2019 is the 1,350th anniversary of the arrival of St Theodore of Tarsus in Canterbury. This led, via his work setting out the parish boundaries in England, to his stained glass portrait being installed in the east aisle of St Saviour’s church and an excuse for a summer event.
What links this saint with this house? All be explained on the walk.
After the successes of the Beech Bottom Dyke Heritage Open Day event in 2018 and the walk on the eastern part of the parish boundary in 2017, the Friends of Bernards Heath and the Friends of St Saviour’s are collaborating to put on a free summer 2019 event to celebrate St Theodore and walk parts of the parish’s western boundary – some of which are St Theodore’s work still. We will also hope to see what is happening in this part of the parish in terms of County and District Council plans.
Beech Bottom Dyke is a striking mile long Iron Age earthwork, linked to Shakespeare’s King Cymbeline, and set in an ancient area of commons called “Bernards Heath”. It is unpublicised and lacks interpretation – except for this guided walk.
This walk forms one of St Albans Heritage Open Days events and will take place on Sunday, 9th September 2018. More details can be found here
The local 19th century water colourist Henry Buckingham depicted this scene at Beech Bottom Dyke in 1859 when rifle training was given. At that time there was a threat of a possible invasion from France. (by kind permission of St Albans Museum).
The Dyke is St Albans’ least known heritage asset. It is a huge Scheduled Ancient Monument running round the north of the city. Rendezvous at St Saviour’s Church Hall (Sandpit Lane, St Albans, AL1 4DF) at 2.00pm for a short talk followed by a guided circular walk across Bernards Heath, along the Dyke and back to the church hall for refreshments (to be paid for).
Google aerial view of the Dyke, which follows the diagonal line of trees in the image
We will interpret the setting of the Dyke and explain what is known about it, including its roles in the Wars of the Roses and defending us against the French in the 19th century. Literature and local experts will be on hand on the walk and in the church hall. Free parking is available at or near the church hall. Stout footwear is recommended. Dogs on leads welcome. The Dyke itself is not wheel-chair or buggy accessible. A reasonable level of fitness is needed to walk along the Dyke. The event will end by 5.00pm.
Please note that the the joining instructions below are the right ones and supersede those in the Friends of Bernards Heath newsletter.
Whole event up to three hours, walk approx. one hour.
Numbers are being requested to help the caterers and to ensure we do not exceed the capacity of the hall. Booking will be first come, first served.
Find out more by emailing admin@bernardsheath.org or call 07811 393694
There are no access restrictions for the Church Hall, but the Dyke itself can be rough under foot, especially after wet weather. The barriers there against motor cycles effectively prevent wheelchairs or buggies gaining access to the Dyke.
This sort of event is the only opportunity to enjoy interpretation of this Scheduled Ancient Monument.
The first Friends of Bernards Heath Tree Walk on Sunday 1st July was led by Roger Miles and as you can see from the photo attracted a group of over 20 people.
We explored several areas of woodland to the East and West of Harpenden Road finding examples of the trees in the list, (probably not exhaustive). Sadly, there appear to be a few examples of Ash dieback on young trees in the area.
Below are two examples of trees you might like to look out for. On the left there are a few Hornbeams with their characteristic ribbed trunks near Heath Farm Lane (there are many more in Beech Bottom Dyke). On the right, Aspen, the tree with its fluttering leaves, on a path closer to the old Fire Station.
Many thanks to Roger Miles of the Friends of Bernards Heath Committee for giving us the benefit of his exhaustive knowledge of the flora on the Heath.
The walk on the 8th May was very successful with 30 people joining on what was a sunny warm afternoon. Local historian Peter Burley led the walk, with an impressive depth of knowledge about the area.
If you are unable to take a walk around the Heath using the excellent short or long guides produced by Peter Burley, you might like to follow the walk in pictures, mostly taken on a balmy autumn day in 2015. The walk took about 1½ hours.
We suggest you read at least the short guide before taking a look at the pictures. They deviate from the guide slightly to take in Townsend Drive, formerly Luton Lane.
The start and end point described in the guides is the Ancient Briton junction.
Does the rainbow over the Lower Field herald a change in the very mild weather we’ve had of late? Well, the temperature today (7 January) dropped to a maximum of 9°C, by contrast with the run of mild and dull weather over November and December (average 12°C). Our rainfall totals over these months were unexceptional compared with the north of England and Scotland.
