WOODLAND, wildlife and a place packed with history are among the attractions for you if you follow in Paul Heslop's footsteps in Studham.

Studham is a quiet village, with a winding main street and two excellent pubs. It was Estodham in the Domesday Book (1086), meaning Homestead where horses are kept'. The old village retains its common land, managed for people and for wildlife, providing food and shelter for insects, a place for ground-nesting birds and home to the dormouse'.

The inscription on the war memorial, is relevant to us all: Time, like an ever rolling stream bears all its sons away'. The England our lost servicemen left for us is hereabouts unspoiled; this is an excellent walk across arable land, meadowland and through woodland in a quite corner of Bedfordshire.

Studham Church, half a mile outside the village, has an unpromising exterior, which is not a guide to the interior, the most beautiful for many miles'. Quite so, and how refreshing to find the church open to the traveller. The church was started' in 1198 on the site of a smaller Anglo-Saxon building. The churchyard is surrounded by trees, ensuring peace and privacy. Evidently the wickedest man who ever lived was buried here.

We are used to the sight of huge and ancient yews in churchyards. Here is one, barely 18 inches tall, planted to commemorate the third millennium. Will it thrive for a thousand years, so that our ancestors may see it? Pat Bailey was cleaning gravestones as I passed by. A Londoner, Pat's late husband was a Studham man, so she found herself living in the country. "I couldn't tell one end of a cow from the other before I moved here," said Pat.

The right of way, deserted everywhere, now crossed those arable landscapes and passed through glorious woodland. Mile after mile, where the only sounds are birdsong and one's footsteps in the grass. In the woods, too, the sound of furtive rustling, small birds and animals going about their daily business. Alongside Deadmansey Wood, I followed the Herts-Beds county boundary, and traversed open country to Markyate.

Straddling the old A5, Markyate Street, as it was, was not wholly sited in Hertfordshire until 1877. The village was once a place of rest for stagecoach travellers. Here were inns, providing refreshment and a change of horses; in 1839, eleven coaches a day called at The Sun, with others calling elsewhere. Today, there's karaoke and pool. Times have changed.

The Sun is a 16th century building with a tale to tell, for here one James Storey, a servant of Ambrose Rokewode, a Gunpowder Plot conspirator, was arrested after placing horses at the ready to relay news of the hoped-for success of Guy Fawkes' treachery. Rokewode was executed. Story's fate is uncertain, but I wouldn't give much for his chances after his capture.

The Hertfordshire Way leads to Roe End. The right of way then continues through pinewoods, following a forest road bordered by beech partly shielding the tall pines just beyond, a scene more akin to a Scottish glen than to rural Hertfordshire. Here is true, solitary walking.

The right of way finally emerges on to open country again, with Studham nestling in the valley, a scene unchanged for generations. A bylaws sign, laying down the law under The Commons Act, 1899, ensures the common is kept in good order, listing such offences as depositing dung with penalties listed. Best to be on good behaviour hereabouts.Approximate distance: 8 miles

Start and Finish

Off-road car park, Studham

(Opposite the Red Lion)

Abbreviations

l. = left: r. = right;

n. s. e. w. = north, south, east, west;

br. = bridge; r.o.w. = right of way;

PH = public house; m. = mile;

s/post = signpost; f/post = fingerpost;

b/way = bridleway;

ch. = church; f/p = footpath

Routefinder

Take Church Lane, pass Methodist Ch, turn r. f/p to Church. Retrace steps to f/post, head n. to rd, turn l. 100 yds, turn r. on f/p thru woods. Turn r. opp. houses thru woods (s.e.) to Byslips. At rd turn l. then r. alongside Deadmansey Wood (county boundary). Follow r.o.w. to Markyate.

Retrace steps along Buckwood Rd (opp. The Sun), follow Hertfordshire Way (on l. end of houses) via Roe End to crossroads, Home Farm. Turn r. follow forest rd. to Common. Bear l., keeping to ridge, cross rd. Traverse Common diagonally to car park (in direction of Red Lion).

Pubs

The Red Lion

The Bell Inn