Countryside & Rights of Way Service

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Countryside & Rights of Way Service

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Countryside & Rights of Way provides land management advice, environmental conservation & Rights of Way management.

Much of what we achieve is thanks to our incredible volunteers. The Countryside Management Service works with communities in Hertfordshire to help them care for and enjoy the environment. We do this by:

• Encouraging people to get involved in looking after their local countryside or park by offering a range of voluntary opportunities, from practical conservation to leading Health Walks.

• Providing advice to landowners or managers helping them to look after their land with wildlife in mind. Helping a range of people from individual land owners to community groups source and secure funding for landscape improvement and conservation work.

• Promoting outdoor recreation through organising events such as guided walks, and working with groups to develop walk and cycle routes to link towns and villages to their surrounding countryside

30/10/2026

The Wednesday group had a great day this week helping to maintain the Halsey Field site in Hemmel Hempstead. The team of volunteers cleared some pathways of encroaching vegetation to make access easier for walkers. They also cleared glades across the site to encourage wildflower growth and butterfly sunbathing patches for next year - this will help encourage a wider range of biodiversity on the site. We are grateful to the The Halsey Field Local Wildlife Site, Hemel Hempstead for having us!

28/10/2026

On a meteorologically challenging Friday, a group of our intrepid volunteers carried out a blitz of Rights of Way tasks in the lovely parish of Barley, on the border with Cambridgeshire. 7 volunteers worked tirelessly to: repair a key bridge on the route from Shaftenhoe End to Little Chishill; resurface a set of steps and two kissing gate areas (that had been subject to heavy use over the years); cut back a couple of very low branches above one of the kissing gates; install a couple of waymarkers; and add weld-mesh to a slippery bridge next to the Cambridge Road. All achieved just before the long-threatened heavy rain arrived! A great effort from everyone involved to improve the Rights of Way in Northeast Hertfordshire…

26/10/2026

Last week the Wednesday volunteer group worked through the rain to carry out woodland management of Knight's Wood in St Albans. The hardworking team of volunteers completed ride management, Hazel coppicing and dead hedge building to increase biodiversity, improve habitats and delineate pathways through the woodland

23/10/2026

The volunteers who were out on Thursday certainly had the luck of the draw weather wise this week. Such a glorious day to be on Oughtonhead Common on the edge of Hitchin. They cleared paths, continued to rake off the cut reeds and to push back the willow that has been encroaching on the reed bed. They also reduced some of the willow and scrub in the meadow area. A fantastic task all round and all photos courtesy of the volunteers this week! Thanks everyone.

22/10/2026

We've been saying for ages we need some rain, so we'll try not to be too grouchy when it does happen - our Tuesday group got a little soggy this week clearing areas of holly from Post Wood in Ware this week. This is important on this site as holly blocks sunlight from reaching the woodland floor all year round, shading out many important flora - this is often a great site for bluebells, so allowing extra light in from the southern boundary will help them to flourish!

We are seeking enthusiastic locals to support a 'Friends of' group for Post Wood - if you would be interested in contributing a small amount of time to help with the upkeep of your local patch, do get in touch with us at [email protected]

20/10/2026

A wall of dense thorny vegetation greeted a very large group of volunteers last Thursday at Purwell Meadows in Hitchin. They were not phased in the slightest and got stuck into creating gaps, paths and routes through the thickets. This will help persuade the cows to come in and do their bit to protect the special plants and flowers that grow in the meadows here.
A big thank you to the The Millstream - Hitchin, who kindly allowed us to use their car park and facilities.

16/10/2026

We had a fantastic visit to Chorley Wood House Estate on Wednesday cutting back blackthorn along the paths and opening up the woodland walk to increase light getting to the woodland floor. This will help benefit the local wildlife and improve biodiversity at the site while keeping paths drier across winter improving accessibility year round. This work wouldn't be possible without our wonderful volunteers and the support from Three Rivers District Council

15/10/2026

Our East Herts Rights of Way volunteers were in action last Friday in Chapmore End, part of the Parish of Bengeo Rural. Footpaths 6, 7, 8 and 19 got some TLC, with running repairs on two bridges replacing treads and supports as well as adding some anti-slip mesh. An old handrail was removed from a set of steps, along with some path widening and bramble clearance for good measure.

14/10/2026

Scrub-bashing season in full swing for the Tuesday volunteers - they were at Parkfield in Potters Bar for a day of clearing bramble, thick grass, dead branches, snowberry, and an awful lot of litter, from the paths, glades and ponds on the site.

Tea and biscuits were a justified reward, even if a swift trip to the shops for milk was needed to avoid a mutiny!

Address

Farnham House, Six Hills Way
Stevenage
SG12ST

Telephone

+441992588433

Website

http://www.hertfordshire.gov.uk/cms

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