With the due date of our second child getting very close, we’ve been on the look out for local walks that have toilets nearby! We decided to go to Croxleyhall Woods the other weekend for a circular walk that ended at Perch and Co. cafe near Croxley tube station.
Our son loves riding his balance bike through the woods here, as there are lots of little hills to freewheel down! We like it as you can explore off the main path and it feels so far away from the busy road nearby (we parked at the Harvey Road entrance).
There are loads of little paths meandering around so you can go a few times and still see new things. The bluebells are a big draw at this time of year, and you’re much less likely to encounter others looking for them than at, say, Whipendell Woods.
This time, we decided to cross the railway line and turn left at Croxleyhall Farm to go down to the canal.
Passing between meadows, you forget how close Croxley and Watford are and feel deep in the countryside.
Down at the bottom, you come out on the canal. We turned left to continue our (roughly) circular walk.
We could have carried on along the canal till we needed to turn left to go up to Perch and Co. (you come out very near Croxley tube station), but our son wanted to explore up the hill and into the woods again on his bike.
We made it to Long Valley Woods, came out on Frankland Road and wandered round to the cafe.
We’ve been wanting to visit here for ages, but always seem to miss their opening hours on a Sunday! It’s very light and airy inside and we managed to bag a wide bay window seat.
We enjoyed a sausage sandwich and a generous round of toast with yummy jam. They didn’t skimp on the butter which was much appreciated! The huevos rancheros looked really good so we’d like to try that the next time we get to visit. Prices are very reasonable compared with similar cafés in Watford.
There’s an outside seating space at the back too, which looked really sweet. Overall, we really enjoyed our visit and are looking forward to going again.
