visitors.

Once you've parked, look for the path which starts behind the bin. This is the only bin I saw along the way, so if you're looking for pooh bins, you'll be out of luck and carrying your pooh back here. I'd keep your dog on lead for the first bit of the path, because it takes you back down to the road, and your dog will need to cross over a road which is zoomed down by some drivers. Either head up the stairs or take the ramp. As soon as you've crossed over, take the lead off and let your dog go free.

The path itself isn't paved, but is flat, straight, and easy to walk. While I can't guarantee it's definitely suitable for wheelchairs, you could probably get a buggy or pram down there quite easily. When we went, it was early winter, and there were some boggy patches, but it was still very walkable.

You can walk down the old railway line for miles, all the way to Wheathampstead if you want, but the path is obviously not circular, and you'll wind up walking back along your path to get back to your car. We walked about a mile and a half down it, and it's only about another couple of miles to the lovely town of Wheathampstead. I'm told there are picnic tables further down the route, but we didn't make it to there as it was getting dark.

There are some lovely woodlands to see along the route, and plenty of wildlife to be spotted. It makes for a nice afternoon's walk with the dogs.