Introduction to the Barleywolds

This website is a guide to an area of wolds (gently-rolling chalk hills) and about 50 medieval villages (including Barley), between Royston, Baldock, Stevenage, Bishop Stortford and Saffron Walden, on the border of Hertfordshire, Essex and Cambridgeshire in England.

This area of roughly 250 square miles is defined by its:

1) landscape: an area of low chalk hills (100-180 m altitude), and

2) society: arable farms, medieval villages, low population density, no modern development, rich history.

The Barleywolds are largely unknown.  There is no common identity or name. Virtually no tourism. The Barleywolds appears on no map or guide book.  The area is remarkably empty. There is very little here except wolds, farms and villages. 

But it is filled with history: from prehistoric barrows, Anglo-Saxon churches, Norman castles and medieval villages to Orwell’s Animal Farm And it is criss-crossed with tracks: prehistoric trackways, Roman roads, meandering country roads, and a dense network of footpaths. Add in an abundance of nature and country pubs, and you have a rich tapestry of sights, sounds and experiences.

This is a guide for those you want to explore this area by foot, bike or car, or in their imagination.

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