TRING, which appears as "Treunge" in the Domesday Book, stands astride the ancient Icknield Way and Roman Akerman Street. It was not visited by the canal and railway, which by-pass the town as they negotiate the Tring Gap and not, as the locals would have you believe, because landowners forbade the intrusion of such modern means of transport.

Of greatest influence on Tring was the Rothschild family, with Walter Rothschild establishing a private museum in Akerman Street. It's still there, with more than 2,000 mounted mammals, two million butterflies and moths, birds, birds' eggs, and much more. I passed it by on my way to the extensive Tring Park, where once the Rothschilds kept zebras and kangaroos, and where, as a notice explains, dormice were introduced into Britain.

Crossing the by-pass, the transition from busy dual carriageway to peaceful parkland is immediate and pleasing. A path leads off to the woods on the escarpment opposite, where a tall obelisk peeps down as though inviting a visit. Nell Gwyn, mistress of Charles II, supposedly lived hereabouts, and it seems the monument may have been erected in memory of her dog. But there is no inscription, which strange on such a handsome edifice.

A woodland ride leads to a summerhouse, a squat, rectangular building of Totternhoe stone with a four-pillared portico. One can imagine Victorian aristocracy reclining on a warm summer evening, sipping wine, perhaps, or see for real today's mural of Homer Simpson, which adorns the back wall. It's very well done, actually, and I wonder what the Rothschild's would have made of it.

The path leads off through the woods, emerging at a wide track where a sign heralds arrival at the Ridgeway long-distance footpath. Westward, it leads ultimately to Wiltshire. I headed into Wigginton where, at the time of the civil wars, the village green was occupied by the parliamentarian army which launched artillery attacks on the royalists occupying Berkhamsted Castle. They say at dusk you can see a Cromwellian soldier moving about.

Like Tring, Wigginton features in the Domesday Book, as "Wigentone". It was once busy in straw-plaiting, the workers mainly the wives and children of workers on Rothschild's estate. They say the Wigginton straw plaiters' work was so good that buyers came to them rather than the other way around. Today the village was deserted, although I made note of the sign outside The Greyhound: "Sunday lunch here is the best around".

I took to the Ridgeway. The trail is waymarked by an acorn symbol, so you can't get lost. It leads through Hastoe, a sleepy corner of Hertfordshire. I left the route where the right of way leads steeply down through more woodland, the Vale of Aylesbury looming up ahead. So did the A41, which I crossed and headed down to the Grand Union Canal, or rather an arm of it, where an ancient bridge spans the now dried-up canal bed. It's not the most romantic of settings, but someone has scrawled "I love Caroline" boldly on the grubby wall of the bridge.

Now in Buckinghamshire, the towpath leads to the church of St Mary the Virgin at Drayton Beauchamp. It has been described as "one of the most beautiful churches in England", and if you take into account the church and setting you couldn't argue. The village is named after William de Beauchamp, who held the manor here, and the present church is 15th century. You might recognise the scene if you saw the film The Land Girls, in which Alan Bennett starred as the local priest. The church is built of old, weatherworn stone and is a gem.

Back on the towpath, I followed the dried-up canal, its bed overgrown with weeds, nettles and brambles. They've even planted a wood across it. Once there were horses towing longboats, and the canal was a place of industry. Now you can hear only the cries of unseen birds, and the drone of the overhead jet, Luton-bound.

The final steps of my journey led to the grand church of St Peter and St Paul in Tring. The church registers include the baptisms of the children of the Rev Laurence Washington, great-great grandfather of George, the first president of the United States.

Approximate distance: 8 miles

Start and Finish: Church of St Peter & St Paul

Tring

Route

Tring church, Akerman Street, Tring Park, Wigginton, the Ridgeway, Hastoe, Grand Union Canal (arm), Drayton Beauchamp, Tring

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; r/way=railway; cont.=continue; FM=farm

Directions

Along High St, turn l., Akerman St, past Museum. Turn l, Park St, r. to Tring Park'. Cross by-pass (f/br.), s.e. across Tring Park to woods, obelisk & summerhouse. Take path to r. of summerhouse, aim for 5 barred gate ahead, turn l at crossroads' of paths in wood and take l. fork, follow r.o.w. to Ridgeway. Turn l. for Wigginton. Retrace steps, follow Ridgeway through Hastoe (Church Lane) to Gadmore Lane. Leave Ridgeway at Pavis Wood, take b/way n. to West Leith and A41. Take r.o.w. past kennels to (dry) canal, w. to St Mary's Ch., Drayton Beauchamp. Follow canal to Tring Riverside Reservoirs Walk, head along Dundale Road to Tring Church.

Pubs

Tring: Lots

Wigginton: The Greyhound