2013 – Cambridge Ramblers

CANTAB75 December 2013

December 31, 2013 Paul

** Please note that this is an archive of the CANTAB publication and contains out-of-date information **

CANTAB RAMBLER

Editorial
When Roger was stricken by a serious stroke in May this year, Cantab was nearly written off. But as Roger is making slow steps towards recovery, the blandishments of kind friends to give Cantab, too, a second lease of life have received attention.

I kept several items of current interest through the Summer, only to find by such time when there were hours or minutes in the day to work on the next edition, many of my notes were dead letters. So this edition contains mostly references to other outdoor concerns that flourish around us, and comes with the hope that walking in Cambridge-shire and the wider East Anglia continues to thrive. In spite of local government cutbacks affecting path maintenance, I am pleased to report on two cycleway / footpath initiatives, which will make passage safer on some sections of a walk obliged to pass along a busy road.

Finally, Roger sends to all who sent him cards and messages of goodwill his grateful thanks, and hopes to make an appearance on some of the shorter walks during 2014.

Janet Moreton

John Muir 1839 – 1914
2014 will be notable not only for the centenary of the commencement of WW1, but also for that of the death of rambler and naturalist, John Muir.

His writings are celebrated both in the United States, where he campaigned for the protection of wild places, and in the UK, especially in Scotland, where the head office of the John Muir Trust is located in Pitlochry.

John Muir was decades ahead of his time in arguing for the intrinsic value of nature, and for the restorative and spiritual effects of experiencing nature and wilderness. He wanted to educate people about the wonders of the natural world and inspire them to experience it for themselves. He campaigned for the protection of wild places.

The John Muir Trust interprets his philosophy in terms of education, with projects for young people, and the new Wild Space visitor centre at Pitlochry. The Trust also works on path restoration schemes in Scotland, the Autumn 2103 journal featuring the success of restoring the popular path up the 1083m conical peak, Schiehallion. Combining with other environment groups, the Trust fights development in Scotland’s wild places.

For more information, see: www.jmt.org

Quotation of the Month:
“Everybody needs beauty as well as bread – places to play in and pray in, where nature may heal and give strength to body and soul alike.”

John Muir, writing about Yosemite

The Downsman – 90 years old
The Society of Sussex Downsman was founded 1923. One of its first successes, in 1925 was to help save the (Sussex) Devil’s Dyke from bungalows! In 1926, the Society fended off development just behind the Seven Sisters. In absence of planning controls, the Society raised £17,000 to buy the land from the developers, and subsequently presented the land to The National Trust. In the 1930s, the Society campaigned against pylons stretched across the Downs. In the current century, the Society campaigned for The South Downs National Park, which finally came into being in March 2010. The Society changed its name to the South Downs Society, and continues to ensure that the unique chalk landscape stays safe.

The South Downs were my first walking territory, and membership of the South Downs Society keeps me in touch with local issues. See southdownssociety.org.uk

The following gives news of a couple of local planned cycleway / footways alongside busy roads. Whilst no-one would suggest a long walk along here, these will provide walkers with a safer transit from one side path to another.

Swavesey to Buckingham Business Park Cycleway
Cambridgeshire County Council is proposing a new foot and cycleway from Boxworth End to Bucking Way Road in Swavesey. The path will provide a link to Buckingway Business Park and on to Cambridge Services.

The new cycle and footway is estimated to cost £450,000 and is being funded by Cambs C C’s successful bid to the Department for Transport for £4.1m from the Cycle City Ambition Fund.

It is hoped to start construction from April with the path planned to open in June 2014.

Wandlebury to Babraham Research Campus – a footway & cycleway beside the A 1307
There are plans to build a new cycleway and footpath between Wandlebury Country Park and the Babraham Research Campus alongside the A1037. The new path will also link up with the existing cycleway to the Babraham Road Park and Ride site and create a direct route for those travelling into Cambridge.

The new path is to be constructed in two phases: the Wandlebury to Copley Hill section in February-March 2014; and Copley Hill to Babraham in June-July 2014. The path is scheduled to open in August 2014.

The scheme has been developed in partnership with Babraham Research Campus, who is contributing £200,000 towards the new cycle and footpath. Cambs C C is providing £450,000 from their earlier success this year in securing over £4.1million from the Department for Transport’s Cycle City Ambition Fund.

A Walking Guide to the Fulbourn Area
Have you seen this excellent little book? It is published in 2013 by the Fulbourn Forum for Community Action, Fulbourn Village History Society and Fulbourn Village Library.

With such a pedigree, it is not surprising that it is a splendidly produced, interesting guide to the walking in the parish, but not to just the public rights of way, but also the highways, byways, and village corners. If you are already familiar with the local paths, you will still find much that is new in these pages. The text is rich in wildlife information, and particularly strong on historical details of the village, and the photographs of a very high quality.

And the guide does not confine itself to the past. We are introduced to The Fulbourn Life Wall, a monument by Andrew Tanser, made of black Granite from Zimbabwe, in the Windmill Estate. The West side illustrates the early history of “Fugolburna”, the Anglo- Saxon name for the village,on the East side we are brought up-to-date with the more modern history of “Fulbourn”.

The guide may be obtained from the village library, RRP £4.50.

The Fulbourn Swift Project
This was the title of an illustrated lecture given on 27 November at the St John the Evangelist church hall, Cambridge, under the auspices of The Wildlife Trust.

Rob Mungovan, South Cambs District Council’s Environmental Officer had worked for a period attempting to re-house a large colony of swifts, which formerly had nested in the old two–storey prefabricated buildings of the Windmill Estate. As the old houses were demolished, and the new houses were built, the developers were assisted in providing new nesting sites. A majority of these were within the roof spaces of the new buildings, with only a little access pipe for the birds’ entry giving a clue to their presence. Other boxes were sited on the outside of the new buildings. Some local residents formed a “Swifts Group” and monitored the success of the venture. Some 10 of the new boxes were used in 2011, and 27 in 2012. One of the roads in the estate is named after the swifts, and May to July is recommended for a visit.

n.b. Other parties of swifts nest elsewhere in Fulbourn, such as on the Church and Old Manor. And in the old terraced rows of streets of Petersfield district in Cambridge, swifts may also be found hoovering up insects in the dusk, or circling high in the sky above their nests.

Moves to re-open a footpath from Commercial End to the Former Swaffham Prior station.
The Ramblers’ Association was asked by a local resident to assist in trying to re-open a path which once ran from Commercial End, Swaffham Bulbeck, to the former Swaffham Prior station, located at TL 561 644. The path was set up when the railway was running as a short cut for the people of Swaffham Bulbeck, but fell out of use when the railway closed in 1965. The path could still provide a pleasant country walk from either Swaffham Prior or Swaffham Bulbeck.

An advert was placed in two local magazines, the “Swaffham Crier”, and the “Bulbeck Beacon”. As a result about 20 people wrote in support of the proposals. Anyone else with knowledge of the path who has yet to make contact is invited to do so. A request has been sent to Cambs. C.C., asking them to look into the proposal, and citing the possible availability of funds for local path development projects.

Commercial End, Swaffham Bulbeck
This is not a modern industrial estate, as the name suggests, but a charming part of the old village, whose history goes back a long way.

The adjacent Swaffham Lode is probably of Roman origin, and is known to have been used to transport goods by water in medieval times. Its main development as a C19th fen port was the work of Thomas Bowyer. He erected several warehouses, many of which have been converted into charming houses.

Take a walk along Commercial End, and admire several fine and interesting buildings.

Thatched and pantiled cottages date from 1730. There is a Victorian fire hydrant, and a former malting house 1697 with an attractive shell doorway.

A late C17th merchant’s house overlooks the wharf – it was extended in the early C19th to provide a counting house. Spot a large, former granary, now a house, dated 1815, and with wall-anchors in the form of TB.

Continue past the site of the former Benedictine nunnery, and walk the quiet Fen Lane to Cow Bridge, where there is a seat. Use either a signed footpath beyond on the left, or continue on the road, in both cases, to Swaffham Bulbeck Green, opposite the Three Horseshoes Pub. The ironwork village sign, made locally by Frank Turner of Mitchel Lodge Farm, dates from 1978. (under 2 miles)

Other Swaffham Bulbeck Walks
From Cow Bridge, on Fen Road, take the footpath to Longmeadow, and then make a very pleasant circuit via Docking and Cranney Drove. (3 miles)

This walk may be extended into Lode from Longmeadow, taking a signed tarmac path to Lode recreation ground, and returning from Lode village via Millards Lane. At the end of this residential lane, take the field path back to Longmeadow. (Note the path’s central section may be cultivated). (5 miles)

Parking is not advised in Longmeadow hamlet, where the road is very narrow. It is possible to park in Commercial End, with care, or there is a carpark on the edge of Swaffham Bulbeck Green. Also one can start the walks from Anglesey Abbey, thus making the longest circuit 6 miles.

Cantab Rambler by E-Mail & Post
A large number of you now receive Cantab by e-mail. By hand, 20p is appreciated towards the cost of paper and ink. Offers of brief articles will be gratefully received.

This is a privately produced magazine, and the views expressed are solely those of the editor, or of the author of an individual item. Janet Moreton 01223 356889

e-mail roger.janet@care4free.net

Cantab 75 Price 20 pence where sold

CANTAB73 April 2013

April 30, 2013 Paul

** Please note that this is an archive of the CANTAB publication and contains out-of-date information **

CANTAB RAMBLER

Thurstan Shaw, 1914 – 2013
Professor Charles Thurstan Shaw died on 8 March, aged almost 99. Probably the most distinguished of Cambridge walkers, he was first involved as a member of Cambridge RA Group Committee in the mid-1970s. Following on from this, he was the pioneer of the Icknield Way Long Distance Path, being Chairman of the Icknield Way Association for many years from its inception in 1984, and personally responsible for treading out many miles of track, before an attractive and feasible route was identified.

The first edition of the walkers’ guide to the path, running from Ivinghoe Beacon to Knettishall Heath, appeared in late1984, and Thurstan lived long enough to know of the recently published 6th edition. The route passes through six counties, and joins two National Trails, the Peddars Way in the east, and The Ridgeway Path in the west. It was Thurstan’s ambition to see The Icknield Way also as a National Trail, resolving this anomaly, but up to the present it has only the lower status of a regional route, though as such it still receives preferential treatment in terms of waymarking and maintenance from the relevant county councils.

Thurstan’s work for East Anglian rights of way was a labour of love in retirement. Members of the Icknield Way Association Committee, meeting in Thurstan’s study among ranks of archaeological tomes and journals, were very aware of his distinguished background in studies of prehistory in West Africa, principally in Nigeria and Ghana. Such was the fame and respect accorded in the localities where he worked, that he was made an Ibo tribal chief, and close connections were maintained until the end of his life.

At the Quaker meeting celebrating Thurstan’s life on 17 March were several representatives of the Ibo tribe, amongst his numerous family and friends, who overflowed from the large meeting room, sat on the stairs, and stood in the doorways. In an hour of tributes, very many of us wanted to stand and pay our respects to Thurstan, and to thank him for his kindness and wisdom. I feel privileged to have known him.

Thurstan is survived by his second wife, Pamela, and family of 5 children by his first wife, Ione, and their many descendants.

There is to be an archaeological memorial meeting at Sidney Sussex College in the Autumn. See also the “Times” obituary of 13 March.
Janet Moreton

Parish of the Month, Wimpole.
Explorer 209
Speak of Wimpole, and most of us think of the National Trust property – the hall, the stable block, the restaurant, the gardens and orchards, The Belts, The Park, giving scope for many days of interest and exercise. But Wimpole is also a parish of over 1000ha, bounded by The River Rhee, Ermine Street (or Old North Road) and the Cambridge-Arrington Bridge Road. In 1086, the population was 57, gradually growing to 583 in 1831, before declining steadily to 160 in 1996.

Let us consider the parish before the National Trust took control of the Hall, buildings, and 1200ha of land in 1976.

History
When a gas compressor station was sited by the A603, as part of the gas pipeline laid across East Anglia in 1994, pottery of the late Iron Age (ca 100BC to 100AD) was found. An archaeological dig revealed 3 circular Iron Age huts of 12 – 13m diameter.

There is evidence of much more Roman occupation. The junction of two major Roman roads at Arrington Bridge, TL 334 486 was the site of a posting station. Construction of a swimming pool at Wimpole Lodge, TL 334 487, revealed foundations of stone and clunch, with much Roman pottery and coins. This is clearly part of an extensive site, for similar finds are known from Wendy, Arrington and Whaddon, meeting at the same cross-roads. Excavations to the N of this site revealed cobbled yards and ditched enclosures that had been paddocks, garden plots and residential sites, used from the late C2nd., and being reorganised three times before the C5th. There was evidence for blacksmithing and leather and bone working, with large numbers of artefacts (hob-nails, two iron heel-plates; door hinges and key; linch-pins; reaping hook; spear; chisel; brooch, pins, knives, buckle, razor, glass and coins). In addition, Roman cremation urns were reported during WWII at TL 342 498, near Cambridge Road Farm.

An unexpected discovery during excavations at Wimpole Lodge, was a C6th Anglo Saxon cemetery. A middle-aged woman was buried with a necklace of amber beads, a bronze brooch and wrist-clasps. Bones of seven other skeletons were recovered, including new-born infants. The Roman site had been abandoned for over a century, but ditches, ruined buildings and Roman roads would still have been in use.

In Medieval Times, Wimpole was a village originally comprising a group of hamlets. The main village was adjacent to the church, but was removed in the mid C17th, when the hall was rebuilt by Sir Francis Chicherley. Two hamlets once existed to the SW (Benhall End, site of the original hall, cleared in the 1730s, when Charles Bridgeman laid out the park), and to the S (Thresham End, cleared C18th). A section of village N of the hall disappeared in the 1750s when Capability Brown extended the grounds. Wratsworth hamlet, was once located in the NE of the parish, near Cobbs Wood Farm, but was cleared in the C19th. during a further landscaping phase.

Thus, preserved in the grassland around the park are the remains of 3 parts of the old village, with streets, house-sites and gardens visible as low banks. The strategic importance of Ermine Street makes it likely that the large mound in the park, 500yd NW of the house was a C12th castle motte. A post-mill stood on it in the C17th. Old roads still survive as slight hollow ways, as do considerable areas of ridge & furrow (although some were inadvertently ploughed up by the National Trust over a decade ago, to great public complaint). There is no Inclosure Award for Wimpole because its open fields had been gradually enclosed by successive owners of the hall before the C19th.

In 1730 two hamlets were displaced to plant a 2mile long avenue of elms (lost to Dutch Elm disease, and replanted in the 1970s with limes) leading to the front of the hall. In 1850, the then owner, Admiral Sir Charles Philip Yorke erected the estate village of New Wimpole on the A603, consisting of 12 semi-detached houses in a Tudoresque style. The village church remains on its original site. Rebuilt by Flitcroft in 1749, but much Victorianised, it retains a C14th N chapel as a mausoleum. One original c14th window was kept. Contents include alabaster tombs, brasses, and a monument to the Earl of Hardwick.

Family histories
From C16th onwards, successive owners had the enthusiasm and capability to buy land at great expense for status and pleasure, rather than agriculture, and in the process depopulating the countryside. Wimpole’s estate started with a manor house, church and settlement around the later site of Wimpole Hall, which was given to Henry Chicheley, Archbishop of Canterbury in the C15th. His descendant, Sir Thomas Chicheley, rebuilt the hall in brick, and replaced the village around the church with gardens. Subsequent owners were the Earl of Radnor and the Duke of Newcastle. The Duke’s daughter married Edward Harley, Earl of Oxford, who employed Charles Bridgeman to change the formal gardens into park land, and include an octagonal water-filled basin near Whaddon. The scholarly Harley collected books and manuscripts, which became the core of the British Library. In debt, in 1739 he sold Wimpole to the Earl of Hardwicke who employed Capability Brown for more enlargement and landscaping, removing another medieval hamlet, and joining Bridgeman’s ponds into a curving lake. These, with his medieval-style folly, remain major landmarks today. In the early C19th. Humphrey Repton introduced newer garden fashions, and in 1850 the then owner, Admiral Yorke, erected New Wimpole Estate Village on the A603. Foreclosure on a mortgage in the late C19th left the estate with the Agar-Robartes family from Llanhydrock in Cornwall, whence much of the Hall’s furnishings were removed. In the 1930s Wimpole was sold to Captain Bembridge, whose widow Elsie, daughter of Rudyard Kipling, was a recluse, and the park sank into benign neglect. In 1976 she left the Hall and 1200ha acres of the park to the National Trust.

The paths in Wimpole
The parish has 9 public rights of way. In addition, there are at least 8 other permissive paths within the Wimpole Estate, and other approved routes or open access across grassland. This makes possible a great variety of walks, within the park and the parish, and onwards into adjacent parishes. It is believed that the NT is about to propose diversions of some of these RoW. RA Cambridge Group will examine such proposals very carefully when it is consulted.

Of the definitive paths, Wimpole Bp 1 starts from TL 339 526, from the corner of the Old Cambridge Road above The Belts, and runs E along the hilltop as part of Mare Way. Beyond the water tanks at the top of the Wimpole Road, TL 352 524, Mare Way continues on both sides of a shallow ditch. On the N side it is Eversden Bp 11, leading to walks in Eversden, and on the S side it is Orwell Bp3, a dead-end which, however, has a side branch, Orwell Fp2 leading down into Orwell village.

Wimpole Fp2 is a short path starting from much the same place as Bp1, passing through a tree belt, and crossing an arable field, to join well-waymarked but muddy paths in Eversden Wood. In late Spring, the woodland rides have bluebells, oxlips, and early purple orchids.

Wimpole Fp3 leaves the minor road opposite Home Farm at TL 342 514, and follows the farm track past Cobbs Wood Farm and uphill past woodland to the multiway junction at the top of the Wimpole Road, joining Orwell Fp4 for the last few metres. Branching off Fp3, just before the bridge, is Wimpole Fp4, waymarked through the yard of a deserted house, over a bridge, and through fields to cross Victoria Drive, then over more fields to reach Orwell., via Orwell Fp1. This is a good all-weather route, and the “Bull in field” sign on stiles is left there whether the bull is present or not.

Wimpole Fp5 is the Wimpole Drive, leading to Arrington, and routes beyond. It is the start of The Clopton Way, going to Gamlingay Cinques. As the path emerges through the decorative gates onto Ermine Street, note that you have already entered Arrington parish. Note, too, the display board, recalling that this part of the park was a hospital in WWII.

On Ermine Street, A 1198, a sign shows the start of Wimpole Fp 6, starting at TL 329 500, a little way beyond The Hardwick Arms. This path crosses arable fields, and the Wimpole Avenue, then another arable field, finally to emerge down the drive of Cambridge Road Farm onto the A603. As far as the Wimpole Avenue, it is part of the Harcamlow Way. In wet conditions, this is a very sticky route.

Wimpole Fp7 leaves Fp6 at TL 337 497, to run S down the Wimpole Avenue, crossing the A603, to reach the Whaddon parish boundary at a bridge over the River Rhee, TL 337 485. From here paths lead to Whaddon, Wendy, or a WWII display board by the A1198 at TL 339 469. Sadly, there is no public path leaving the road opposite this point. However one may walk 600m north along the verge, to pick up Shingay cum Wendy Fp 8 near Road Farm at TL 329 500. This path uses mostly field edges to zig-zag to the hamlet of Wendy.

Note that in damp conditions, it is pleasanter to start this walk in the park, through a gate in the railings at ca TL 338 509, rather than going round by Fp6.

Wimpole Fp8 forms two short sections of footpath within Eversden Wood, where the parishes of Wimpole, Kingston and Eversden form an elaborate patchwork.

From Old Wimpole Road, opposite Kingston Pastures Farm at TL 329 529, Wimpole Fp9 runs S across fields to the A1198. Half-way across, there is a strip of pasture field. This pasture may be accessed from The Belts via a stile at ca TL 331 517, which is not obvious from the path.

The Permissive Paths
The best-known of these is The Belts, a track running in the woodland to the W and N of Wimpole, and part of the County Council’s promoted route, The Wimpole Way. Reaching the Old Wimpole Road at TL 339 524, it is possible to continue immediately opposite in woodland, to join FP 3 above Cobbs Wood Farm, at TL 350521.

The National Trust promotes a route across pasture, and by the Chinese Bridge over lakes to visit The Folly, and emerging on The Old Wimpole Road, a little way N of Home Farm. Alternatively, a return may be made across another portion of the lakes on a causeway. It is a pity that The Folly itself is fenced off, due to safety considerations, and that there are no seats on the hill top, where otherwise a good view could be appreciated in comfort. From The Folly, however, one can go N to follow a ditch to TL 336 524, and join The Belts, not far from the exit onto The Old Wimpole Road.

Users of Wimpole Fp4 as the route to Orwell and beyond, may wish to return another way, using the very attractive Victoria Drive, the old carriageway route, which starts in Orwell on the A603 at TL 359 507, and emerges on The Old Wimpole Road, just opposite the NT drive. It is possible to turn off Victoria Drive at TL 358 508, and follow a path by a hedge to join Orwell Fp2 up Thorn Hill, and onto Mare Way.

Almost opposite the drive to Cobbs Wood Farm (Fp 3), a kissing-gate gives access to a short-cut path across the park, to the carpark and stable block. This path is shown clearly on the 1902 1: 10 000 OS sheet, and again on the First Series 1:25 000 OS sheet as a black dotted line, but it was never registered as a public right of way.

The National Trust promotes these routes, and several other short walks around the grasslands of the park in a leaflet available for a charge.

Cantab Rambler by E-Mail & Post
Cantab usually appears every two months. A large number of you now receive Cantab by e-mail. By hand, 20p is appreciated towards the cost of paper and ink. Offers of brief articles will be gratefully received.

This is a privately produced magazine, and the views expressed are solely those of the editor, or of the author of an individual item. Janet Moreton 01223 356889

e-mail roger.janet@care4free.net

Cantab 73 Price 20 pence where sold

CANTAB72 March 2013

March 31, 2013 Paul

** Please note that this is an archive of the CANTAB publication and contains out-of-date information **

CANTAB RAMBLER

Unintended countryside humour
Ramblers’ Net recently ran a series about odd notices seen in the countryside. Below is a short selection.

FOOTPATH TO TJORNOVIK FOLLOW THE STONE MEN
(Sign in English seen on a farm gate at Saksun, Faroes, sent in by Brian Reader)

PLEASE KEEP TO DRIVE – FREE RANGE BEES
(Isle of Wight private drive with public footpath, also from Brian Reader)

LARGE DOGS PLEASE CLOSE THE GATE
(Seen in Shap by Harry Whitehouse) Presumably small dogs are allowed to leave it open!

I invite readers to send East Anglian quaint or unintendedly humorous notices – or do all our local landowners ensure they say exactly what they mean?

Beyond the Icknield Way The ever popular Icknield Way Guide has gone into its sixth edition, entitled, “The Icknield Way Path – A Walkers’ Guide”. Priced at £10, including post/packing, it is obtainable from www.icknieldwaypath.co.uk

The Icknield Way leads us from Knettishall Heath to Ivinghoe Beacon.Beyond, the Ridgeway Path leads the foot-traveller out of East Anglia, southwards and westwards.

The Friends of the Ridgeway are promoting a new path through Southern England called “The Great Stones Way”.

The route is still under development, but will run for 45 miles/68km from Barbury Castle to Stonehenge and Old Sarum, Wiltshire. Overall, K£88 has been raised for signs and stiles.

The first section to open will be the 14 mile Plain and Avon walk, from Casterley Camp above Upavon, to Amesbury and Stonehenge, via the Avon Valley. The route explores historic landscapes and pretty villages with a good supply of pubs. Grants for improving this section have been made by Plain Action and Tidworth Community Area.

For more information: http://www.ridgewayfriends.org.uk/great-stones-way/

Shepreth teashop I have had a recommendation for the “Teacake” teashop in Shepreth. Situated in the centre of the village on 8, Meldreth Road, it features tea, coffee, freshly made cakes, and light lunches. A tea-garden and take-away are available. Closed on Mondays and Tuesdays, the teashop is open from 9 to 5 on other weekdays, and 10.30 to 4.30 at weekends.

It is convenient for Shepreth L-moor reserve, the RSPB reserve, and walks to Barrington. Phone 07565 567023 e-mail teacakeatshepreth@hotmail.co.uk

Lesser celandine
March is the time for early Spring flowers, so one should find the small celandine, Ranunculus ficaria (a member of the buttercup family) in damp ground, especially in woods, and at the edges of ditches, growing freely all over Britain and Northern Europe. The leaves are heart-shaped, fleshy dark green, and the yellow flowers usually have 8 petals. The flowers shut up before rain, and even in good weather do not open before 9 am. By 5pm, they have already shut up for the night, so time to finish your walk!

Terry Breverton’s “Complete Herbal”, published Quercus, 2011, (ISBN 978 0 85738 336 5) is based on Culpepper’s volume of 1653 and gives details of the herb’s former usage in medicine. The plant contains saponins which are fungicidal, and locally antihaemorrhoidal, and protoanemonin in the fresh plant is antibacterial. The German name, Scharbockskraut, derives from use of the early leaves, which are rich in vitamin C. The Russians call it Chistotel (clean body) as it was brewed and used in baths to help cure dermatitis and other skin irritations.

But I am happy to leave this charming plant beside the path, glad to see the yellow flowers open in Spring sunshine.

Parish of the Month – Madingley
Explorer 209

History
In Domesday, it is named Madinglei – the wood or clearing of the people of Mada.

A Roman Road from Cambridge passed by Madingley, and occasional Roman coins have been found nearby. Within and outside Madingley Wood , a high point with good views, are low banks of rectangular enclosures, where a trench revealed C1st pottery (late Iron Age or Roman). Excavations close to Madingley Hall at the top of a slope used for medieval settlement, uncovered ditches containing Saxon pottery 800 – 1100 AD.

A double moat near Moor Barns Farm, close to the A428 was probably the site of a grange owned by Barnwell Priory from C12 – C16th.

In the C13th, there were originally two manors. Marhams Manor was centred on the present Manor House, a timber-framed and plastered medieval building, set back from the west side of High Street. Madingley Hall was previously part of Burdeleys Manor and originally belonged to Sheriff Picot. Later, it was bought by the Hynde family, who were restoring the parish to single ownership by the C16th.

The red-brick & stone Madingley Hall was built in 1543 by Sir John Hynde and added to in ca 1590 by Sir Frances Hynde, when material was taken from the demolished St Audrey’s church, Histon . Later, the property was owned by the Cotton family, who extended the park in 1743, when Capability Brown’s landscaping cut the village in two, with the church and some cottages to the south, and the rest of the village to the north. The last baronet at Madingley gambled away the family money in the C19th, and had to earn a living driving a stage coach.

In 1948, Cambridge University bought the village, together with Madingley Hall and some 1200 acres ( 502ha). The University holds study courses in the hall, run by the Dept of Extramural Studies, and this would seem the best opportunity to see the inside of the building.

The parish today
Madingley parish now covers 840ha, following boundary adjustments after construction of the Cambridge bypass. The soil is clay, apart from a strip of chalk marl under the village itself. The small village is centrally placed in the boundaries, having a church, village hall, pub “The Three Horseshoes,” school, but no shop. The population in 1086 was 31; rising to about 450 people in the C13th, but steady at ca 150 people through the C16th – C18th. In 1851, the population had risen to 280, but in 1996, only 220 people resided in the parish, where very little development is allowed.

The parish church, close to the gates of the park, is a fine example of the decorated period, with a C13th nave and a C15th porch. The church contains a Norman font, and a disused bell 600y old, as well as memorials to the Cotton family.

The other building of interest is the windmill, best seen from the A428.

A post-mill had been built here in the late C18th but it fell down in 1909. In the 1930s it was replaced by another post mill, parts of which date from the C16th, and which was brought from Huntingdonshire as a decorative feature. It decayed and lost its sails in the 1970s, but is now repaired.

The American Military Cemetery On the north slope of Madingley Rise is the American War Graves Cemetery and Memorial, currently under restoration. Normally it is accessible from both the A428, and the Cambridge Road, but at present only from the Cambridge Road. Land was given by the Madingley Estate in 1943. Some 9000 dead from WWII are commemorated. From the flag to the chapel, a long wall of Portland stone carries 5000 names of those dead who were never located. The graves of the rest are marked by Italian white marble crosses, fanning out radially down the slope.

Woodlands
The former Brook Pit and Madingley Wood both have wildlife interest. Madingley Wood, SSSI, is the nearest ancient wood to Cambridge, growing predominantly ash & maple. It has been the subject of 340 years of research, and documentation exists from 1210 onwards. John Ray in 1660 recorded 224 kinds of plant. In 1950 some185 species were found. Madingley Wood is fenced round and not open to the public, but can be seen through the fence from Footpath 4.

Adjacent to Madingley Wood, is the University’s new Octo-Centenary Wood, commemorating the University’s 800th anniversary (2009), and opened to the public on Community Outreach Day, 16 Feb 2011. Local schoolchildren took part in the planting of over 15000 trees on 10ha of the University Farm’s former arable land. The wood has been planted with native species e.g. oak, hazel and ash. The planting has been designed to retain views east across to Ely as the trees mature, and several seats are provided. There are information boards, and pedestrian access points at each end, cycle racks, but no parking. There is limited parking off the Cambridge Road at the rear of the American cemetery.

Paths and walking opportunities
There are 4 public rights of way in Madingley parish, giving rather inadequate access to parts of the parish and to through-routes beyond.

Madingley Bridlepath 1 starts from the N side of Dry Drayton Rd at TL 393 611. It runs NE on a grass fieldside track, turns left in front of a ditch, and joins Dry Drayton 12 which goes to the A14 near the crematorium, while a more useful branch continues as Dry Drayton Footpath 13.

Thus it is possible to make a through route from Madingley to Dry Drayton, first taking care along the narrow road out of the village, as far as the start of Bp1.

Madingley Bridlepath 2 starts on Cambridge Road at TL 403 599 almost opposite the Octo-Centenary Wood. It runs NE on a grass track between fields, passes a big black barn and later a small copse to cross the A428 on a concrete bridge. The RoW continues on a stony track, passing through a tunnel to emerge as Girton Bp6 on the slip road of the M11 – A14 junction. As a through route to Girton, this path does not have much going for it. It is possible (but not recommended) to turn right and walk along the verge of the slip road, until opposite Girton Fp4, where the road crossing is very difficult, or a little further along, where crossing is a little easier opposite Girton College. It is also possible to return from here on Girton Fp5, which joins Madingley Fp3, as described below. The proposals to modify the A14 which were discarded by the present government might have improved this dangerous junction for pedestrians.

Madingley Footpath 3 leaves Cambridge Road at TL 410 596, on a signed path dropping down steps to a field-edge and which, after a couple of field-edges, joins Girton fp 5 to emerge on the A14 near the University Farm. Cross the A14 with great care to continue into Girton either along the village road, or on Girton Fp 4.

Madingley Footpath 4 runs from Cambridge Road at TL 404 599 to the A428 between American Cemetery and Madingley Wood, TL 403 594. Although it is fenced in on both sides, the wire fences are not an eye-sore and have wooded views beyond on both sides.

Cross the A428 with care outside the lawns of the American cemetery, to continue into Coton on Coton Fp 2 almost opposite.

STOP PRESS
Cream Teas in Litlington!
The Crown PH in Litlington has opened a tea lounge, from 9 am to 4 pm, serving breakfasts, tea, coffee, scones etc.

Note that in early Spring, the nearby Ashwell Street gives mostly good clean walking, and the paths in the chalky fields in the locality tend to dry out faster than those on heavier land elsewhere in South Cambridgeshire District.

Cantab Rambler by E-Mail & Post
Cantab appears approximately every two months. A large number of you now receive Cantab by e-mail. By hand, 20p is appreciated towards the cost of paper and ink. If you would like to receive an issue by post, please send a large SAE, and a stamp.

Offers of brief articles will be gratefully received.

This is a privately produced magazine, and the views expressed are solely those of the editor, or of the author of an individual item. Janet Moreton 01223 356889

e-mail roger.janet@care4free.net

Cantab 72 Price 20 pence where sold

CANTAB71 January 2013

January 31, 2013 Paul

** Please note that this is an archive of the CANTAB publication and contains out-of-date information **

CANTAB RAMBLER

Happy New Year! Accept a brief season’s greetings, and an apology that this issue contains no “Parish of the Month”. You may recall that the November issue was completely taken up with Fen Ditton, so that now I have an accumulation of news items best seen before they become too stale.

Good wishes and good walking for 2013. Janet Moreton

The length of a walk
How many times at the end of a pleasant day have I overheard a remark, as follows: “Nice walk – how far did you make it then?” Estimates are made, perhaps, from a finger round the map, pedometer readings, or nowadays with a GPS. The walk’s leader may have originally entered “10 miles” in the programme, only perhaps to have changed the route slightly, over- or under-estimated the route with a piece of cotton round the map, or unwisely trusted one of those little “map-measurer” gadgets with a wheel. My own feeling is that a variation of 10% or so from the stated target distance is absolutely acceptable, but a walk of 14 miles which was supposed to be only 10 might well raise questions, if not outright complaints.

I have recently come across a series of discussions in “Ramblers Net” on the length of the British Coastline, which is relevant to the length of any path or walk. I paraphrase Pete Bland, himself summarising the contributions.

The length of anything depends on the measuring stick in use. Using a thick piece of string on your map, will give one result, but magnify your map and use thin twine and there will be a larger result. Use a GPS on the walk and the result will be different from someone else’s GPS reading. Trace the route with Anquet or Memorymap, and the computers will give yet another estimate. There is no such thing as the “correct distance”. In particular, the length of a walk given by your GPS will depend on: the frequency of position sampling; random errors in the position calculated; and the degree to which the GPS performs automatic smoothing of the data.

The problems associated with measuring coastline length led Benoit Mandlebrot to invent a new branch of mathematics called “Fractals”. The following quotation comes from “Chaos” by James Gleick (ISBN 978-0749386061), in a chapter on “A Geometry of Nature”.

“An observer trying to estimate the length of England’s coastline from a satellite will make a smaller guess than an observer trying to walk its coves and beaches, who will make a smaller guess in turn than a snail negotiating every pebble.

“Common sense suggests that, although these estimates will continue to get larger, they will approach some particular final value, the true length of the coastline. The measurements should converge, in other words. And in fact, if a coastline were some Euclidean shape, such as a circle, this method of summing finer and finer straight line distances would indeed converge. But Mandlebrot found that as the scale of measurement becomes smaller, the measurement of the coastline rises without limit, bays and peninsulas revealing ever smaller sub-bays and sub-peninsulas – at least down to atomic scales, where the process does finally come to an end”.

Shall we go for a four hour walk?

Octavia’s Walk
The National Trust has named a 6 mile circuit at Wicken after Octavia Hill, to mark the 100th anniversary of her death. The NT’s “News from the Fen” of July 2012 outlines events which led to the organisation’s formation.

In 1885, a campaign was started to raise public awareness of changes which the bringing of the railway would precipitate in the Lake District. Octavia Hill collaborated with Robert Hunter and Canon H Rawnsley on this issue, and their collaboration led the formation of The National Trust.

The promoted walk starts from the Wicken Fen Visitor Centre car park. (Note there is a parking charge, which will be refunded if the sum is spent in the visitor centre or its café).

The walk goes along Lodes Way onto Burwell Fen, on land bought by the NT in 2001. It crosses Burwell Lode, and continues south to cross Reach Lode, where walkers turn right along the bank. The route continues to Upware, and returns to the visitor centre via Wicken Lode. My experience of this area suggests that after prolonged rain, wellies would be a good idea.

Love or Hate?
Put this date in your diary for one reason or another. Between 31 August and 2 September 2013, the “Lodestar” festival will occur in Lode Fen, involving (doubtless loud) popular music, theatre, etc. You may wish to purchase tickets for this event online from http://www.lodestarfestival.com

Or lovers of the quiet countryside, like me, will record the dates to ensure that on no account will they inadvertently venture near the vicinity.

Village Greens and Commons It is worth noting that the Government has published The Growth and Infrastructure Bill, which, amongst other things, contains changes to the law for registering new town and village greens. The reforms intend to exclude applications to register new greens on land that has actual or applied-for planning permission , or any land for potential development identified in a local or neighbourhood plan.

New commons and village greens are still being registered in Cambridgeshire. For example, there has been an an application to Cambs County Council to register land by Water Lane, Oakington as a common.

The Open Spaces Society has, as one of its prime aims, the protection of commons, greens and other open spaces. In 2011, the Society responded to calls from members for advice on protection and management of at least 62 commons, 28 registered greens, and 44 other open spaces. DEFRA and its Welsh equivalent sought advice on 81 applications for works on, or exchanges of common land. (The Society objected to 27 of these). Many more cases and disputes reached them via consultations from official bodies or were dealt with by the Society’s local correspondents. For more information, see http://www.oss.org.uk

The RSPB in East Anglia
At Cambridge RA Group’s AGM on 23 November, our speaker was Graham Elliott, the RSPB’s Area Manager for Cambridgeshire and the fens, speaking especially about Fen Drayton Nature Reserve. For those who missed a good talk and slide show, here are some ideas for birdwatching walks, following my visit to another RSPB reserve at Fowlmere.

The Winter and early Spring are especially good times for birdwatching in East Anglia. Recently in the Fowlmere RSPB reserve, a copy of the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds’ promotional pamphlet for East Anglia was pressed upon me. I am not an RSPB member. I like birds, but in general can no longer hear their high pitched songs, and have always felt more drawn to a study of flowers or fungi, or other static targets, rather than to a bird someone saw half a minute ago, but which had flown by the time they told me!

However, the list is impressive, with some 20 reserves featured.

Fowlmere Reserve itself is the nearest to Cambridge. Parking and entry are free, but a donation is always appreciated. Similarly, we all enjoy free access to Fen Drayton Lakes reserve, both along public footpaths, and on permissive trails. Indeed, most of us will have known this site before it was acquired by the RSPB, and before access via the Guided Busway from Cambridge or St Ives became so attractive an option. (See Cantab 64)

The next-nearest reserve from Cambridge is the RSPB’s headquarters outside Sandy, Bedfordshore and this again needs no introduction. I featured Sandy as Parish of the Month in Cantab 63 of July, 2011, suggesting various walks based on, or including, the delightful (sandy) walks around the reserve. It should be noted that parking for non-members is currently £4 per vehicle, so it was suggested that walkers park in the town, and use the attractive quiet Stratford Road past the station and cemetery to access the reserve.

How many readers know Lakenheath Fen Reserve, just over the Suffolk border? The RSPB created this wetland only a few years ago, out of arable farmland. Here I was absolutely amazed to see some cranes on one occasion. The reserve is accessible on foot along the Hereward Way, from Brandon, or from Lakenheath. There is a carpark charge for non-members.

The Ouse Washes Reserve is a wonderful sight in Winter. I visited once by coach for an evening floodlit “performance” by the Whooper and Bewick swans. On other occasions, we have walked in on the Hereward Way, only possible when the road bridge is not flooded.

The Nene Washes Reserve is doubtless better known to Peterborough residents, and a wonderful place for waders Access on foot is possible along the Nene Way along the South Barrier Bank some 2 miles from Whittlesea.

Other reserves are further away, and probably more suitable for a weekend break. Suffolk has two coastal reserves, at Minsmere and North Warren, and one at the ancient Wolves Wood, near Hadleigh.

Norfolk RSPB guards little terns at Great Yarmouth, displays huge numbers of waders along the coast at Snettisham, and has a wetland reserve at Titchwell Marsh. There are 3 reserves in the Yare Valley.

Essex RSPB boasts the Stour Estuary, and has a visitor centre at Wat Tyler Country Park, Pitsea.

How can the Ramblers attract and keep new members? What do members of the Ramblers want from the Association?
These are the questions posed at a recent forum attended by Cambridge Group Secretary Jill Tuffnell. The Ramblers CEO Benedict Southworth and Chairman Jonathan Kipling have been holding a series of regional meetings with representatives of local groups and Jill attended the only session covering London, the South East and East of England.

The facts are that Ramblers’ membership nationally has declined in recent years, with many new members failing to renew their subscription for a second year. Does the organisation offer what they need? Can we learn from successful local groups’ experience in terms of maintaining or increasing their numbers?

As a general rule – at least in the London/home counties – it is the groups which have a wide-ranging programme of local walks and trips, a very extensive group website with sections offering downloadable walks and also regularly updated online newsletters which are most successful. Some have been able to attract a regular inflow of new talent to their committees/officers. Success helps to support further success, with sufficient numbers of volunteers coming forward to break tasks down to manageable chunks. For example they have been able to create email lists of members who can readily be contacted. (This may seem easy, but everyone has to be contacted individually to ask for up-to-date details of such addresses and permission to use them!). The Cambridge Group is not so lucky. We rely on a few volunteers doing a lot of work. Our Area no longer functions as a decision-making body, which means more work for Groups. And – with a very successful local Rambling Club providing a wide-ranging programme of walks – we find it particularly challenging to maintain members who are only interested in a Wednesday or Sunday walk! Also in 2011 a number of new Ramblers members may have had their subscription paid by HF Holidays – and their membership may lapse one year on.

The publisher of Cantab has volunteered this slot to ensure the issue is aired amongst local Ramblers’ members. Cambridge Group welcomes any help you may be able to offer us – especially on our Committee, but also in any other role, such as helping with newsletters or developing our website.

Jill Tuffnell jill.tuffnell@cambsandpeterboroughramblers.org.uk

Offers of brief articles will be gratefully received.

This is a privately produced magazine, and the views expressed are solely those of the editor, or of the author of an individual item. Janet Moreton 01223 356889

e-mail roger.janet@care4free.net

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