George Bernard Shaw's House in Ayot St Lawrence, Herts.

July 2012

Often thought of as a built-up suburban county this walk around Ayot St Lawrence in south west Herts proved quite the opposite.

Though within a few miles of the A1 and Welwyn, it remains cut off from the frantic traffic of its main routes.

This very attractive and rural village has a thriving pub - the Brockett Arms and features the homes of two famous men - George Bernard Shaw, author, and Apsley Cherry Garrard, survivor of Scott's last journey to the Antarctic.

Its churches are particularly odd as the owner of Ayot House started to demolish the old (14th century) church because it spoiled his view. Persuaded to build a new church he had one built in a hideously inappropriate Palladian style a couple of fields away. The ruined church remains as testimony to his arrogance.

Our route took us south from Ayot St Lawrence (Ayot after an early French settler) then clockwise down through water meadows, a ford, farmland already harvested in late July, then between the river Lea and some old railway lines to return to the village.

The Brockett Arms was welcoming and offered excellent mussels amongst a conventional lunch menu and a variety of good and interesting beers.

After a short while outside (plenty of benches and a children's playground) we retired indoors to the restaurant.

After our meal we toured Bernard Shaw's House (National Trust) known as Shaw's Corner, noting his writing shed (pic above; a little disappointing as though it is widely described as being able to rotate to catch the sun, the mechanism seemed to have seized up and the bottom of the garden seemed so overlooked by trees that there was little chance of sun peeping through its windows wherever you might rotate it.

The house itself however was interesting as an Edwardian house with mid century features. The many busts and paintings of Shaw (plus pictures of William Morris and Gandhi among others, and an original Aubrey Beardsley poster) spoke of a rather egotistic individual, but if you're going to donate your home to the NT I suppose you can choose how you want to be remembered!

"Cherry's" home was unexpected. What a change for him to live in this rural retreat after the horrors of the Antarctic described with such power in "The Worst Journey In The World".

This walk was a short day in which two of our four wives accompanied us. It was a delightful little trip and reminds us that we don't have to travel far to enjoy the best that the English countryside can offer us.

The pic below is of all of us present, except the photographer, in front of the old part-demolished church in Ayot St Lawrence. Bernard Shaw took a similar shot 100 years previously. Obviously The Place To Be Seen.

This also brings our tally of counties "bagged" to 23. Time for another planning meeting to organise a trip for the next two ....