Countryside & Rights of Way Service

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Countryside & Rights of Way Service 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

We had a fantastic visit to Chorley Wood House Estate on Wednesday cutting back blackthorn along the paths and opening u...
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

Our East Herts Rights of Way volunteers were in action last Friday in Chapmore End, part of the Parish of Bengeo Rural. ...
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.

Scrub-bashing season in full swing for the Tuesday volunteers - they were at Parkfield in Potters Bar for a day of clear...
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!

Maybe not so much mist, but certainly plenty of mellow fruitfulness for our volunteers last Thursday. The team were hel...
13/10/2026

Maybe not so much mist, but certainly plenty of mellow fruitfulness for our volunteers last Thursday. The team were helping to release trees in a traditional orchard at a site on Radburn Way in Letchworth from a tangle of bramble. Using a variety of machinery and hand tools, paths were cut through and a ‘halo’ cut around the base of each fruit tree. This will enable the fruit trees to be assessed for their variety and heritage.

This week the Tuesday volunteers were at 's Hartham Common. They replaced a wobbly and rotting signpost with a brand new...
08/10/2026

This week the Tuesday volunteers were at 's Hartham Common. They replaced a wobbly and rotting signpost with a brand new one, carried out some clearance of the planted trees on the woodland path, and along the Lea continued with some rotational coppicing and clearance to let light into areas that have been overshadowed by dense growth. The brash arisings from this clearance have been turned into a 'dead-hedge' along the boundary between the path and the river, creating an extra natural habitat as well as a border!

This week our Wednesday group have been installing new information boards at Saffron Green Meadows & Woods to make it ea...
08/10/2026

This week our Wednesday group have been installing new information boards at Saffron Green Meadows & Woods to make it easier for visitors to navigate the site. We wouldn’t be able to achieve these projects without our dedicated team of volunteers who come along rain or shine!

🌿 Wetland restoration at Oughtonhead Woods 🌿Contractors have recently completed wetland restoration works at Oughtonhead...
07/10/2026

🌿 Wetland restoration at Oughtonhead Woods 🌿

Contractors have recently completed wetland restoration works at Oughtonhead Woods, a Hertfordshire County Council owned site north of Hitchin that has recently returned to the management of HCC's Rural Estate.

After a long period without active management, an area of wetland had dried out and become heavily colonised by Himalayan balsam, an invasive non-native plant species.

The restoration works involved cutting back vegetation and using a small excavator to rake up the plant material and leaf litter. These measures aim to help re-wet the wetland and reduce the balsam seed bank, creating better conditions for native wildlife to thrive.

The project should also benefit the wider River Oughton chalk stream by reducing the spread of Himalayan balsam seeds into the watercourse and downstream habitats.

A big thank you to Affinity Water, whose support through the Rooting for Wildlife grant scheme helped make this project possible.

06/10/2026

Over the summer our North Herts Rights of Way volunteers have been busy in the parishes of Rushden and Therfield. Included in their efforts on a couple of warm, sunny days were path clearance along several paths, installing steps and repairing bridges and replacing/installing 12 waymark posts across the area. Thanks for all your efforts.

We’ve been busy improving Berrygrove Woods near Aldenham last week! Volunteers spent two days coppicing hazel stalls and...
05/10/2026

We’ve been busy improving Berrygrove Woods near Aldenham last week! Volunteers spent two days coppicing hazel stalls and managing the woodland to improve how much light can reach the woodland floor to improve biodiversity. We also have installed several new information boards about the woodland as well.

This week, our Tuesday volunteers were at Bencroft Wood, part of Hertfordshire's only National Nature Reserve. After las...
01/10/2026

This week, our Tuesday volunteers were at Bencroft Wood, part of Hertfordshire's only National Nature Reserve. After last year's significant acorn drop (a 'mast' year), our staff noted many new areas of oak saplings. To prevent grazing by invasive muntjac, our volunteers put up temporary fencing, making use of hazel stakes we coppiced only last week. It's hoped that many saplings will survive and be transplanted to other areas of the woodland which are lacking in oaks. We also installed new waymarkers to improve signposting of short and medium walking routes.

Address

Farnham House, Six Hills Way
Stevenage
SG12ST

Telephone

+441992588433

Website

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