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CANTAB75 December 2013

CANTAB75 December 2013 published on

** Please note that this is an archive of the CANTAB publication and contains out-of-date information **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

© Janet Moreton, 2013

CANTAB56 April 2010

CANTAB56 April 2010 published on

** Please note that this is an archive of the CANTAB publication and contains out-of-date information **

CANTAB RAMBLER

Editorial
The theme of this month is “Past and Future”

A bad fit of countryside reminiscence has been brought on by a bout of spring-cleaning old Ramblers’ Association documents.

The countryside future, as determined by politicians, planners, landowners, climate change, environmental charities, writers, can even be influenced by walkers as evidenced by the Mass Trespass of the 1930s, and more recently by pressures bringing The Right to Roam, the South Downs National Park and hopefully soon more coastal access.

When canvassers darken your door, catch them on the hop by asking not only about Afghanistan and taxation, but what is their party doing about the countryside!

Living in the past
Turning out some old Ramblers’ Association docs (the sort that have an old-fashioned rucksac as the logo), I came upon a 1972 Catering Handbook for Southern Area,  which at that time covered Berks, Bucks, Essex, Hants, Herts, Kent, Oxon, Suffolk, Surrey and Sussex. (Cambs was part of the then Midland Area).  Priced 10p, but free to Members, it lists walkers-approved cafés and pubs, with some display adverts.  The number of inns and cafés is amazing, as are pubs willing to provide afternoon tea.

But I don’t hanker to return to those times.  We were walking regularly then, and the path network was generally poorly marked, and often obstructed, and in Cambridgeshire at least, the absence of a vital bridge along a path was not unusual.

Landscape Change in Cambridgeshire
Also in our archives, I came  across a County Council survey of landscape change in the county between the years 1970 and 1994. The survey covered areas in the small limestone belt to the North, the gravel soils, fenland, chalkland areas to the South, and the West and SE claylands. On the whole, the document makes for depressing reading, except in the matter of tree-cover in the county, which was already improving in 1994.

  • A total of 7566m of shelterbelt recorded in 1970 had been lost by 1985. Some 4000m of new shelterbelt were recorded between 1985 & 1994.
  • Some 11% of ponds recorded in 1985 had disappeared by 1994.
  • 14 copses were lost between 1985 & 1994. However 112 new copses were planted in that period (a copse having 3 to 300 trees).
  • Some 80%  of orchards were lost in the survey areas between 1970 & 1985. Landowners were often actually paid to rip them out.
  • Hedgerows were still in decline between 1985 & 1994, the survey indicating some 10 miles had become gappy in that period.
  • Cambridgeshire has the dubious reputation of being the least wooded county in Britain, with only 2% tree-cover in 1994. But the survey recorded 14% more woodland area in 1994 than in 1970, and the improvement continues, thanks to The Woodland Trust, Parish Councils, the County Council and private individuals & organisations.

Fortunately, nowadays tree-planting initiatives have been reinforced by awareness of the benefits of trees to combat global warming. Several local charities and parishes need volunteers for tree-planting days.  See particularly “Cambridge Past Present & Future” needing volunteers at Coton.

“Lies, Damned Lies, & Statistics”
Writing on ramblersnet, Roy Hunt disparages conclusions drawn from a Ramblers’ Volunteer Survey, to which just 644 members replied on-line.

As a parting shot, he says,  “Remember, more people die in bed than anywhere else – so all the time you are out walking you improve your chances of surviving another day!

“Towpath Talk”
This is a free newspaper, which is sometimes available at the office at Baits Bite LockAs the title suggests, it’s all about waterwaysIssue 52 of January 2010 has a front page article on a possible creation of a “national trust” for the waterways. 

On 17 December, British Waterways published its proposals “Setting a new course, Britain’s Waterways in the Third Sector”. The move to create a trust, rather than direct state control, has the aim of securing the future of canals and navigations in England and Wales, and has met with wide support  As a charity, British Waterways would be the 13th largest charity by income.  The waterways have been suffering from real term grant reduction since 2003, and without ongoing maintenance the 200 year-old network will once again go into decline.    The article speaks of 11 million visitors a year to the network, which doubtless includes lots of walkers as well as boaters, fishermen, birdwatchers,  and others.

The full report can be read on :  www.britishwaterways.co.uk/settinganewcourse

Mid-Anglia Line Station-to-Station Walks 2010
You are invited to join walks led by Ramblers’ Association volunteer Roger Wolfe on behalf of the Mid-Anglia Rail Passengers Assoc.
For more info. phone 01473 726649 or e-mail rdandaswolfe.2@btinternet.com
All walks are on Saturdays; starting place and time are shown, and walk distance.

10 April Ipswich-Needham Market  Ipswich station forecourt 9.15; 11.5 miles
24 April Needham Market-Stowmarket  Needham Market sta.yard 9.30; 6.5 miles
1 May Stowmarket – Elmswell  Stowmarket sta forecourt 9.50; 7 miles
22 May Elmswell – Thurston  Elmswell station 9.45; 7.8 miles
12 June Thurston – Bury St Edmunds  Thurston station 9.50; 7.5 miles
19 June Kennett – Bury St Edmunds  Kennett sta 7.15 ; 8.5 miles; or Bury rail sta forecourt, 9.48 bus 312 to Barrow; 11.5miles
26 June Kennett to Newmarket  Kennett station 10.15; 10.8 miles
10 July Dullingham – Newmarket  Dullingham station 9.20; 7 miles
24 July Dullingham – Fulbourn  Dullingham station 9.20; 8.5 miles
31 July Fulbourn – Cambridge   Fulbourn Post Office 10.25; 8.5 miles
14 Aug Newmarket – Soham  Newmarket Rail Station 9.15; 11 miles
Aug 21 Soham – Ely  Soham memorial 10.00; 6.5 miles

Where to stop for coffee?
The following paragraphs are adapted from correspondence in ramblersnet, with acknowledgements to Malcolm Macdonnell, Brian Reader, Geoff Mullett, and others countrywide.

How does one interpret the use of a public right of way, when stopping for a coffee break? In East Sussex, 21 people on a walk were asked not to stop on a path for their coffee. The (presumed) landowner on a quad-bike spotted them from a distance & turned back especially to “challenge” their action.

Advice comes from the “Blue Book” (Rights of Way, A Guide to Law & Practice). It quotes Lord Justice Smith in his judgement in Hickman v Maisey (1900) who said “If a man, while using a highway for passage, sat down to rest himself, to call that a trespass would be unreasonable.  Similarly, if a man took a sketch from a highway, I should say that no reasonable person would treat that as an act of trespass.”

In a more recent case, DPP v Jones, The Lord Chancellor said “The public have the right to use the public highway  for such reasonable and usual activities as are consistent with the general public’s primary right to use the highway for purposes of passage and repassage”,  and went on to find a demonstration on the highway verge was legitimate usage and not a trespass.  However, he continued “On a narrow footpath, for example, the right to use the highway would be highly unlikely to extend to a right to remain, since that would almost inevitably be inconsistent with the public’s primary right to pass and repass”…

One of the authors of “The Blue Book”, John Riddall, published a detailed article for the Open Spaces Society,  reproduced in: www.derbyshireguide.co.uk/travel/picnics.htm

The John Muir Trust
As an enthusiast for the wide open spaces, coasts and mountains of Scotland, we are supporters of the John Muir Trust, which seeks to ensure that wild land is protected and  valued. See www.jmt.org

Some  of the statistics from their 2009 Annual report are below.

  • 160 000 visitors used the path to the summit of Ben Nevis
  • 25 000 native tree seedlings were planted on Skye in 2009
  • 22 work parties contributed 520 conservation days
  • A project to control path erosion on Quinag has been completed

The huge outcry which greeted the decision to allow the Beauly-Denny electricity transmission line showed the 20 000 objectors were speaking for a much wider cohort.

Friends of St Etheldreda’s Reach
The Friends cordially invite ramblers walking in their vicinity to have tea or coffee and cakes in their hall between the church & the pub in the village centre. Toilets are also available.
Contact dking66@btinternet.com   phone 01638 742924

Parish of the Month – Hadstock
Although in Essex, Hadstock, 12 miles SE of Cambridge,  looks to its nearest shops and transport in nearby Linton, over the Cambridge border.

Once Hadstock had a market, and the village assumed a greater importance.  The  manor house is Elizabethan, with a central chimney having 8 octogonal shafts, and other fine thatched cottages cluster below the church.

The church is believed to be Canute’s “Fair Minster” built 1020, celebrating Danish victory over Edmund Ironside at Ashdon (“Assandune”) in 1016. The nave & north transept remain, but a C15th porch covers the original Saxon doorway, on which the old oak door was reputed once to have been covered by the skin of a Dane. (The church guide says that when the door was repaired, a piece of human skin was found under one of the hinges). The south transept was rebuilt in the C14th, and the west tower added ca. 1450.

Hadstock also has a possible association with the lost settlement of Icanho, mentioned in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle as having a monastery founded 654.   Abbot Botolph was buried in Icanho ca 680. A large early Saxon grave was found against the E wall of the south transept, and it is known that the body of St Botolph was removed in 970, and relics distributed to Ely and Thorney Abbey. However, there are other possible contenders for Icanho, and I recommend reading the display board at the rear of the churchyard, describing archaeological investigations.

On the N side of the churchyard is St Botolph’s Holy Well, feeding a small pond.  Once a source of water for the village, it was declared insanitary before WWII.

Walks from Hadstock; Explorer 209
Hadstock has a complex network of paths. The following brief notes may be of assistance in designing walks.

From Linton, there are several approaches.
(1a) Cross the A1307 to Malting Lane, pass Malting Cottages & the stump of the old mill, and continue on “Chalky Road” (muddy lane) joining the road into Hadstock.  Turn off  at TL566452 by an old red-painted wagon wheel and footpath sign on the right, to reach the recreation ground by a narrow wooded path, then a field edge.

(1b) Opposite Malting Cottages, a signed path crosses a field, and should continue SSW up the arable field, and towards Hadstock rec.  Common practice crosses the bridge over the ditch at the end of the first field, and turns E along the field edge, then S up the hedge, continuing on the field path into the rec.

(1c) Cross the A1307 near the top of High Street, and start up the B1052’s footway towards Hadstock.  Beyond Linton Zoo, an asphalt path “Lens Path” climbs parallel and just above the road into Hadstock. Beware cyclists!

(1d) From the B1052 beyond the Zoo, at the same place where the tarmac path starts, TL 558460, a bridleway branches off SW.  Follow this to a bridge over a ditch at TL553453.  This, too leads to Hadstock.

Once in the village, a network of paths leads from behind the church.
(2) Follow one of these generally S, from the carpark behind the church, keeping close to trees behind large wild gardens.  The path turns into the trees to descend steps to the B1052 towards Saffron Walden at TL 558446. Go S (cautiously) down this road to the ‘Harrison Sayer’ nature reserve, at TL 557441.  The entrance is down an earth bank, to find unimproved boulderclay grassland on the site of a wartime airbase.  Flowers include wild liquorice, bee orchid, twayblade, fairy flax, blue fleabane, wild roses.

(3)  From the steps described in (2) turn back N on the B1052 for a few metres.  Find a seat by a pond overhung by a willow. Turn down the adjacent path, between a stream and garden hedge. At the end, TL 557 446, turn right, N,  to find a path back to the N end of the village, and the start of Len’s path to Linton Zoo.

(4) From the path described in (3) at TL557446, continue W on a waymarked path past Pen Farm, and thence to join the Icknield Way LDP which leads either back to Linton or to Great Chesterford.

(5) Continue on the B1052 past the Nature reserve described in (2).  Shortly, a signed bridleway leads W to join the Icknield Way LDP just W of Burtonwood Farm. Follow either the IW footpath, or Cow Lane into Great Chesterford.

(6) Between Hadstock Church, and New Farm Cottages, S of the road to Bartlow, there is a well-waymarked network of short paths worth investigating.  En route to Bartlow, use of the road between New Farm Cottages and the Bartlow Crossroads seems unavoidable. Unfortunately, the track of the old railway is not available.

(7) From the stile behind the church carpark, go SSE on a long cross-field path to Little Bowsers.  From here, a number of possible paths lead to Ashdon.  There is some waymarking, but the route is best not attempted unless the ground is dry, and the path has been reinstated. Alternatively from Bowsers, a byway may be located running WSW to Mitchells, and thence to Butlers Farm, and thus to Saffron Walden.

For all practical purposes, Hadstock can be assumed to have no transport, so routes are best designed from Linton, through Hadstock to Chesterford, Ashdon, or Walden.

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. If you would like to receive an issue by post, please send a large SAE, & 2nd class 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

Price 20 pence where sold Cantab 56 © Janet Moreton, 2010