The Alban Way is a

shared-use path A shared-use path, mixed-use path or multi-use pathway is a path which is "designed to accommodate the movement of pedestrians and cyclists". Examples of shared-use paths include sidewalks designated as shared-use, Bridle path, bridleways and ra ...

along the former

Hatfield and St Albans Railway The Hatfield & St Albans Railway was a branch of the Great Northern Railway (UK), Great Northern Railway which connected St Albans to Hatfield, Hertfordshire, Hatfield in Hertfordshire, England. It opened in 1865 with the principal aim of allowi ...

Hertfordshire Hertfordshire ( or ; often abbreviated Herts) is a ceremonial county in the East of England and one of the home counties. It borders Bedfordshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the north-east, Essex to the east, Greater London to the ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

. The route is long and is owned by St Albans City & District Council and

Welwyn Hatfield Borough Council Welwyn is a village and civil parishes in England, civil parish in Hertfordshire, England. The parish also includes the nearby villages and settlements of Digswell, Mardley Heath and Oaklands, Hertfordshire, Oaklands. The village is sometime ...

, within their respective boundaries.

History

The Hatfield and St Albans Railway opened in 1865 and was in use for passengers until 1951 and freight trains until 1969.

Route

The path runs from

St Albans St Albans () is a cathedral city in Hertfordshire, England, east of Hemel Hempstead and west of Hatfield, Hertfordshire, Hatfield, north-west of London, south-west of Welwyn Garden City and south-east of Luton. St Albans was the first major ...

, close to

St Albans Abbey railway station St Albans Abbey is one of two railway stations in St Albans, Hertfordshire, England; the other being the busier, much larger and a decade younger St Albans City. It is located about south of the city centre, in the St Stephen's area. It is the ...

and the site of Roman

Verulamium Verulamium was a town in Roman Britain. It was sited southwest of the modern city of St Albans in Hertfordshire, England. The major ancient Roman route Watling Street passed through the city, but was realigned in medieval times to bring trad ...

, through Fleetville and Smallford to Hatfield; it ends close to

Hatfield railway station Hatfield railway station serves the town of Hatfield in Hertfordshire, England. The station is managed by Great Northern. It is measured from on the East Coast Main Line. History Hatfield was formerly the junction of a branch to St Alb ...

. Part of

National Cycle Network The National Cycle Network (NCN) was established to encourage cycling and walking throughout the United Kingdom, as well as for the purposes of bicycle touring. It was created by the charity Sustrans who were aided by a £42.5 million N ...

Route 61, which runs from the

River Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the The Isis, River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the Longest rivers of the United Kingdom, s ...

Maidenhead Maidenhead is a market town in the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead in the county of Berkshire, England. It lies on the southwestern bank of the River Thames, which at this point forms the border with Buckinghamshire. In the 2021 Census, ...

to the

River Lea The River Lea ( ) is in the East of England and Greater London. It originates in Bedfordshire, in the Chiltern Hills, and flows southeast through Hertfordshire, along the Essex border and into Greater London, to meet the River Thames at Bow Cr ...

Ware WARE (1250 AM) is a commercial radio station broadcasting a classic hits format. Licensed to Ware, Massachusetts, United States, the station serves the Springfield radio market. The station is currently owned by Success Signal Broadcasting ...

, the Alban Way is fully tarmacked throughout making it usable all year round. It can be linked to a separate section of Route 61, also along a disused railway route, runs from

Welwyn Garden City Welwyn Garden City ( ) is a town in Hertfordshire, England, north of London. It was the second Garden city movement, garden city in England (founded 1920) and one of the first New towns in the United Kingdom, new towns (designated 1948). It is ...

to Hertford and is called the Cole Green Way. The remains of most of the station platforms still exist along the route, with many as of 2017 having recently been refurbished along with signage and street names painted into the tarmac. A station building still stands at the London Road exit in St Albans, which has been converted into a nursery, while at Nast Hyde Halt a replica semaphore signal has been erected along with a garden and other signage. At what used to be Hill End Station, a small remembrance park has been created to remember a former mental health hospital that existed at the site. It is located in what was the hospital's graveyard, once close to the track opposite Longacres park. Most of the graves are covered and few remain intact but include a plaque describing the story behind the gravestones, including some details about specific patients. Within the section that runs through Welwyn Hatfield, three smaller stations were on route before Hatfield: Nast Hyde Halt, Lemsford Road Halt and Fiddlebridge. Part of the route in the 1980s was cut through by the A1(M) and Hatfield Tunnel and passes close to The Galleria. In Hatfield, the route joins the ''Great North Way'' (National Cycle Network route 12) and, in St Albans, links to National Cycle Network route 6.

Future proposals

There was once some speculation that the railway may be reinstated in the future as an extension to the proposed

Abbey Line The Abbey Line, also known as the St Albans Abbey branch line, is a railway line from Watford Junction to St Albans Abbey. The route passes through town and countryside in the county of Hertfordshire, just outside the boundaries of the Oyster ...

tram system although this never materialised.

Bus connections

ed Eagleroute S4 provides a link to the start of the route by Cottonmill Lane. Passengers should alight at Weyman's to join the route. Bus service 601 by Uno also runs close to part of the route from Fleetville to Hatfield.

Gallery

These May 2017 photographs are ordered from the Hatfield end towards the St Albans end. cmglee_Alban_Way_Nast_Hyde_Halt_signal.jpg, Remains of Nast Hyde Halt railway station cmglee_Alban_Way_Nast_Hyde_Halt_platform.jpg, Nast Hyde Halt railway station platform cmglee_Alban_Way_arch.jpg, Sculptural arch on the Alban Way cmglee_Alban_Way_cyclist.jpg, Hill End Lane bridge cmglee_Alban_Way_steel_bridge.jpg, Bridge over Camp Road cmglee_Alban_Way_bridge.jpg, Midland Railway bridge

References

External links

* {{coord, 51.752, N, 0.259, W, region:GB_scale:50000, display=title Footpaths in Hertfordshire Rail trails in England