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CANTAB 93 – December 2018

CANTAB 93 – December 2018 published on

** Please note that this is an archive of the CANTAB publication and contains out-of-date information **

CANTAB RAMBLER

Editorial
As the Winter days close in, activities closer to Cambridge predominate. This issue will, for once, concentrate largely on Cambridge RA Group, and Cambridge matters.
Janet Moreton

RA Cambridge Group AGM
The AGM was held on the evening of 30 November, with the formal business followed by an interesting speaker, and a buffet supper with wine for £5 a head. The enjoyable evening was attended by less than 10% of the 450 membership. From this, and other such evenings it is clear that our members at large are generally not attracted by evening or indoor engagements, but would rather be out and about! Here is an opportunity for members to learn what they missed!

Formal business – From reports presented, members learnt of the Committee’s involvement in matters affecting public paths, be it: planning; development; Network Rail’s attempts to close dozens of level crossings affecting paths in Cambs; “Greenways” (proposed new cycling/walking routes); and proposed new busways into Cambridge.

On the path network, there had been very few problems of overgrowth throughout the dry Summer. However, general path problems reported received very poor attention from the County Council for an unexplained gap of 4 months during the Summer. Issues of overgrown hedges adjacent to paths, damaged stiles and kissing gates, and missing/damaged signposts have been reported, and some of the problems have been addressed.

Our Chairman, Lisa Woodburn thanked walks leaders for another year’s very successful walks programme. The printed version is much appreciated, although the programme is also available on the Group’s website. The Treasurer’s report showed the Group is solvent, having an end-of-year balance of £1343. Income derives from a grant from subscriptions via National Office, and Group book sales, and major items of expenditure are the walks programmes and the cost of posting them.

The election of officers resulted in no change in the Committee, and no-one came forward to be a “member without portfolio”. This is sad, as the Committee members would freely admit themselves to be ageing, and would welcome new input.

The Talk – An illustrated lecture, “Horseheath Hall – a vanished country house” was given by Mrs Janet Morris, Secretary and founder member of West Wickham and District Local History Club and Council Member of Cambridge Antiquarian Society.

We were shown the attractive countryside around Horseheath, and the footpaths many of us know and love, and, super-imposed on this landscape, the impressive hall as it was in the C18th, before it was, sadly, demolished.

An original hall was created in the C15th, and a deer park added later, and by the C18th parkland covered a wide swathe of countryside between Horseheath and West Wickham. A new hall had been built on the site in 1663, designed by Sir Roger Pratt whose design was the first to put the servants quarters in the basement (thus the originator of the concept Upstairs / Downstairs). The hall was later altered and extended. At its peak, the site included gardens, orangery, summer house, ice house, ponds, and specimen trees – two of the original cedar trees can still be seen from the Roman Road. Finally, the last owners, The Bromley family, over-extended themselves, and the house was sold, and demolished, many of the fragments of splendour re-appearing elsewhere in the County. The magnificent wrought iron park gates may be seen along The Backs behind Trinity and St John’s colleges.

Cambridge’s Trees
The City Council reckons there are over 240,000 trees in Cambridge. The canopy covers 17% of the City’s surface area. Some 94% of the trees are under 50 years old, with only 1% aged over 100! The majority are planted in private gardens, but many line streets, or are in parks. The trees around Parker’s Piece, and on Christ’s Pieces and Jesus Green for example, give character to the location, as well as helping to counter climate change effects.

The Council’s Tree Strategy aims to protect and manage existing trees, including veteran and heritage trees, and to increase new tree planting. During 2018, there has been a survey of old willow trees on Sheep’s Green; an investigation into the health of ash trees (the City’s most common species); and setting up a Tree Trail at Cherry Hinton Hall.

To encourage the planting of trees in gardens, residents with a new baby can apply to the Council for a free tree under the “Free Trees for babies” scheme. See e-mail trees@cambridge.gov.uk

Meanwhile, enjoy a tree-spotting walk about the City – easier when the leaves return in Spring!

£4.6m approved for Greenways
During the Summer, the Greater Cambridge Partnership (GCP) endorsed a £4.6m package to accelerate delivery of short-term improvements across the network of proposed “Greenways” – a series of routes for walkers, cyclists and horseriders, linking nearby villages and towns to Cambridge. There are a total of twelve Greenways planned: Barton; Bottisham; Comberton; Fulbourn; Haslingfield; Horningsea; Linton; Melbourn; Sawston; St Ives; Swaffham; and Waterbeach. A series of public consultations have been held.

Short term improvements in the system include the widening and resurfacing of a number of existing cycleways across greater Cambridge, such as those between Sawston and Stapleford. One suggestion was a new shared use path linking Cottenham to the Guided Busway.

While there was broad support for the Greenways scheme, the representative of the Federation of Cambridge Residents Associations felt that some proposed routes touched on sensitive parts of the historic City centre, and sought re-assurance that no cobbles or paving stones would be removed. Some residents of Newnham were worried about the impact of a Greenway on Barton Road on the leafy character of the area. Ramblers too, while welcoming more access and car-free routes, might mourn the quieter footpaths they may in some cases replace.

A14 Archaeology
The A14 works rumble on, resulting in many motorists seeking new routes for work and recreation. Walks approached from Cambridge by the A14 have been unpopular this year, with two such led walks on the Cambridge Group programme being very poorly attended.

Meanwhile, nearly 250 archaeologists have been working to uncover sites of interest, before they are sealed beneath the asphalt of the new road. About 1.35 square miles (350 ha) have been investigated, comprising over 40 separate excavations. Some 15 tonnes of finds (pottery, animal bones, metalwork) have been uncovered. A further 140 tonnes of environmental soil samples were also collected (filling 5 shipping containers). About 25 settlements, burial and industrial sites were uncovered. These include: 7 prehistoric burial grounds, barrows, and cremation cemeteries; 3 prehistoric henges; 8 Iron Age to Roman supply farms; 40 Roman pottery kilns; 3 Saxon settlements; 1 deserted medieval village with remains of 12 buildings from C8 – C12th; and 2 C19th brick kilns.

Individual treasures include a Neolithic flint axe head; an Iron Age timber ladder, dated to 525-475bc; A Roman pendant of Medusa; and an Anglo-Saxon bone flute. The archaeologists, led by MOLA Headland Infrastructure, say they “have evidence to rewrite the prehistoric & historic records for the area for the last 6000 years.”

Prehistoric trackways came this way, later as a Roman Road, the “Via Devana” or Worsted Street. We will never be allowed to walk the A14 on a line once tramped by the Romans, but hopefully by 2020, the A14 will once more give easier access from Cambridge to attractive walks in Huntingdon, Brampton and beyond.

Open Spaces Society defends Therfield Heath
The Open Spaces Society has recently assisted in the defeat of a proposed exchange of common land on part of Therfield Heath, Royston.

The conservators of Therfield Heath and Greens wanted to swap 1.65 acres of common land at Sun Hill (where it wished to build 8 houses) for the same area of woodland over a mile away. The objectors included Natural England, and Herts. CC and a public Inquiry was held. The Inspector, Mark Yates, rejected the application, concluding that, since the land to be lost at Sun Hill has been used for recreation, the exchange would have an adverse impact on those living close by. Also, there was evidence that the replacement land was already being used by the public and therefore there would be an overall loss.
Info from “Open Space” Autumn 2018, vol 32, No 3.pp 10, 11. Acknowledged with thanks.

Chisholm Trail – progress report
Readers will be aware of the long term scheme to create a new cycleway/walkway across Cambridge, avoiding vehicular traffic. We are delighted to have a progress report direct from Jim Chisholm, for which many thanks.
“Progress on the Chisholm Trail has been slow recently despite both the new river bridge and ‘phase one’ as far as Coldham’s Lane having full planning permission for a while. There is also consent from the Planning Inspectorate, under the Commons Act 2004, to widen the existing tarmac path over Coldham’s Common. A number of leases have been agreed including those over parts of the Old Barnwell oil sidings and adjacent to Coldham’s Brook over Cambridge Past Present and Future land around the Leper Chapel.

“Exploration will show ‘preliminary’ work at a number of locations, but final signing of some long leases, and ‘signing off’ of some pre-commencement planning conditions is needed before work starts in earnest. There has always been the hope that this section could be completed before the end of 2019. This would mean that there would finally be a pleasant walking route from Cambridge North station, over the new river bridge to Ditton Meadows, and then via the Leper Chapel, through the new underpass beneath Newmarket Road, and onto Coldham’s Common. The section south from Coldham’s Lane will go through the old Ridgeon’s site which is being redeveloped for housing, and then parallel with the railway, under Mill Road and link to the ‘Carter’ bridge and to Clifton Road. Work on agreeing the detail here proceeds. The outline plans for the housing include a route, and that over the Network Rail land needs no formal planning permission and may be built as part of the planned major work on the sidings both N & S of Mill Road bridge.

“Much of this route will be 3.5m of tarmac. Some wanted full segregation, but others objected to a ‘highway’ over green space. The 3.5m is as wide as the widest paths in the Sheep’s Green area, so it is hoped that conflicts between those on foot and on bikes will be minimised. Recently, and controversialy, planning permission has been granted for a Cafe adjacent to Barnwell Lake. This will be at the opposite end of the underpass beneath Newmarket Road from the Leper Chapel. It will offer welcome sustenance and relief to those exploring these wonderful green spaces, or those just passing through as part of a longer trip…. Won’t it be great to walk or cycle all the way fro Milton Country Park to the new Hobson’s, and Trumpington Meadows Country Parks south of Cambridge yet avoiding busy main roads.”

The Leper Chapel
The Autumn Issue of The Ring, the magazine of Cambridge Past, Present and Future (CPPF) describes current plans to upgrade the facilities of The Leper Chapel and associated land.

Built ca 1125 as an outlying leprosy hospital, the chapel is one of Cambridge’s oldest buildings. The Leper Chapel nowadays needs £200K spending in the next 5 years on essential repairs, retiling the roof, and a small extension at the rear to house toilet, storage and kitchenette. The article continues “Plans for the Chisholm Trail adjacent to the chapel continue to move slowly forwards, but that project will give CPPF the opportunity to extend the chapel lawn, connecting with the Chisholm Trail and making the chapel accessible for wheelchair users”.

CPPF has submitted a Lottery Funding bid, and expects to hear the result of their bid sometime this month, so we wish them the best of luck.

Mill Road Bridge works.
A new issue clouds the Mill Road Bridge in 2019. Govia Thameslink plan to create an extra railway line under the bridge, to allow 12-carriage trains for the new direct service to Brighton to be cleaned without interruption of the main railway lines. It is proposed to close the bridge for much of the time for 2 or 3 months next Summer, with a 1km pedestrian detour. This may be negligible for the fit walkers in our membership, but devastating to the elderly, infirm and disabled amongst us. No buses will pass down Mill Road, cutting people off from the City Centre, and hospital and trade would be affected.

John Fuller
Ramblers Cambridge Group record with sadness the death of our member, John Fuller, aged 94. He is survived by his widow Beryl and family, to whom we send our sympathy. The funeral was held on 15 October, at the Arbory Trust Woodland Cemetery at Barton, and was attended by representatives of the Cambridge Group.

John was an enthusiastic rambler for many decades. He led walks locally and on holidays with The Cambridge Rambling Club. In the period 1980 – 1990, when the Cambridge RA Group did much way-marking and clearance work in South Cambs, John was an active volunteer. His long familiarity with local paths made him a much valued and authoritative witness at public inquiries, as well as a wonderful companion.
JM

Cantab Rambler by E-Mail & Post
Cantab now appears some four times a year. A large number of you now receive Cantab by e-mail.

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@outlook.com
Cantab93 © Janet Moreton, 2018.

CANTAB 91 – May 2018

CANTAB 91 – May 2018 published on

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

CANTAB RAMBLER

Editorial
The present issue focuses on Fenland, and the fen edge: walking opportunities, the villages, and issues affecting the long term state of the countryside. I hope you find it of interest: if not, please write with suggestions – or articles!
Janet Moreton

Along the Rothschild Way – OS Explorer Sheets 225,226,227
In 2014, Adrian Kempster, of Huntingdon’s RA Group created the 39 mile walking route between Wicken Fen and Woodwalton Fen. He sought to celebrate Charles Rothschild’s purchase in 1912 of land to preserve the fenland landscape. The Beds, Cambs and Hunts Wildlife Magazine of Spring 2017 celebrated the first full-length walk along the route by a party including Helen Bailey and Andrew Cuthbert, taking some 18 hours! The article suggests use of the route as a challenge walk, but this seems to me a poor way to appreciate the ambient countryside. Besides, how many of us can walk 39 miles in a day!

This article suggests that the route is used as a focus for a series of fenland rambles, each including a short section of the route, and one or two of the fenland villages nearby. For several long sections, the route follows existing LDPs.

Synopsis of the route
Start on the Rothschild Way along the well-used Wicken Lode path to Upware. From Upware, follow the Fen Rivers Way and Rothschild Way along the W bank of the R Cam to the Holt Fen Drove bridge over Old West River. (The last news reported the pub here is closed).

The 5 mile route uses Stretham Ferry Bridge, by The Lazy Otter pub, and crosses the A10, continuing alongside the Great Ouse and over The Twenty Pence Road. The route, still co-incident with the Ouse Valley Way, passes to the S of Aldreth along the river bank to the lock at Earith and continues to Brownshill Staunch, the highest point reached by North Sea tides.

From Brownshill Staunch to Broughton it is co-incident with the Pathfinder Walk. Finally, the route passes Little Raveley, Wistow, and approaches Woodwalton Fen via Common Bridge and Jacksons Bridge.

Points of interest and short walks along the Rothschild Way
Beware! The walks suggestions here are mostly outlne only, leaving detailed route planning to the reader. Some of the ideas derive from guidebooks now out of print, and the author has done some but not all these walks herself!

Walk 1:The start at Wicken Fen, Explorer 226
The National Trust’s Wicken Fen is one of the UK’s oldest reserves, having celebrated its centenary in 1999. The fen has been managed for centuries by traditional sedge cutting and peat digging. The resulting habitat is abundant in wildlife, especially invertebrates. Over 200 species of birds have been recorded, and in Spring and Summer an impressive array of wetland wild flowers. The reserve has good parking (free to NT members), information centre and a café. The classic walk of 2 miles around the fen is almost obligatory to obtain a real sense of the preserved landscape, and its wildlife interest. Then, start on the Rothschild Way along the well-used Wicken Lode path to Upware (Five Miles from Anywhere, no Hurry pub!). From Upware, take the path N past Commissioners Pit, and E to the Upware Road. A path leads E, and round the outside of the perimeter to Wicken Fen, and back to the café.

Walk 2 Stretham circuit, Holt Fen Bridge & Stretham Old Engine, Explorer 226
The Fen Rivers Way guide describes a walk from Stretham to Holt Fen Drove and along Old West River past Stretham Old Engine and the Little Chef on the A10, returning on a path going N into Stretham (described in Fen Rivers Way Guide, 2nd ed. pp31-33, 7 miles). Park considerately in Stretham, which has 2 pubs, and an interesting church.

Walk 3. Bluntisham, Explorer 225
Park considerately in the village, and cross the A1123 to take the path S on the Pathfinder Trail and the Rothschild Way to Brownshill Staunch, deviating if desired to visit the RSPB reserve. After lunch a circuit may be made via Wood End. (ca 6 miles).

An old Hunts RA Group publication by Judy Morris, revised and published by Hunts DC in 1990, gives a walk from Bluntisham going E through orchards to Earith, crossing the Great Ouse at Earith Lock, and following the S bank (properly here “the Bedford Level Corporation Barrier Bank”) to Brownshill Staunch, and returning to Bluntisham as described above. This walk along the bank, part of the Rothschilds Way, is sufficient to give a good taste of the miles of flat fenland walking experienced by the challenge walkers! (12 miles)

Walk 4 Broughton & Kings Ripton, Explorer 225
Hunts RA published a green booklet in 1998 called “Twenty Rambles in Huntingdonshire”. Walk 10 of this book takes us a very little further along the Rothschilds Way, as part of a circuit from Broughton Church, visiting Kings Ripton, Raveley Wood, and back to Broughton. (6.5 miles) The walk is almost entirely on field edges and good tracks.

Walk 5 Warboys, Explorer 226, 227
Our route, still along the Pathfinder Way, and co-incident with the Rothschild Way, takes us to Warboys. Here I sought recourse to Google, and an informative website: www.britishwalks.org/walks/2012/944.php

It includes routes varying in length from 2 to 25 miles. For those wishing, perhaps, to limber up for the whole Rothschild Way, the 25 miles route is as follows: St Ives – Houghton – RAF Wyton – Kings Ripton – Broughton – Warboys – Buss Drove – Somersham – Colne – Bluntisham – Brownshill Staunch – Middle Fen Drove (Swavesey) – The Guided Busway path – St Ives.

Walk 6 Abbots Ripton, Little Raveley, and Wood Walton, Explorer 225
This walk, based on a reprint of the old Judy Morris book, “Country Walks in Huntingdonshire”, gives a circuit to Wood Walton. The route uses Hall Lane, around Wennington Wood, The Butts, past Little Wills Farm and on to Wood Walton. The return route touches the corner of Hill Wood, and runs SSE to Clay Lane, and returns to Abbots Ripton past Brooklands farm. (10 miles)

Walk 7 Great Fen (Woodwalton Fen and its extensions), Explorer 227
The reserve, an NNR and SSSI, lies at the lowest part of the Hunts fens, and surrounding drainage caused the reserve to dry out in the early C20th. Ground level shrank, and by 1930, the Victorian landscape of sedge & reed had become dense scrub. Since the 1950s much of the open fen has been restored and water levels raised to encourage wetland species, including 170 birds, and vast numbers of invertebrates.

Limited car parking is available on the bank beside Jackson’s Bridge. A leaflet available on site suggests 3 short walks the Bungalow trail (Rothchild’s original building, built on piles); The Reedbed trail; and the Mere trail. Taken together, these might be 3.5 miles, with a suggested walking time 3 hours! There is now also access into the new Darlow’s Farm Extension.

Also visit Holme Fen, which is the largest silver birch plantation in lowland England. The reserve also supports areas of cross-leaved heath and open water and is home to nightingales and the small copper butterfly. Find the famous Holme posts (originally sunk to their tops in the fen) at TL 200 891, and parking is possible hereabouts, along Holme Lode roadway. A short walk is possible on Holme fen, see local notices. It is not currently feasible to walk directly between Holme Fen and Jackson’s Bridge.

Ramsey
Do not consider making the long drive from the Cambridge area to Great Fen, without also visiting the interesting town of Ramsey. Parking is available off Great Whyte.

The Benedictine Monastery founded 969 was dissolved by Henry VIII in 1539, and largely demolished. The Lady Chapel remained, converted by the Cromwells into a manor house, which in turn became part of a school, and the Lady Chapel is now part of its basement. Other remains of the abbey are fragments of precinct wall and ruins of the once magnificent gatehouse, now National Trust. Nearby is the parish church of St Thomas a Becket, formerly the abbey guest house.

Great Ouse Tidal River Basin – Climate change and flood protection
The Environmental Agency (EA) is asking for billions to protect the fen landscape from future flooding, Flooding issues were quantified by the EA in a 2017 report.

The Great Ouse is tidal as far inland as Brownshill Staunch. Potential sea level rises due to climate change by the year 2100 were estimated as 1 to 3 metres. The EA have used these figures to determine the degree of flood risk and costs of protection. East Cambs District Council is lending support to the EA. See http://www.eastcambs.gov.uk/press/east-cambs-stands-alongside-environment-agency-highlight-risk-flooding-fens

World Rivers Day
The last Sunday in September is kept as World Rivers Day, first celebrated in 2005. In 2017, the occasion was marked in 79 countries, with the aim of focussing attention on rivers, their problems and benefits.

Locally, the Cam Valley Forum exists as a voluntary networking group to bring together concerned bodies, such as The Cam Conservators, The Environment Agency (EA), The Wildlife Trust, Cambridge City Council and the District Councils. Walkers using the river Cam towpath are sometimes only too aware that the river is a shared resource – fishermen with extending rods line the banks, and eights coaches whiz past on their bikes. But mostly a walk by the River Cam is a pleasant experience at all seasons, thanks to the work of the above agencies, and volunteers.

A leaflet produced by the Cam Valley Forum lists recent improvement works. These include: litter removal campaigns; reduction in deep dredging of streams; creation of more upstream wetlands to reduce flooding; better sewage treatment; improved agrochemical application on adjacent land; removal of alien plants,eg Floating Pennywort, and Himalayan Balsam; trapping of alien mink, and improved facilities for otters; and fish passes* at Byrons Pool and Sheeps Green.
* note also a new fish pass currently being built at Burnt Mills Gauging Station on the Cam near Haslingfield.

Waste at Waterbeach.
CPRE’s county magazine’s spring number, reports on their recent objection to a development by Amey Cespa. The company has a huge plant off the A10 at Waterbeach, sorting and treating domestic waste. For items which they are unable to recycle, it is proposed to build an incinerator on the site, with an 80 metre high chimney. There are pollution considerations here: the higher the chimney, the greater distance emissions are dispersed, and hence diluted. Alternative disposal is via landfill sites, which are in short supply.

CPRE’s objections are based on the appearance of the incinerator, and the effects on the landscape. The chimney would be visible from high points in the area, such as Ely Cathedral, and would have “significant and adverse visual impact on the local character and surrounding countryside”. CPRE agreed with Historic England’s submission that the incinerator would “overbear, overwhelm and completely destroy the fragile setting of the historic medieval Denny Abbey.”

The chimney would certainly be visible from the riverside, and from the Fen Rivers Way long distance path. The application was undecided at the time of writing. Meanwhile, wash out that pickle bottle for recycling!

Proposed busway route
Lib Dems’ success at recent local elections is claimed to have been influenced by their stand on the proposed Cambourne to Cambridge busway route. Cllr Van de Weyer was quoted “ I cannot support the off-road option at all. The finances and cost benefits are still not clear. There are fundamental problems . It would do huge damage to the villages along the route”.

It would also do huge damage to the path network in this part of South Cambs. Let us keep our fingers crossed.

Hauxton Mill development
Plans are afoot to turn the derelict Hauxton Mill and adjacent buildings into the focus of a “SciTech” Park. As well as creating quality office and laboratory space, the developer plans to open a café for the public “to enjoy one of the most popular heritage walking routes in Cambridge”. Local walkers will be only too pleased to enjoy the riverside path again, when all building work finishes around Hauxton Mill, and on the adjacent former chemical works, now a large half-finished housing estate.

Cantab Rambler by E-Mail & Post
Cantab now appears some four times a year. A large number of you now receive Cantab by e-mail. If you would like to receive an issue by post, please send a large SAE. 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@outlook.com
Cantab91 © Janet Moreton, 2018.

CANTAB 90 – January 2018

CANTAB 90 – January 2018 published on

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

CANTAB RAMBLER

Editorial
A belated “Happy New Year” to you all, and apologies for so long a silence.

I have been occupied in trying to sort out a roomful of Cambridge Ramblers’ Association records. Our own involvement stretches back to ca 1975, and we inherited a few papers from as far back as 1970.

Much of this related to path complaints, and records of path usage, which might potentially be of use at public inquiries, and have indeed been used in the past at rights of way inquiries such as at Bartlow and Stetchworth. At the latter Inquiry, we carried with us not only photocopies of diary entries indicating use of a claimed path, and a typed synopsis, but also a plastic carrier bag full of the diaries from which the evidence derived. I rather hoped no-one would like to search through these in confirmation, as diary entries included not only path usage, but also our personal social records.

At one time, a source of the massive paper burden came from RA Central Office, with circulars, updates of circulars and questionnaires etc. Now, blessedly, these appear on the Internet, and hopefully rarely need printing out. The downside of this capacity, is that a ready audience is presented to our London colleagues, to whom they can forward, at no expense, copious documents for our attention, surely more in number and complexity than when they needed to be posted!

Our contacts with the parish councils in the 101 South Cambridgeshire parishes that we deal with have, over the years, given us a very good picture of the state of rights of way, and “how things are done” in individual parishes. We feel that on the whole the “dead letters” files from the parishes are well worth retaining as a useful archive.

In the early 1980s, we started a series of path complaints ledgers, each entry relating to an individual path, and its problems. If one includes permissive and customary paths, we are talking about some 1300 numbered entries. These entries cross reference with reports made every 2 months to the Cambridge RA Group committee, and retained on the computer. In the intervening years, the County Council has used various means of contacting or replying to us over path issues. We have continued to summarise their replies in our ledgers, as a computer cross-reference, but have been obliged to scrap repetitive original paper data, as keeping the whole of the earlier archive becomes altogether too massive. It is known that Cambs CC only keeps its own records for 3 years. In the course of the “paper excavations” however, I have found some interesting data, which I will share with you in this issue.

Long Term South Cambs Path Problems
Readers who have been walking in the area since 2000, will perhaps recall the publicity given by RA Cambridge Group to their South Cambridgeshire Millennium Paths Survey. Every path was surveyed and recorded in great detail, and problems noted. These problems were not simply recorded in the volumes of the survey, but were subsequently individually drawn to the attention of the County Council’s Rights of Way maintenance team.

In August 2000, we followed this up by writing to Kate Day, the then Team Leader, summarising the list of persistent long-standing problems in the path network, although we acknowledged that 75% or more of the network was in good or fair order. However, we included with the letter a dossier of 41 path problems.

Within a few years, several of these problems had been rectified. A number of long-term problems in Bourn were sorted out, Dry Drayton paths had a make-over, and the Mordens (with their huge numbers of paths) thoroughly signposted.

Problems with Graveley fp10 (from High St to Toseland Rd, TL245638), Hatley fp13 (now behind a row of gardens at East Hatley), Guilden Morden fp53 (off High St at TL278436); Linton 5 (diversion taking path out of barn at TL554473); and most recently Steeple Morden fps14 & 7 (off Brookside, at TL290431) have been solved by diversion orders. On Oakington fp 6, a tiny path dead-ended by the wartime airfield, an eventual solution will be achieved as the new housing estate is built!

Inevitably, some difficulties remain unresolved. For example, two paths, a bridleway (bp7) and a footpath (fp5, TL409567) should cross the line of the Barton rifle range. The bridleway has sentry boxes at each end, and is available (occasionally) when there is no red flag flying. Fp5, however, is blocked by fence, hedge, trees, and warning notices, completely obliterated on the ground. Cambridge Group has concluded that it is not worthwhile attempting to retrieve this path, especially since the range is used almost daily. A mitigating factor is the permissive paths which run in the fields alongside the range, on Burwash Manor lands, and giving a pleasant circuit .

On the other hand, at Bassingbourn, fp19 is blocked at one end, TL343450 by an army camp, which is no longer in use. Negotiations over the years have got nowhere. Fp 19 should meet Old North Road opposite Whaddon Footpath 11, leading to Whaddon village. Near the point of emergence is new and revived housing (ex army quarters) whose inhabitants would surely like to walk directly to Bassingbourn village, rather than twice the distance starting down Old North Road.

Some problems comprise a series of difficulties, rather than a single impediment. This is the case on Cottenham paths 1, 9 &10 following the watercourses for several miles. (Fps 9, 10 run NE both sides of the lode from Smithy Fen Bridge; Fp1 runs E along Old West River Bank from the Aldreth Causeway). The 2000 survey records dangerous inadequate stiles, blocking fences without stiles, and similar problems on side-branch paths giving access to the dykes along which these paths run. The County Council has tried over the years to get the worst of these improved, but a concerted effort is needed to make this locality available for a good long stride, uninterrupted by the necessity of crawling under a fence.

Other paths seemingly incapable of a long-term “cure” are those cross-field paths persistently not reinstated every year, unless pressed by the County Council following complaints.

As well as these problems recorded in 2000 which are still in place, there are, unfortunately, a new generation of persistent problems, sometimes deriving from the action of a new landowner. In this category are paths which once kept grassy, are now ploughed, with only a tractor wheeling. Examples of this are Bassingbourn fp 21, TL346444 and Caldecote fp 6, TL339563.

And of course there are the normal maintenance issues. Trees are blown down (lots recently) and block paths. Stiles collapse, gates jam shut, signposts fall down or are knocked down, or mysteriously disappear. Hedges overhang paths, fields are ploughed up and the path disappears for months…

As Footpath Secretaries for South Cambs, we shall continue to press the County Council for improvements. It is now useless to report missing waymarks as this is “no longer priority”. Also it is no longer possible to have a written discussion with the County’s Footpaths Officers. They will only respond to individual path problems, even requiring a separate form for each type of problem seen on a single path, on the same occasion!

The Bun Walk
On the 6 January, about 30 people enjoyed a walk at Toft. Before tea-break, we investigated some of the inner village paths, and the Woodland Trust wood at the edge of the village. At 11.15 am we assembled by the village sign, on the tiny triangle of grass which is all that remains of the village green, and shared Christmas cake. Later, on a wider circuit taking in the edge of Kingston parish, we had some excitement along Armshold Lane, where recent winds had brought down a large tree, which had to be surmounted (and has now been removed). In spite of the muddy conditions on parts of the walk, I believe everyone had a good day.

The January Bun Walk has become quite a tradition with Cambridge Group. I have spent an evening looking through old diaries, and can give you a history.

The first “Bun Walk” was called a “Mince Pie Walk” and was staged on 29 December 1990, starting from Cockayne Hatley, and visiting the other Hatleys. It was a cold day, dark, with odd flakes of snow on the wind. It was a rather low-key affair, 10 people walking 8 miles.

On Saturday 25 January 1992, on a cloudy day, 10 people walked 10 miles around Kingston. The next two years, the walks were from Toft, always a popular venue. Then on 27 December 1994, was a disastrous walk of 6 miles in heavy rain, attended, so my diary tells me, by “six fools” (including ourselves)! What the diary does not say, was that this was the end of the mince pie walks. In 2 or 3 years, we had discovered that our home-made mince pies did not travel well, the lid frequently becoming detached from the base. After the Barrington walk, Roger and I were eating fragments of mince pies for several days.

Over the next three years, we changed to bun manufacture, with pink & green icing, and small bought decoration, very fiddly, but travelled better. The 1996 venue in Over was nearly cancelled, with snow on the ground, and very cold conditions, but 10 people turned to walk 8 miles. Swavesey in 1997 was again very cold, but 25 people walked 9 miles on a fine frosty day.

I located the record of the walks for all except 2010. The timing has usually been a Saturday in January, the latest date being the 18 January. The distance used to be that for a full day walk, around 10 miles, but since 2014, the occasion has been a half-day walk of 7 miles or less, to accommodate those of our members less able or unwilling to cover a greater distance. Usually the walk has been in South or East Cambridgeshire: Landbeach (1999); Coton (2000); Eversden (2002); Linton (2004); Barrington again (2005); Burwell (2007); Stow cum Quy (2008); Steeple Morden (2009); Over again (2011); Guilden Morden (2012); Hinxton (2013); Fowlmere (2014); Bassingbourn (2015); Trumpington Country Park (2016); and Caxton (2017).

On 7 January 2006, 18 people went as far as Newport, Essex, for their 10 mile walk in cold conditions, with snow showers. Attendance had been rising with the years to generally between 20 and 30 people. On 6 January 2001, the Bun Walk was combined with the start of the Fen Rivers Way Long Distance Path, on the section Cambridge to Waterbeach, and attracted 59 people. (An ancillary supply of chocolate biscuits was carried). Another joint occasion, part of the West Anglian Way walks, attracted 58 people on 18 January 2003, between Bishops Stortford and Harlow on a wonderful fine day.

I note a diary entry of 2002 that records “Roger’s Cake Walk”, and indeed it has been Roger that baked the cakes since that time, and he still turns out to walk as far as he is able.
JM

Cambridge and the Great War
This is the title of a leaflet produced by the County Council, in 2014, recording how Cambridge itself played a part in WWI not only in providing troops but also sites for hospitals. With 2018 the centenary of the end of the war, a tourist route will continue to be of interest. One is invited to call 01223 715613 to find out more about the centenary route, or to visit the County Council’s website https://great-war.ccan.co.uk

The walking route in Cambridge (some 2 or 3 miles) starts from the station, and visits the War Memorial by the Botanic Gardens.

Our Lady and the English Martyrs Church played a major role in tending the spiritual needs of the numerous WWI Belgian refugees. Troops in tents used Parkers Piece, and military nurses in Cambridge were billeted in Downing and King’s Colleges. St Botolph’s church houses a memorial to the first Eastern General hospital. Addenbrookes Hospital on its original site opposite the Fitzwilliam Museum, now the Judge Business School, was involved in WWI medicine. Trinity College housed some patients in the cloisters, and St Botolph’s church lodges the memorial to the First Eastern General Hospital.

Whilst Holy Trinity Church war memorial shelter can actually be seen (and sat in), and Michaelhouse chapel and Great St Mary’s Church may be visited, most of the relevant college archives can only be seen by appointment, as is also true for appointments to see archives in The Cambridgeshire Collection, Lion Yard Library, and the county archives, housed in Shire Hall.

The leaflet also contains a Great War Cycle Route, on roads unsuitable for pedestrians. It does, however, feature War Memorials at Trumpington, Great Shelford, Sawston, Whittlesford, Duxford and Hinxton. These have all been visited in recent years as part of walks by Cambridge Group in early November. These walks were started by Shelford local historian David Elsom, and are continued as a valued tradition.

Cambridge City – Local Nature Reserves
With Spring coming, what about a fresh look at the City’s local nature reserves.
Do you know them all? The Parks Team parks@cambridge.gov.uk offer further information on a little map (which I obtained from Central Library, Lion Yard, Cambridge).
Reserves are (roughly N to S):
Bramblefield: Stourbridge Common: Logan’s Meadow; Barnwell West; Sheeps Green; Barnwell East; Paradise; Cherry Hinton Chalk Pits; West Pit; Byrons Pool: Nine Wells.

Look on Cambridge Group Programme to find walks that include some of these reserves. www.cambridgeramblers.org.uk/

STOP PRESS – Threat to Roman Road
In Haverhill a “Strategy Board” including the local MP and Chamber of Commerce is putting forward proposals for a bypass to part of the A1307, between Haverhill and Four Went Ways. One route would threaten the Roman Road with a dual carriageway, and the other ruin the quiet countryside to the south. An action group to oppose the plan has been set up by West Wickham parish council. RA Cambridge Group is getting involved, but individual objectors are welcomed.
See www.westwickham.org/a1307/

Cantab Rambler by E-Mail & Post
Cantab now appears some four times a year. A large number of you now receive Cantab by e-mail. If you would like to receive an issue by post, please send a large SAE, 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@outlook.com
Cantab90 © Janet Moreton, 2018.

CANTAB89 – August 2017

CANTAB89 – August 2017 published on

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

CANTAB RAMBLER

Editorial
This issue, our “Parish of the Month” lies outside Cambridgeshire, although Ashwell is only just over the county border into Hertfordshire. A glance at Cambridge Group programme confirms that members regularly go further afield, so I hope the enclosed is of interest.
Janet Moreton

Steeple Morden Footpath7
Cantab March 2017 contained an appeal to readers for funds to cover the County Council’s external costs in publishing a Diversion Order for parts of Steeple Morden Footpath 7 and Footpath 14.

Readers will be pleased to learn that over £500 was raised. Contributors included the landowner and tenant farmer, Ramblers’ Cambridge Group Committee and donations made in Steeple Morden post office, and by cheque to the local organiser, Sue Norton. Grateful thanks are sent to all who were involved. It is hoped that the Order will be made this year, and already the County Council has sent out a formal consultation (the first stage in the process) to interested parties.

The situation was an unusual one. The emergence of Footpath 7 on Brook End had been signed by the County Council many years ago, in the “wrong” place, along the field edge path in regular use. The definitive line of the right of way crossed an arable field, reaching the Brook End verge over an unbridged ditch. When the County Council proposed to move the signpost and put in a bridge, local people and ramblers demurred. After negotiations, a solution has been found which is agreeable to all parties.

Early Mass Trespass?
I felt oddly moved, on reading this description of Cambridge local people asserting their access rights on 10 July 1549. The quotation is taken from “The Town of Cambridge” by A Gray, publ. Heffer & Sons, 1925.

“On this day, ‘a hundred persons or more’ met together with drums and proceeded to pull down the fences of an enclosure at Barnwell. Wool had become an important and lucrative export and there was not enough common pasture in Cambridge to accommodate the sheep needed. Landlords began to enclose open arable land for use as pasture, thus depriving many workers of their livelihood, at the same time changing the agricultural and social models of the Middle Ages. The Mayor and the Vice-Chancellor were united in their desire to prevent ‘further mischief”and with difficulty managed to pacify the rioters. A general pardon was later obtained for the offenders, and the Duke of Somerset wrote to the Cambridge authorities recommending gentle dealing, in order that ‘the difference may be tried betwixt the ignorant and the learned, the rude and the taught’. This was in many ways a victory for the workers: they were able to preserve green open spaces in Cambridge for the use of every one in town, not for private profit, and we owe them a debt for ‘restoring common to the commons’.”

Trumpington History Trails
Trumpington Residents’ Association and the Local History Group have, with the aid of Cambridge City Council, recently developed 10 walking and cycling trails around Trumpington and the surrounding area. Printed copies are available free of charge from The Clay Farm Centre and Trumpington Pavilion.

The walks all start from The Green by the shops on Anstey Way, and vary in length from about 1 to 7 miles. Each leaflet is attractively produced, with a wealth of scholarly historic information, a strip map, and route description. No parking suggestions are made, but there is inexpensive parking at the Park and Ride carpark, or gratis at Byrons Pool.

In addition to the walks, each leaflet has 4 panels of relevant information. So the first leaflet covers the Historic Centre of Trumpington, with information panels on: early development of the village; the village after 1800; Cross Hill and War memorial; and The Parish Church.

Other trails lead one into Cambridge (No2), harking back to the turnpike era, and Thomas Hobson, the C17th Cambridge carrier. No3 deals with changes on the S side of Trumpington since the C19th, and the busway cutting on the line of the former Bedford railway. Nos 4 & 5 take one east of the village centre and onto the Clay Farm site, introducing Hobson Square and Hobson Park, then over to Hobson’s Brook and Nine Wells. No 6 gives us the now more familiar routes round Byrons Pool and Trumpington Country Park. No 7, the longest circuit, goes to Hauxton and the Shelfords and No. 8 follows the railway line path to Great Shelford. No.9 goes to Grantchester. The route of No10 includes Addenbrookes’ Art Gallery!

Some of these routes are largely on tarmac, and would be more attractive in Winter when footpaths can be so muddy, or perhaps more suitable for a cyclist. But there is a wealth of information here, and the authors are much to be congratulated.

Icknield Way Association AGM
The Spring issue of the IWA newsletter announces the 2017 AGM at The Pavilion, Ashley near Newmarket, CB8 9DX at 2pm. The guest speaker will be David Rippington, on the history of The Icknield Way.

There will be a morning walk, starting from the hall at 10am. For details, contact Sue Prigg, sue@prigg.co.uk
 tel. 01638 751289

Parish of the Month – Ashwell
OS Explorer Sheets 193, 208

The OS Sheets are inconvenient – a street plan of the village would be helpful, or obtain Ashwell parish’s helpful leaflet from some village shops. There can be few ramblers living in the Cambridge area who have not visited Ashwell, and, in particular, spent time in the dominant and beautiful church. But there are many other well preserved buildings in the village of historic interest. In fact, for the less able, this is a good place to walk perhaps a two miles or less with great enjoyment.

Park considerately in the lanes near the church (but not on a Sunday) or on Lucas Lane opposite the recreation ground (where public toilets are usually open). There are currently several shops, at least 2 pubs in the village, and a café, and teas are available on Summer Sunday afternoons in The Parish Room next to the museum on Swan Street.

History and Points of Interest
The village name comes from The Springs, found in a large railed enclosure off High Street. The three path entrances, stepping stones and attractive setting make it a must for active visitors. The Springs are designated an SSSI, mainly because of the presence of a rare Ice Age flat worm, Crenobia alpina. The spring is the source of the main tributary of the River Cam, the River Rhee. Ashwell in ancient times may have been important on the route of The Icknield Way, whose modern trail proceeds through the back of the village along Ashwell Street. The prehistoric Icknield Way route could have been defended by the Iron Age hill fort Arbury Banks, shown on the map just beyond Ashwell.

Post Norman invasion, records report a regular market and four fairs yearly. The Domesday Book records that “The Abbot of St Peters holds Escewell in Odsey Hundredth”. In 913, Saxon King Egbert had granted Ashwell to the Abbot of Westminster, remaining under his control until the Dissolution of the Monasteries. St Mary’s was begun early C14th, built mainly of clunch and probably incorporating materials from previous structures. The chancel was completed 1368. The tower, 176ft, is the highest in Hertfordshire. Famous graffiti refer to Old St Paul’s cathedral; to the ravages of The Black Death (1350); and to a severe storm (1361). The church is open daily and caters well for its visitors with informative leaflets.

Beyond the east end of the church is The Rectory, described in 1829 as the Mansion House. It is now half its original size, the Elizabethan part having been demolished in the 1920s. Beneath the present Georgian building are clunch foundations of the supposed residence of the old Abbot of Westminster. Further along Hodwell, near the lane to The Springs is a quaint old lock-up.

Numbers of ancient attractive buildings are found about the village. The Chantry House, at the West End, has been inhabited since 1400, and was recorded in 1547, as the home of John Smarte. In the C19th, it became a pub, called “The British Queen”.

Bear House on High St (presently under scaffolding), and Ducklake Farmhouse (on Spring Lane) are Ashwell’s oldest houses.. The moated Westbury Farm, Dixies Farmhouse, Kirby Manor and The Rose and Crown pub in the High St were all built with overhanging twin gables in the C15th. Ashwell Bury, visible from Gardiners Lane, was originally built in the C19th, but in the 1920s was redesigned by Sir Edward Lutyens.

Further afield, Bluegates Farm is a modernised C16th dwelling, once two cottages, with the remains of a moat. Briefly in the late C19th, this was a pub, catering for the coprolite diggers.

Ashwell Museum is an early Tudor town house, built for the Abbot of Westminster in the early C15th, for use as an office in the centre of the Market Place. In later times it became a licensed meeting place for Protestant dissenters. The building was modernised in the 1840s, but by 1929 had deteriorated and was condemned. It was bought by two local youths, who started a collection of bygones. The museum, now scheduled as an ancient monument, is open on Sunday afternoons. Also note a delightful public garden with seats very near the Museum.

Walk suggestions from Ashwell.
(a)Visiting Arbury Banks
From the church, walk generally W through the village to the junction of Hinxton Rd and Newnham Way. Turn S up Partridge Hill, a rough road between tall hedges. Look for a signed gap in the hedge on the right, for a field path leading to Arbory Banks. The monument is not impressive, but the views are good. Continue SW over Ash Hill, and at TL 255 380, turn right (NW) down a farm drive, passing buildings to reach the road, Newnham Way. Turn left along the road to TL 251 382, where take the bridleway NW, then at TL 246 386 turn right over Newnham Hill, to return to Ashwell. (4 miles); stile free. An extension may be made to visit Caldecote old church and the interesting old house at Hinxworth Place. (total distance 6 miles)

(b) A section of the Icknield Way
Hourly trains take one from Cambridge to Ashwell & Morden Station, in the hamlet of Odsey. Turn right (N) out of the and shortly turn left along Station Rd towards Ashwell. There is no footway. However, just before a residential caravan site, turn right on a byway on the line of Shire Balk. This leads to Ashwell Street, one of the routes of The Icknield Way. Turn left (W) along this pleasant byway, into the outskirts of Ashwell. Go through the village, either on the line of The Icknield Way, or along Lucas Lane & High Street. At the end of the village, follow the instructions as in (a) for the path up Partridge Hill. Follow the route of the Icknield Way Trail indicated on Sheet 193, meeting a road, which follow to beyond The Knoll, turning off right at spot height 61m. The IW route goes over Gravelpit Hill, and down into Baldock via the footway of North Rd and to Baldock Station. (8 miles). A longer, but more interesting alternative, pioneered by Lisa Woodburn on a recent Cambridge Group walk, takes a detour along part of Cat Ditch, and visits Park Wood, and the secluded hamlet of Bygrave, and makes the final approach to Baldock Station via the bridleway approaching Laymore Farm.

(c) Towards Guilden Morden
From the church, walk N up Mill St, noting the much-restored old watermill. Continue ahead on a signed path through pasture to meet Northfield Rd. Opposite is a sign indicating the field path NNE to the County boundary. (Ignore a permissive path along the county boundary ditch). Cross the ditch here, and continue in the same direction to the driveway of Cold Harbour Farm. The path reaches the road junction alongside the driveway (not as shown on older maps). For a short walk, take the wide grassy byway opposite, passing Rudery Spring, and turn right onto the IW path along the line of Ashwell St. (see walk (b) Return to Ashwell, 3.5 miles. Several longer routes may be attempted, beyond Cold Harbour’s driveway. A long field path runs North from the road at TL 279 416, leading to Guilden Morden, and thence to Steeple Morden. Both of these parishes have more than 50 numbered rights of way – for the strong and ingenious walker, the possibilities are endless. A convenient return route could be made from Morden Green, to Ashwell Street at Upper Gatley End. A minimum distance for such a circuit from Ashwell might be 8 miles.

(d) A short rural saunter
From the church, follow route (c) past the watermill to Northfield Rd. Here turn left on a permissive path inside the tree belt. Follow this path round the boundary of Elbrook House, to emerge on the side-road just before Bluegates Dairy. Continue to the T-junction, and turn right, away from the village. Pass a seat, and turn left at TL 261 400 on a well-waymarked path leading to a byway at TL 257 397. Follow this shady lane N to TL 256 400, and take the signed route right (W) across a field, to return further up the lane you left 30 minutes ago! Turn right, generally SE, and take lanes back to the village, with the massive tower of the church as a guide. Pass or pause at the Bushel and Strike! (2.5 miles) This route is stile-free.

Cantab Rambler by E-Mail & Post
Cantab now appears some four times a year. A large number of you now receive Cantab by e-mail.

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@outlook.com
Cantab89 © Janet Moreton, 2017.

CANTAB88 – March 2017

CANTAB88 – March 2017 published on

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

CANTAB RAMBLER

Editorial
Cambs CC seems to have no money these days for footpaths, access etc. Some other organisations and individuals are doing what they can (now and in the past) for the environment and access. A few examples are described.

East Hatley
Explorer 208
With Spring coming on, it is time to visit the old churchyard nature reserve at East Hatley. The good news here is that the conservation charity, “Friends of Friendless Churches” (FOFC) are taking over ownership of St Denis, a grade II listed building, sited in the village at TL 285 505. The original St Denis was built in 1217, to be rebuilt in the C19th by the architect William Butterfield.

The church had been disused for many years, and when we first knew it, the whole building was hidden in ivy. South Cambridgeshire District Council took over its care in 1985, when it was declared redundant by the Church of England, and a few years ago restored the outside of the building, leaving the interior a locked shell, presently a home for bats and cave spiders. [Update 1 March 2023: St Denis church is now open every day from around 8.30 am to dusk. For further information see Hatley Churches. ]

Matthew Saunders, Director of FOFC has outlined plans to make the roof watertight, reglaze the windows and refloor the interior during 2017. The work has been made possible via a £60 000 endowment grant from South Cambs District Council.

St Denis’ Church forms the hub of a knot of footpaths in East Hatley. From the village road, no fewer than 5 signed paths lead out to the main road, or towards New England Farm and Tadlow, or round Buff Wood. Parking is a bit difficult here, though, and is better in Hatley St George, where there are two laybys in front of the extensive rec, TL 283 509.

Hanson – RSPB wetland project
Explorer 225
The Willingham News of November 2016 gives details of new developments on the Ouse Fen. After the latest handover from the quarrying company Hanson, the nature reserve near Needingworth now extends to 218ha. Hanson plans to continue to donate small parcels of land to the reserve, as sand and gravel extraction is completed. By the time the quarrying is finished about 2030, the site may extend to 700ha. Needingworth quarry is the largest in Eastern England, and produces up to 1 M tons of aggregate yearly.

Ouse Fen is already home to several rare wetland species. The article reports the presence of 8 male “booming” bittern, a species once on the point of extinction in Britain around the 1990s. Last Summer 8 young marsh harriers took wing. Great white egrets have been seen in the reedbeds, just beginning to colonise in the UK. The heronry at Berry Fen had 17 nests, and Barleycroft lake site housed nests of 559 pairs of black-headed gulls. (Are they sure there were exactly 559 pairs? Did they count them twice?) Otters and water voles have been recorded on fixed trail cameras.

There are two places to park for access. From Over, drive to Overcote, with parking at TL 363 713 . A walk on the riverbank to the Overcote sluice gives access to the reserve. Or drive on the A1123 between St Ives and Bluntisham. Turn off near the quarry site entrance for visitors parking at TL 348 726.

The Barleycroft Trail, through a quarry landscape of lakes, lagoons and hedges is flattish, with some soft ground in wet weather. 5 miles

The Reedbed Trail is described as more challenging, including steps, slopes and rough ground. 6 miles

See www.rspb.org.uk/ousefen

Bourne Wood, Landbeach
Explorer 226
This Bourne Wood is not in Bourn, but is named after Cecil Bourne, who was chairman of CPRE in Cambridgeshire for 29 years, until his sudden death in 1990. His family wished to plant a wood in his memory, raising £1040, enhanced by a further £1000 from the Monument Trust. Cambridgeshire County Council provided tools and 2000 native trees and shrubs were planted in 1991.

Today, the trees are quite tall, and already some thinning has been necessary. Park at the village hall, TL 475 651 and walk up Cockfen Lane. A gate on the left gives entry to the Worts Meadow Open Access Area, containing the moats which are all that remain of a medieval manor house. A display board gives interesting details. Continue to the next gate, which opens onto Bourne Wood. Paths and informal tracks give access to the boundary track and inner circular path round this charming little wood.

Continue down Cockfen Lane, which shortly continues as the Roman Road, Akeman Street (eventually reaching Impington under the A14). Turn off right (W) at TL 466 639, to follow signed field boundaries round a circuit of young woodland, planted by the County Council, on County Farms Estate land. The circuit brings one past Rectory Farm, and back onto Cockfen Lane at TL 472 652, via a narrow treelined path from TL 468656.

These two excursions together make perhaps 4 or 5 miles on permissive paths, in a parish which has very few rights of way. And private initiative and generosity were the key to Bourne Wood giving public enjoyment more that 20 years on.

(With acknowledgement to the article by Shirley Fieldhouse, “Cambridgeshire Voice”, CPRE Magazine, Winter 2017)

More on Steeple Morden Fp 7 – An Appeal
Explorer 208
See map and poster at bottom of page
Last issue featured this path, which runs between Hay Street and Brook End. In response to public opinion, Cambridgeshire County Council have agreed to cover the cost of a diversion of part of the path, from the existing definitive route across an arable field, onto the line in current use, around the field edges. However, Steeple Morden parishioners need to raise ca £500 to cover the cost of legal notification. The famer has made a donation and RA Cambridge Group has pledged up to £200. If you are walking that way, a collection box is in Steeple Morden’s post office, or donations may be forwarded to our local contact, Sue Norton, tel. 01763 853130

Alien is threatening the R.Cam !
Explorer 209
Walk past the Grantchester Mill pond, or down the riverside towards Cambridge, and you will see it, lining the waterside in places. It is rather a pretty green plant, with indented circular leaves, and it is called floating pennywort. I have yet to see it flower, but it grows at a prodigious rate, up to 20 cm a day. It threatens fish and invertebrates, and other water plants, potentially chokes drainage, and could impede punts and canoes.

Cambridge News quotes Jean Perraton Chairman of the Cam Valley Forum as saying there had been many attempts at clearance. If only one little piece is left, it can grow again (so mind you don’t inadvertently carry some elsewhere on your boots!). The Cam Conservators believe it is likely that clearance from the river will need to occur annually.

Fleam Dyke:To cut or not to cut?
Explorer 209
Julia Napier writes in the November 2016 issue of the magazine of the Friends of the Roman Road and Fleam Dyke.

The subject of debate is a so-called “radical” solution to the scrub lining the sides of the bank on the Fulbourn end of Fleam Dyke. Great Wilbraham Public Footpath 1 runs along the ridge of The Dyke, from the end of Stonebridge Lane, Fulbourn, to Mutlow Hill, and the tall steps over the A11, to continue into Balsham. This raised spine in a quiet countryside gives some of the best views in the area, as well as opportunities to enjoy chalkland plantlife, butterflies and birdlife not found in the adjacent arable fields.

Some clearance of the Dyke at the Fulbourn end was made over 18 months ago, and was very raw and muddy at first, but the area has recovered. Now however, Heritage England have proposed extensive clearance of the scrub , with re-seeding of the slopes, in order to re-introduce sheep grazing. In Jan-Feb 2017, the fosse or ditch will be cleared to allow machine access. Access windows will be cut upward through the scrub and the upper band of scrub will be cut all the way along, with a plan to remove 80% of the scrub in 2 years. There is also a plan to strip plants and soil from the path on top of the dyke, down to the ditch. (My comment here is that this will make a good path horrible for the duration! Is it legal to destroy the surface of the right of way (other than in an arable field?) Cut surfaces will be treated to prevent regrowth, and areas reseeded with Upright Brome grass and perhaps Sheeps Fescue. The plan is likely to cost £100 000, 80% of which will be paid by Natural England. Historic England may supply the rest.

The article goes on to consider the damage this plan could do to wildlife. The clearance will remove many of the bushes visited by the Green Hairstreak, one of two notable butterflies recorded in regular butterfly counts. The scrub is used by birds, and in any case it was the opinion of some experts that it would return, as has happened on a section of Devils Dyke, cleared some years ago. There is no comment made regarding the effect on the enjoyment of walkers on this very well-used, much loved route. I am sure Julia Napier would appreciate correspondence.
frrfdjin@freebie.net

Cantab Rambler by E-Mail & Post
Cantab usually appears about 4 times yearly. A large number of you now receive Cantab by e-mail. If you would like to receive an issue by post, please send a large SAE. 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@outlook.com
Cantab88 © Janet Moreton, 2017.

The poster below is put out by Steeple Morden Parish Council

STEEPLE MORDEN
PARISH FOOTPATH FUND
WE NEED YOUR HELP

To formalise the current route of Footpath 7 from Hay Street to Brook End.

The County Council have agreed that they are prepared to cover the cost of the alteration to the definitive footpath map for footpath 7, from Hay Street to Brook End.
HOWEVER
We need to raise approx. £500 to cover the cost of the legal notification.
We already have a number of pledges, now we are asking all those in the Parish who enjoy the use of the paths to please donate whatever they can to this fund.
A collection box will be in the Post Office or you may make donations to me,
Sue Norton 01763853130

CANTAB87 – December 2016

CANTAB87 – December 2016 published on

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

CANTAB RAMBLER

Pre-Christmas Issue!
Filled with enthusiasm for my subject, this issue is following closely on Cantab 86. So please read it now, before being overcome by seasonal preparations. Good wishes for Christmas & 2017.
Janet Moreton

After pits, moats!
Last month’s article on some old pits and quarries produced a prompt and enthusiastic response. Clearly, readers share my enthusiasm for old pits festooned with rampaging wild flowers and bushes, or sheets of water enlivened with wheeling flocks of birds.

Several people noted other pits which I had not mentioned, this being a matter of space. I could have included Coploe Hill old chalk pit maintained as a nature reserve off Coploe Rd (TL 493 426) above Ickleton, or a former chalk pit in Haslingfield, accessed by a short lane at TL 409 519, both noted for their wild flowers. In Anglesey Abbey grounds, the fish pond not far from the Mill, is described as an old quarry!

However, this issue I intend to move on to examples of another type of interesting ground features, moats. I emphasize the word, “examples”. A leaflet produced by the County Archaeology Dept, ca 1990, suggests there are 340 moats recorded in Cambridgeshire, moats being one of the commonest kinds of medieval remains in today’s landscape. The ones I have selected are primarily in South and East Cambridgeshire, and are visible to the walker, at least from a public footpath or a road. Most have some provenance.

Denny Moat, Swaffham Bulbeck
Explorer 226
Driving from Lode, one enters Swaffham Bulbeck at a bend in the main road. Here is some authorised parking at the corner of the extensive green, TL 555 628. Just at the edge of the car park is a display board, giving the history of Denny Moat, just behind it. In 1910, a Col. Hammond, of Mitchell Hall, sold Denny Close with an ancient 3 acre Elm Plantation to the parish council, who still own it. The woodland is now mixed, and most attractive, covering the moated area, about which one can wander at will on little paths (except in the wettest season, when the moats regain some water!). Denny Moat was linked to two double moats; it is not connected with the history of a former local family; nor is it thought to have surrounded a building

Elsewhere in Swaffham Bulbeck, in the period 1250 – 1350, there were also double moated enclosures, encircling manors at Burgh Hall, Lordship Farm, and Downing College Farm. In the short walk described below, on the footpath in front of Lordship Farm, note the curved linear depressions in front of the old farmhouse.

Leave Denny Moats, and walk across the green, towards Lordship Farm. A kissing gate gives access to a short path leading to Commercial End. Walk down this road towards the old Abbey. Between newer homes, are the old buildings reminding us of the prosperous waterborne trade in the period 1600 to the beginning of WWI. The old warehouses are now impressive residences. At a T-junction, TL 558 633, turn left along the tarmac lane towards Cow Bridge, and either continue on White Droveway, to join the main road back to Swaffham Bulbeck at TL 551 628, or use the footpath starting just beyond Cow Bridge. (2 miles).The walk can be linked to excursions from Anglesey Abbey, or with walks from Swaffham Prior.

Morden Hall, Guilden Morden
Explorer 208
The “Shell” guide says the plastered and many-gabled Morden Hall is one of the best preserved moated sites in the county. The house, off Trap Road, TL 280 437 was built after some destruction in the Peasants Revolt in 1381, and is set within an imposing and attractive moat still 10m wide, and waterfilled.

Parking for a few cars can be found outside the rec fence, opposite the church, TL 280 442. Cross the rec diagonally to a handgate, and walk SSE down the field boundary to a line of trees bordering the moat. Turn left alongside the tree belt, and cross a footbridge into “Tween Towns Wood”, a Woodland Trust reserve bordering part of the moat. Exit the same way, and find a handgate in the tree belt at TL 284 440. The path between fences crosses paddocks containing sheep, goats and sometimes alpacas. There is a good view of Morden Hall, especially in Winter. Emerge on Trap Road, and either turn right and walk back to the church, or make a longer walk using the huge number of signed paths in Guilden Morden.

Abington Pigotts’ Moats
Explorer 208
The Parish is notable for its medieval moated sites. Park in the village near “The Pig and Abbot” and explore. First visit the church (Norman origins, mostly C14th) and go past to the start of the brideway, to pass Manor Farmyard. The (partly) water-filled moat continues alongside the bridleway for some distance.

Originally known as Abington Manor, the property passed from the Bishop of Winchester to the Pigotts family. Described in a late C13th widow’s dowry, it had a fish pond, 6 acre moated site, a walled and moated enclosure and outbuildings. In C14th, the Pigotts built a second house, reusing another moated site N of the church. The house was re-modelled in the C17th, and is romantically gabled. From the church, go along the bridleway and turn left at TL 306 449, and follow the track to Moynes Wood. Here, Moynes Manor once stood in a double sub-rectangular moat, still preserved (but not exciting!). By 1381, this was already described as an empty moated plot of 12.5 acres.

Return directly to the pub (or make a 5 mile circuit via Flecks Lane, Running Ditch, past Shingay South Farm, and using the footpath starting NW of Boys Bridge).

From the pub, go SW down to the road corner, TL 306 443, where take the footpath WSW to Bibles Grove. At the end of the trees, turn left (SE) to Down Hall Farm. This moated site comprises 2 adjoining moated enclosures.

Many will already know the unusual timber-framed jettied gatehouse, at the entrance to the second enclosure, with timbers dating from 1250 to 1380. The existing farmhouse is C19th. (Do not go down the drive!). It is possible to continue a short distance to the signed former watermill (now a house), and to follow a footpath through the garden, giving access to a route to Litlington.

Kirtling Towers and Moat
Explorer 210
The greater part of Kirtling village is owned by the Fairhaven Estate, said to have existed before the 1086 Domesday survey. To visit the towers and moat, park in the village hall carpark (if not in use), pass the village sign, and walk up Saxon Street. Pause to admire both churches. The church of Our Lady and St Phillip (RC) was built 1877. All Saints (C of E) contains the family vault of the North Family, first owners of Kirtling Towers.

Take the footpath past All Saints generally E towards the Upend Road, giving good views of Kirtling Towers. In 1260 a Kirtling Castle was recorded. Later, within the castle’s platform, was built a brick Tudor house, bearing a date 1572. The occupied, turreted gatehouse is all that remains. A medieval moat, once the largest in the county, still surrounds the towers. Although some of it has been drained, the portions to the N & E of the building are still filled with a 60 – 70ft stretch of water. Return to the village sign and carpark. Other attractive routes in the vicinity include a circuit of Lucy Wood and beyond.

Dunmowes Moat, Fulbourn
Explorer 209
In the middle of Fulbourn Fen Nature Reserve is a fine moated site, enclosing the former Dunmowes Manor Hall House. The moat was built in the medieval period. It is 30 ft wide, and up to 10 ft deep, and would originally been deeper, and full of water. There is no entrance, so access to the site must have been by means of a wooden bridge. The moat encloses about an acre, now grass and trees, with fallen tree-trunks, a good place for a picnic. A large stone and timber house stood on the E side of the platform, with further buildings to the N and W. Stone mouldings and fragments of painted window glass were found, suggesting a high status house. Whilst the moat may originally have been defensive, in later times, a moat became a status symbol. Soon after 1750, the house was abandoned in favour of another site on School Lane, Fulbourn.

The site is easily accessible within the nature reserve, with an attractive display board.

Rampton: Giant’s Hill Moat
Explorer 210
The main archaeological attraction in Rampton is Giant’s Hill, the site of a castle started in the mid-C12th, when the throne was contested by Royal cousins, Stephen and Matilda. Meanwhile, Geoffrey de Mandeville, a rogue Essex baron, captured the Isle of Ely and sacked the monks at Ramsey. Stephen ordered a ring of castles to contain the threat. Burwell, Swavesey, Caxton Moats, and Giants Hill survive as known castle sites. Geoffrey de Mandeville was mortally wounded at Burwell, so the castles were never completed.

However, at Rampton there remains a splendid example of the unfinished fortification. The site’s rectangular platform is surrounded by a largely complete moat. The adjacent field shows grassy mounds of deserted house-sites.

The castle site, owned by the County Council, is accessible from a gate in the village, off the main road at TL 430 680, or from the grass field next to the ancient thatched church. A display board gives points of interest. The moat, still water-filled, can be crossed on a board walk, and all parts of the site explored. Later additions include a WWII gun emplacement sited by the Home Guard.

A short walk may be enjoyed on County Council land in woods behind the castle site, or extended to make a circuit along the bank of New Cut, Great North Fen Drove, Archies Bridge, and returning to Rampton along Cow Lane. (4 miles)

Haslingfield Moat
Explorer 209
A moated manor was built by the Scales family and occupied by them in C13th to C15th. In the C16th, Sir Thomas Wendy, physician to Elizabeth I, bought the property. By 1726, the manor was described as “ruinous”, and in 1814 two wings were demolished. The E wing, moat and walled garden remain. The site overlooks the Well Field, a recreation meadow in the centre of Haslingfield, off a lane behind the church. The field boasts a well house, a period bakery, and a replica earth closet. Haslingfield’s present manor’s 3-sided garden moat survives in good condition at the rear of the meadow, fronted by trees and bushes. A brook issues from the moat, fed by internal springs. The moat is, however, rather difficult to see, except in the NW corner of the meadow, where a sign says “Danger, deep water”.

Other points of interest in the locality are the unusual Millennium sundial, on the green, next to the village sign, which shows Elizabeth I on horseback, as when she visited Haslingfield in 1564. Only the chancel walls remain of the original Norman church, the later building having a notable C15th tower. The churchyard has a delightful short nature trail.

Letter to the Editor
‘I notice mentioned “Commissioners Pit,” which is an SSSI for two reasons. The chalk bank is a fossilised coral reef and the best preserved Oxfordian in Cambridge-shire. And also the bottom part of the area is part of The Cam Washes and hence an SSSI for Ornithological reasons. The County Council in its need to keep its coffers filled has sold the pit to a private buyer. I do not yet know who has bought it… But it may not be too late to buy it for the public. I don’t know if it has actually been sold.’
Duncan Mackay

Steeple Morden Footpath 7
Can anyone help the Parish Council and the Ramblers’ Association to claim a section of well-used path as a definitive right of way? The length of path is sign-posted by the County Council, who are now threatening to take the sign away!

The path starts off Hay Street at TL 287 432, and runs to Brook End at TL 290 432. The section in question starts from a gap in the hedge, TL 288 432 and runs along field boundaries as a good grassy path to Brookside.

Please contact the editor.
Janet Moreton

Cantab Rambler by E-Mail & Post
Cantab usually appears about 4 times yearly. A large number of you now receive Cantab by e-mail. If you would like an issue by post, please send a large SAE. Offers of brief articles welcomed..

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@outlook.com
Cantab87 © Janet Moreton, 2016.

CANTAB86 – October 2016

CANTAB86 – October 2016 published on

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

CANTAB RAMBLER

Network Rail’s Level Crossings
Ramblers are very concerned regarding plans by Network Rail to close or divert 130 level crossings in East Anglia, under the Transport and Works Act, 1992.

Some ten percent of these are in South and East Cambs. Taking advice from Ramblers London Office, Lisa Woodburn Chair of Cambridge Group, has made the Ramblers’ Case for South Cambs paths, and Alysoun Hodges the case for East Cambs crossings.

Additionally, Alysoun has discovered that Network Rail has closed Ely Footpaths 17 and 57 (which cross the railway line to Norwich, on either side of the River Lark) without following prescribed legal procedures. A Traffic Regulation Order (TRO) is said to be imminent, but had not been made by the end of September. Alysoun has complained about this unlawful closure to Cambridgeshire County Council, in its role as Highway Authority.

Pits and Holes
Cambridgeshire may be largely flat in a general way, but on a smaller scale, the countryside is enlivened by the presence of quite a number of pits and holes, ranging in size from small holes to huge lakes.

In times past, farmers dug lime pits in the middle of fields, to spread the contents on the land, to improve the tilth. This is the origin of the smallest holes, now often filled with water, and surrounded by a few attractive trees in the middle of a field.

Larger holes were due to quarrying on a larger scale, sometimes for building purposes very close at hand, such as the chalk blocks (clunch) taken to build the church at Orwell, from the adjacent pit, now a nature reserve. Commercial chalk pits, such as at Steeple Morden may still be operational, with public footpaths adjacent. Barrington Fp 11, along the top of a hill above the commercial chalk quarry needed to be legally re-aligned in 2005, because of anxieties regarding the safety of the edge of the quarry (which has now closed).

Quarrying for sand and gravel has been very common in Cambridgeshire, sometimes in the quite recent past, such as at Fen Drayton Lakes, now an important RSPB reserve, and sometimes ongoing. such as at Needingworth/ Overcote and Paxton Pits (both still in use for gravel extraction), and the new sand pit at Sawston. Worked-out commercial sand and gravel pits, which usually fill with water, have been developed as recreational amenities and environmental reserves, sometimes such a concluding phase being written into their planning permission.

In the C19th, shallow quarrying for coprolites occurred over a wide band, from Leighton Buzzard to Burwell, but only in a few cases do the signs of such activity remain. Copralite “cuts” (generally holes filled with water), are quite frequent in the Lode, Stow cum Quy and Horningsea localities.

The biggest “holes” filled with water to become reservoirs such as Graffham Water are not holes at all, but flooding of valleys by creating vast dams. Similarly, Cambourne lakes are of a different nature, as they are really balancing ponds, following the development of a now considerable built-up area. However, both these sites have evolved hand-in-hand with a network of new paths.

Accessible Parish pits (chalk), are to be found at Litlington, Guilden Morden, Harlton, Stapleford, Reach, Little Wilbraham, and elsewhere. The pit at Orwell was a source of superior chalk called “clunch” used as a building stone.

The object this month is to look at examples of “holes” which are publicly accessible, and add interest to a ramble. I certainly do not wish to encourage readers to investigate private or dangerous pits!

Examples of Large Sites
Paxton Pits
The Nature Reserve here operates alongside on-going sand and gravel extraction. The present reserve of 77 ha is set to expand to over 280ha “within the next decade”. Presently available paths include part of the Ouse Valley Way. Well marked routes comprise The Heron Trail (2 miles) and The Meadow Trail (1.5 miles). Attractions include riverside & meadow flora, and excellent birdwatching.

There is a bus service from St Neots to Little Paxton Village.
Facilities on the reserve include visitor centre, toilets, free car park, tea facilities (weekends, holidays), leaflets, and possible hire of motorised boggy for disabled usage. See: www.paxton-pits.org.uk

RSPB Fen Drayton Lakes
The RSPB reserve at Fen Drayton Lakes was established in 2007, with the purchase of a privately owned nature reserve, and some adjacent lakes and washland. The previous sand and gravel quarrying had left large deep lakes, sometimes with islands. Birdwatching has been possible here since the 1950s, and over 250 species of birds have been recorded.

There is an impressive network of public rights of way and permissive paths around the lakes, which are best accessed by guided bus from either Cambridge or St Ives. A walk of less than 2 miles along the Busway bridleway from St Ives to the reserve in Summer can reward the keen observer with a list of nearly 100 wildflower species. Also accessible from the lakes is the Ouse Valley Way.

Adjacent to the guided bus stop is a shelter and information point, with free leaflets available. Across the Busway is a free carpark, with WC, both accessible down a short drive. Please be reminded that both the bridleway beside the Guided Busway, and the paths in the reserve are liable to flooding in Winter, occasionally making access impossible. More RSPB info may be found at: www.rspb.org.uk

Milton Country Park
The site owes its present appearance to commercial extraction of sand and gravel for house construction and road building between ca 1930 and 1960. However, some 1800 years ago, part of the site had been used for extraction of clay by Romano- British potters! South Cambs District Council acquired the site in 1990, and by 1993 the country park was open to the public. The park is now managed by a commercial concern, with a charge for carparking. Café and WCs are available.

There is quite a complicated network of paths around the pits, and the walking can readily be extended along Fen Road, to join the River Cam towpath.

Examples of Smaller Sites
Guilden Morden
The parish has a typical chalk pit, originally for use of the villagers. It is attractive with wild flowers in Summer, and is best accessed from Ashwell, along Ashwell Street to TL 282 402, then turn SE down Guilden Morden Bp 51, turning left onto a field-edge track at TL 283 398. Pass a Countryside Access Scheme notice, and access the former chalk pit over a stile at TL 284 400, and down a ramp into a riot of shrubs, wildflowers and nettles. This is a place for solitude. A Romano-British cemetery was excavated near the chalk pit in the early C20th, but no signs remain.

The Three Cherry Hinton Pits
Lime Kiln Close Nature Reserve
This is one of three chalk pits available in the locality, accessed at TL 486 562. The reserve was a medieval chalk quarry, and much of the chalk was probably used to make lime mortar for houses in Cherry Hinton and Cambridge. Nature has taken time to reclaim this pit for trees and bushes, with secondary woodland of ash, field maple, and wild cherry.

West Pit, at TL 483 555 off Lime Kiln Hill is an SSSI and a more open habitat, full of wild flowers in Summer – and home to the rare moon carrot.

The newest and largest reserve , East Pit, off Lime Kiln Hill at TL 484 557 is an interesting expanse of bare chalk, rapidly being colonised with interesting flora, and has prehistoric remains, with good information boards.

Orwell Clunch Pit
The village website describes The Clunch Pit as an environmental treasure. The old quarry site of 1.6ha is accessible from High Street, by steps going up beside the church, or from the lane leading to the carpark. A public footpath leads to the top of the pit from the A 603. The Pit has been owned by the Parish Council since 1974, designated as an SSSI in 1985, in recognition of valuable chalk grassland flora and fauna. There was major scrub clearance in 1999, and the pit is now managed by light Summer grazing by sheep, and an annual cutting of brambles.

Coprolite Diggings
Coprolite is the name given to fossilised bones of dinosaurs, found in bands of the chalk belt running across Cambridgeshire and beyond. These deposits were generally rich in inorganic phosphates, a valuable source of fertiliser, before the establishment of modern chemical industries.

The C19th technique of open cast or shallow-pit mining for coprolite generally left land fairly level. The diggings at Parkers Piece have left no trace, although the bumps on Coldham’s Common may well be poor restoration after mining.

In Lode and Stow cum Quy, however, there are some actual water-filled pits, in a pleasant situation. From Lode village by the Millpond, take a footpath N to cross the track of the old railway at TL 530 629, then go E on the wide Lode Byway 15, which continues as a footpath across a field to the waterfilled pit set attractively in trees at TL 521 627. Continue along the path and over a footbridge onto Stow cum Quy Fen, and cross the grass towards the next pit at TL 515 626. This has interesting Spring plants, including the scarce water violet. Exit W, picking up Horningsea Bp 8, with useful parking at TL 498 630.

Steeple Morden Chalk Pit
Here, one can appreciate the effects of quarrying in the making. The Steeple Morden chalk pit has paths going round its perimeter, and one can actually cross a little footbridge over the conveyor belt. The chalk is very pure, and used in applications like pharmaceutical products, toothpaste, and as a filler in car tyres!

From Ashwell Street at Upper Gatley, TL 295 409, take Fp 42 going roughly S uphill. At TL 298 405, fp 42 turns off right, round the bushes at the edge of an arable field. At the field corner, TL 296 404, the path enters the edge of the wood containing the chalk quarry. The path continues round the wood, passing buildings, and crossing a conveyor belt on a bridge and the quarry access road at TL 295 401. Fp 42 exits down the quarry road, but follow fp 43 ahead, still round the edge of the quarry. At TL 300 400, go through a clear gap in the wood, and return N to Ashwell Street on Fp 47, with the wood on the left.

There is a high density of paths in this area, and a longer walk would prove rewarding. There is another large chalk pit near Ashwell & Morden station at Odsey.

Commissioners Pit, near Wicken Fen
This fenland pit is typical of the depressions left following embankment of the nearby fen lodes.

It is best approached from the pub near Upware, “Five Miles from Anywhere, No Hurry”. From the drive to the pub, find the signposted footpath over a bridge and stile, running N through low lying fields. Later, the path bends right and left, and joins a hedged track (Fodder Fen Drove) which passes Commissioners Pit Nature reserve. Descend a flight of steps into the reserve. There is a display board. In 1998, in the unstable bank of the reserve, after rain, I found a bivalve fossil and a fossil scallop, which were identified by my evening class tutor as being from the Jurassic period, 200 Million years old.

Harlton Chalk Pit
This delightful, wooded pit is owned by the Parish Council, which allows free access. Go up Fp 4, which starts at TL 389 523. This wooded lane leads up to the base of the pit. Fp 4 is waymarked through the pit, which has a mostly bare chalk floor, and whose slopes can be very slippery after rain. Ascend by one of a number of trodden routes. The steepest ways are to the left. The longer, easier routes are found by first bearing right. In 2000, the definitive line of Fp 4 was extended to the top of the pit at TL 391 520, from whence a narrow wooded path leads through spurge laurel bushes to join Barrington Fp11 along the top of chapel hill. From here, it is possible to look down on the huge, recently closed commercial chalk pit behind Barrington.

Litlington Chalk Pit
A description of this pit is included as a reminder that not all old pits are attractive. From Royston Road at TL 318 419, a grassy lane, Byway 11, runs WSW from locked gates, with access space each side. The track runs to a patch of open downland, with the remains of an old pit beyond. The right of way terminates at TL 316 417 but regular access continues over a wider area. The pit is also accessible from Ashwell Street. When last seen, it contained some dumped material.
Janet Moreton

Cantab Rambler by E-Mail & Post
Cantab usually appears irregularly about 4 times a year. A large number of you now receive Cantab by e-mail. By hand, 10p is appreciated towards the cost of paper and ink. If you would like to receive an issue by post, please send a large SAE. 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@outlook.com
Cantab86 © Janet Moreton, 2016.

CANTAB85 – June 2016

CANTAB85 – June 2016 published on

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

CANTAB RAMBLER

Focus on Royston, Herts
Royston’s adjacent common, Therfield Heath, is a wonderful open space, with free parking, or easy access from Royston Station. The Heath gives immediate access to the hills beyond, higher than anything in Cambs! Before you go tramping off on these hills to Therfield, Sandon, Kelshall, Barley, Barkway and places beyond, pause to appreciate the riches of Royston.

Around Easter, the nature reserve at the east end of the Heath is well-known for its display of the Pasque flower, the Anemone pulsatilla, together with cowslips and violets, on an isolated spur of bare hillside. White heleborines may be seen in the adjacent woods in May.

Later in the Summer, the main part of the heath is a treasure trove of wild flowers, especially at the west end, in the little dry valleys.

Alfred Kingston wrote a monograph, “The Heath and its Wild Flowers” published originally in 1904, but reprinted by Warren Bros. and Cooke Ltd in 1961. By 1904, the Royston Golf Club had already been formed using part of the Heath in 1892, and had erected “a handsome and commodious club house on the corner nearest the town”, and a public pavilion, near the cricket ground opened by public subscription in 1895. *[See also Cantab 17 – Royston 1900: A year in the life of a small town.]

Kingston lists the flowers which could be seen between June and August, an impressive list, now sadly reduced, so that, for example, I do not think we would now find two of the orchids he quotes – Gymnadenia conopsea (fragrant orchid) or Orchis ustulata (burnt orchid), but Ophris apifera (bee orchids) pop up occasionally in all sorts of places.

Nor has the ground-nesting stone curlew survived the invasion of hundreds of walkers, golfers, kitefliers and dog enthusiasts, but instead we have a fair chance of seeing feathered red kites!

From Kingston’s list of 1904, and with some modern additions, I produce here a restricted list which Roger and I identified on the Heath last Summer, and which might act as an aid to identification, in conjunction with a field guide.

Agrimony (yellow)
Birds-foot trefoil (yellow, touch of red)
Bladder campion (white)
Burnet saxifrage (brown & white)
Candy-tuft (white)
Cathartic flax (white)
Centuary (pink)
Clustered bellflower (deep blue)
Dropwort (white, pale pink)
Forgetmenot (blue)
Greater celandine (yellow)
Ground thistle (purple)
Germander speedwell (bright blue)
Hairbell (pale blue)
Mouse-ear hawkweed (lemon yellow)
Heath spotted orchid (spotted leaves)
Horse-shoe vetch (yellow)
Jack by the hedge (white)
Kidney vetch (yellow)
Ladies bedstraw (yellow)
Milkwort (blue or mauve, purple)
Meadow rue (pale yellow)
Mignonette (cream)
Musk thistle (purple, nodding)
Rock rose (yellow)
Rose madder (pink, very small)
Silver weed (yellow, silver leaves)
Small scabious (lilac)
Squinancywort (mauve or white)
Tall broomrape (brown)
Toadflax (yellow & orange)
Viper’s bugloss (blue & pink)
Welted thistle (purple)
Wild thyme (light purple)
White and red campions
Yellow-wort (yellow!)

Later in the Summer flower:
Autumn Fellwort (purple)
Blackberry
Carline thistle
Meadow Sweet
Rosebay willow herb
Wild chicory

Ramblers sometimes say to us, “How do you know what flowers to expect here?” Perhaps this will help! This is not a comprehensive list and we have not included the common “weeds” of the daisy, dandelion variety. See if you can do better!

Visible Prehistory
As well as being a valuable wildlife haven, the Heath is an important prehistoric site. The oldest feature is a Neolithic long barrow, 6000 years old. Looking north from the long barrow, one can see the route of the Icknield Way, an ancient trade route from the Norfolk coast to SW England. The Heath’s high ground also attracted Bronze Age burials, here as One Hill, Two Hills and Five Hills. The features known as Mile Ditches (parallel to the Therfield Road) are Iron Age, and were probably territorial boundaries.

If the weather turns wet, Royston has inner resources.

The Royston Cave, a bell-shaped chamber cut into the subterranean chalk is unique in Britain. It contains numbers of carvings and symbols, whose origins are uncertain, although it has been claimed to have been associated with the Knights Templar, before their dissolution in 1312. The cave is located in Katherine’s Yard off Melbourn St, near the cross roads in the middle of the town.

The cave is open to visitors by guided tour, 2.30-5pm, Sat, Sun, Bank Holidays between 26 March and 25 Sept, and also Wed in August. Adults £5, Seniors £4.

Royston Museum
The original museum in the town hall, was opened in 1856, but was re-established in 1984 in the Old Congregational Church School, off Lower King Street. There are extensive local archives, pictures, archaeological finds, interpretations of Royston Cave, The Royston tapestry, and much else.

The museum is open all year, 10 – 4.45 pm, Wed, Thu and Sat, and also 2 – 4.45 Sun, Easter – 30 Sept. Admission gratis. Donations appreciated.

The parish church is set in attractive municipal gardens in the town. It is part of the old Norman priory, with a Victorian chancel.

Long Distance Paths
Royston is, of course, a hub of Long Distance Paths.

The Icknield Way Path is a 110mile trail, linking the Ridgeway Path to the Peddars Way. Together these routes take strands of the ancient Icknield Way trade route which crossed England from Norfolk to Dorset. Royston lies squarely on the route of this popular path. We have the 5th edition of the walkers’ guide, obtainable from the Icknield Way Association. See: www.icknieldwaypath.co.uk

The next long distance path is an unusual one. The Hertfordshire Chain Walk consists of 15 linked circular walks through rural East Hertfordshire, and published for the East Herts Footpath Society . The edition we have was published by Castlemead publications, Ware. The route passes through Therfield, narrowly skirting Royston! See:www.easthertsfootpathsociety.org.uk

The Hertfordshire Way is a magnificent 166 mile route, covering, as the name suggests, most of the County. This was very much a Royston walkers’ initiative, with the first section or “leg” going from Royston to Wallington. The guidebook, edited by Bert Richardson of RA Royston Group, is published for the Friends of the Hertfordshire Way by Castlemead publications. See: www.fhw.org.uk
Janet & Roger Moreton

Mill Road Cemetery, Cambridge
Nick Ballard writes in praise of our city cemetery in the RSPB magazine. Mill Road is “a closed cemetery, with no burials since 1955. Over eight acres harbour a surprising variety of animals and plants. My species list includes more than 110 plants and grasses (excluding trees and shrubs); 42 birds; at least 9 mammals including two species of bat, weasel and dormouse; 23 species of butterfly and plenty of lichens and other diptera. The Diocese of Ely must be praised for their management, along with the Friends Group which promotes the value of the site.”

The main entrance is off Mill Road, opposite the “Sally Ann” charity shop, and using all the paths, it is possible to make a walk of nearly a mile. Alternatively, one can make a short cut to Gwydir Street or Norfolk Street.

Essex Coast Path
The entire length of the Essex Coast Path has been opened, making the longest coastal walk in an English County, including large numbers of creeks and estuaries.

Essex RA are justly proud of their new path, and announced the imminent official opening in the September edition of the Essex Area Update. Peter Caton has written a book, “Essex Coast Walk”, available on Amazon. Maps and photos illustrate the text with details of ports, towns and villages along the route, nature reserves and points of interest, as well as the history of the coast.

Watching our words! A Footpath:
What do we mean by a Footpath?
In Britain, a footpath –
is a path for people to walk along,
is a walkers’ path, especially in the countryside,
is a narrow path for walkers only,
is a path for pedestrians alongside a road,
is a pavement,
is a term in geology meaning a horizontal expanse of bare rock or cemented pieces.

When using the term “footpath”, perhaps we should watch our step!

Try “Footway” for a made-up path alongside a road. “Public Footpath” or “Public Right of Way” (PROW) for a countryside path. However, “PROW” does not define the usage of the way – it needs to be qualified as a footpath, bridleway, byway, cycleway, road or whatever. And a road may be private, and yet have public footpath rights.

The term “pavement” is also fraught with difficulty. A pavement is a surface that is paved over. Pavements are part of the Highway. When they run alongside a county road, they do not have any separate legal existence.

A highway engineer regards the term “pavement” as referring to the whole paved area, so the footway alongside may or may not be classed as pavement depending on whether it is surfaced.

Finally, use “Sidewalk” for a footway if you go to the USA!

Letter to the Editor, County Summits. (See Cantab 84)
“Hello Janet & Roger.
Back in 2001 there was an article in the Cambridge Evening News about the highest village in the county, which they gave as Great and Little Chishill equal at 475ft. This provoked several items of correspondence and I wrote saying Great Chishill was highest, but didn’t know exactly where, but thought it was off any road. I then consulted OS who eventually came back with the very accurate grid reference of TL 42738 38546 and a map with a nice star in the middle of a road. This turned out to be Hall Lane Great Chishill.

Just a few months later I obtained the book ECHOES which was published in 2000 and describes walks to all of the county summits in the country. In that book several of the local summits are different from those you have quoted from Paddy Dillon’s book.. In the acknowledgements the author thanks the OS for their support of the project, so presumably they supplied heights and references. It seems to me that over the years OS have revised heights as they are able to use more sophisticated methods of surveying.”
John & Tessa Capes, 23 Feb. 2016

Hoffer Brook project
South Cambs District magazine describes improvements made to the Hoffer Brook between Foxton and Newton, where it runs beside a public footpath. Fallen trees have been cleared, and tree thinning and scrub clearance will let in more light. The water quality is good, and a fish survey is being mounted. It is hoped the brook will in future be less prone to flooding.
The first phase of the work on the brook was funded through the Cam and Ely Ouse Catchment Partnership, and a band of volunteers teamed up with the Wildlife Trust. The local landowners, Richard Barnes of Foxton and David Watson of Thriplow Farms helped with machinery and access for the works.

Cantab Rambler by E-Mail & Post
Cantab usually appears some 4 times per annum.. 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. 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@outlook.com
Cantab85 © Janet Moreton, 2016.

CANTAB84 – March 2016

CANTAB84 – March 2016 published on

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

CANTAB RAMBLER

Why not Sawston?
Cantab Rambler goes back to 1999, and a majority of issues include a “Parish of the Month”, as I have been told this is a popular feature.

So why not Sawston – the biggest village in terms of population (but not, in land area, the biggest parish) in South Cambs? It is because I have been daunted by the task of describing the many inner village paths through the housing, and partly because I felt that many readers will know Sawston very well already. However, I hope the following may be of interest, and contain something new for you.
Janet Moreton
N.B. You can look up a previous “parish of the month” under cantab-rambler, on Cambridge RA Group’s website,
Cambridgeramblers.org/cantab-rambler/

Parish of the Month – Sawston
Sawston is quite a small parish of 770 ha. Most of the parish is situated on fairly flat chalk soils to the east of the bypass, which separates it from its water meadows by the R Cam, and Whittlesford beyond. The village, however, is the largest old-established parish in South Cambs [Cambourne looks set to have a population of around 10 000, but it does comprise 3 villages!], with a shopping centre and facilities sufficiently large and varied to accord it the status of a small town.

Like most of the villages of the Cam valley, there are traces of prehistoric settlement. A Neolithic flint axe was found S of the village, and signs of Neolithic tool production were found on the site of the old vicarage. At least 10 ring ditches, former Bronze Age barrows, are grouped around a former trackway, and a Bronze Age hoard (axes and spears) was found on the Icknield Way. Borough Hill Iron Age fort was located on the W side of the railway, near the present Spicers Works (ca TL472494, not accessible).

The Romans left few traces here. The parish was settled by the Saxons in the C7th, when agricultural patterns were established. An Anglo Saxon burial was found in 1816, when workmen dug gravel from Huckeridge Hill, ca. TL 481503 on the road to Cambridge, finding a sword, a bronze bowl and snake’s head buckle. An Anglo Saxon mill existed at Dernford.

In early times, the places where the river could be forded gave rise to scattered settlements along these routes. The manors of Dernford, Pyratts (on the site of Sawston Hall), and Huntingdon are recorded throughout the Middle Ages. Later in the Middle Ages, the N-S route, on the road between Cambridge and Royston became more important than the E-W routes, with the village cross marking the junction with Church Lane, at TL487492. Linear development occurred along the High Street, consolidated in the C13th, when Pirot, the lord of the manor, planned a village extension in the direction of Cambridge.

As early as C17th, paper making started at Dernford Mill, although a mill had been present here since 956. In the C19th, Towgood had a paper mill, and built homes for his workers. Spicer Brothers purchased the paper mill in 1917.

A Chamois leather works at TL 486489 was established by Hutchings & Harding in the. mid C18th, with later premises dating from the mid C19th. T S Evans of Old Yard Leather Works developed The Spike for housing at the S end of the village. Crampton’s Mineral Waters was another large employer. Thus, by the mid C19th, aided by the coming of the railway, and the introduction of steam power in the paper industry, Sawston was an industrial village, putting behind the poverty of the earlier part of the century, when at times up to a third of the population had been on poor relief following agricultural inclosure in 1802.

Domesday records 3 manors, and a population of 41. The census of 2011 recorded some 7145 residents.

Points of interest
The parish church of St Mary The Virgin is a Norman foundation, dating from the early C12th. Its tower is 600y old, and the nave arches are Norman and Early English. It is usually open.

Nearby are the locked gates of Sawston Hall, unfortunately not open to the public. The hall, the former seat of the Huddleston family for more than 400y, briefly sheltered Mary Tudor in 1553, but was burnt by the mob after her escape. Some of the original building remains. Stone from Cambridge Castle was used in the rebuilding, which is dated in the central quadrangle 1557 and 1584.

Notable old buildings in the village are C16th Ward’s House, and Huntingdon house (typical H-plan manor with cross-wings), and a manorial dovecote in Hammonds Rd.

Sites of Special Scientific Interest
One SSSI lies to the W of the bypass and up to the railway line, being one of few remaining areas of fen carr in the S of Cambridgeshire. The other is Sawston Hall meadows (both inaccessible).

Public Footpaths
Fp1 – Dernford Rd to Lt Shelford boundary
Fp2 – Cambridge Rd to Dernford Rd (fp1)
Fp3 – Hillside to Martindale Way
Fp4 – Baulks (High St) to Crampton Terrace
Fp5 – New Rd to The Baulks
Fp6 – Mill Lane to Common Lane
Fp7 – Mill Lane to join fp 6
Fp8 – The Bull, High St to Common Lane
Fp9 – High St to Whittlesford
Fp10- Catleys Walk, London Rd to fp9
Fp11- Babraham Rd to Church Lane
Fp12- Church Lane by Mile Path to Babraham
Fp13-The Green Rd to Sunderlands Corner
Fp14- Church Lane to Pampisford fp 2
Fp15- Mill Lane rail crossing to Whittlesford
Fp16 No 11 Church Lane to Churchfield Ave
Fp17- High St to Shingay Lane
Fp18- Chestnuts, Mill Lane to The Baulks
Fp19- Mill Lane to West Moor Ave.
Fp20- The Baulks from Crampton Terrace to Mill Lane (continues fp 4)
Fp21- Paddock Way to fp 11
A street plan is essential for following the inner-village paths. Without one, I have become misplaced on more than one occasion in the large housing estates!

Outline walks
Here are a few suggested walks, probably well known already to local readers, taking one outside the village envelope, and with ideas for further extension. They mostly involve a certain amount of road walking, and are thus more suitable for the muddy winter months, which commonly extend into April. I would suggest that an exploration of some of the inner village paths, using a good street plan, is also interesting and worthwhile.

A To Whittlesford & beyond 3, 6 or 10miles
From Sawston carpark (CP) TL 487494, go S down London Rd. Turn off R down signed fp 9, or shortly after along Catleys Walk (fp10). Cross the bypass and the railway, and enter Whittlesford past the Hamilton Kerr Institute (restorations for the Fitzwilliam museum). Cross the large rec towards Whittlesford Churchyard (approached via a residential road, to the R of the pavilion) to use Whittlesford fp 1, becoming Sawston fp15 over a footbridge, cross the railway on the road by Spicers barrier, and then the bypass. Find a “backs of gardens” route, fp 20, leading to the Baulks and so to High St and the CP. This route may readily be extended to include a walk around Whittlesford and the Moor (6 miles), or also paths to Thriplow (10 miles).

B To Dernford and Whittlesford 5 miles
This rather “roady” route takes in the historic Dernford Hamlet. From the CP walk NW up Huckeridge Hill along the footway of Cambridge Rd. Turn left on signed fp 2 (past a flock of sheep?) to the bypass. Cross with care and follow the signed path to Dernford, two arable fields to be negotiated en route. At Dernford House, the path is waymarked through the garden. The start of the continuing Lt Shelford fp 2 is sometimes very damp. Reach the road at Rectory Fm, and turn S on the road to Whittlesford, passing attractive lakes (but take care, no footway). It is a pity there is no route through Spicers land. At TL 466486, take the path SSW then SE through a pretty young plantation on access land in the centre of Whittlesford. On reaching the road, turn left and walk to Whittlesford Guildhall. A snicket at TL 473485 leads to Whittlesford church (usually open via door at rear, also WC). Return by the route described in Walk A.

C To Babraham, 4, 5 or 7miles
From the Sawston CP walk to the parish church, go down Church Lane, and follow “the green road” to across the rec. Cross Babraham Rd, turn R and take a signed path L, Babraham fp 11 to Rowley Lane. Turn R along the lane and follow it to the S end of Babraham. Return immediately on a new /footway cycleway (adjacent to Sawston Rd), or, from the road corner, take a crossfield path to join Sawston fp 12, Mile Rd. (4 miles)

However, from the wall at the S corner of Babraham, it may be desired to walk to the “George” PH for refreshments, and, on the return, visit the “Pocket Park” and the signed route to the Church, in a handsome rural position against the backdrop of Babraham Hall. (total 5 miles)

To extend this route yet further, continue on the path by the R Cam past Babraham Hall, and research buildings and across fields and tree belts, passing a turning R across a footbridge to a path to the A1307. However continue ahead to a substantial bridle bridge marking the next crossing of the Cam. Note the mounting blocks here, following the conversion of Rowley Lane to a bridleway. Turn round here, and walk back down Rowley Lane to join the return route. (total 7 miles)

D To Pampisford 4 miles
From Sawston CP, walk to the parish church, take Church Lane, and turn half right on fp 14, joining Pampisford fp 2 to Pampisford Wych. Go S down this road (no footway), and turn off R on a signed fp through Home Fm. In Pampisford, take a short cut across the rec and visit the church. Follow the road through the village, to the pub on the corner. Turn R along London Road, taking a detour, if desired, to the L, through the yard of the Black Bull, and continuing on fp 6 along the edge of a sports field, before turning R for High St. This walk is not readily extended, except by making various detours on Sawston inner-village paths.

East Anglian County Summits
Here is a suggested project for the Spring
Why not visit the East Anglian County Summits?
Cambridgeshire’s Top, at 146m, is located S of The Hall, Great Chishill, on Landranger 154, TL 427380. From the B1039, a track runs close to the site.
The Top for Essex, 140m is nearby, at TL 433362 in Great Chishill.
Norfolk’s County Top, 102m, is at the accessible Roman Camp, Landranger 133, TG 185415, near Sherringham.
Look for Suffolk’s Top, 128m, off the A143, at Depden, SE of Elm’s Farm. There is no trig point – a GPS might suggest the exact place, (Landranger 155, TL 786558).
Bedfordshire’s Top, 243m, is on the Dunstable Downs, about a mile out of Bedford off the B4541, Landranger 166, SP 008194.
Finally, the highest of them all, the Top for Hertfordshire, 244m is at SP 914091 on Landranger 165 off a minor road 0.5km W of Hastoe, in the Chilterns.
Data from “The County Tops”, Paddy Dillon, 1985.

Cambridge Weather 2015
The Botanic Gardens issued a report of last year’s weather, summarised below.

The year started with some instances of light snow, which quickly disappeared. Rainfall for March, April and June was below average, and there was evidence of the ground cracking on warm days in April. July was a month of extremes, when 35.0degC was recorded on 1 July, and storms brought 87.1mm rain overnight on 23 July, contributing to an unusually high month’s total of 153mm. Numbers of days of high winds occurred, which resulted in temporary closure of the garden. The year finished with a rainfall total of 556mm, almost exactly the average annual rainfall of 557mm.

Elsworth Footpath 2
Problems have arisen recently relating to path usage on and around Elsworth Footpath 2. The path is signed alongside the village school, TL 313637. It passes down a fenced passage, goes round the edge of a small field, over a couple of small bridges, and then goes generally NW towards Pitt Dene Farm. The problem is on this latter section. Walkers have used the available farm track, whereas in fact the right of way follows the field edge on the other side of the ditch, before lighting off across the fields near the site of some former pits. Fairly recently the landowner has taken steps to inhibit the use of the farm track. Do you know this path? Have you walked along the farm track, believing it to be a right of way? RA Cambridge Group have offered to help Elsworth Parish Council assemble some evidence of past usage. Please send any details to me,
Janet – roger.janet@outlook.com

The Bike-Bus Explorer, Cambridge to Gamlingay on Sundays
Just before going to press, I have heard a rumour that the Bike-Bus Explorer, mentioned in the last issue, is presently discontinued. Please check before making plans to use it.

Cantab Rambler by E-Mail & Post
Cantab usually appears some 4 times per annum.. 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. 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@outlook.com
Cantab84 © Janet Moreton, 2016.

CANTAB83 December 2015

CANTAB83 December 2015 published on

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

CANTAB RAMBLER

Access for all? – Transport
The Christmas/New Year festive season, which regularly throws up 4 or even 5 days almost without public transport, has reminded me of those forcibly confined to barracks (or at least to within walking distance of home), and the state of particularly the bus service, in and around Cambridge. The author lived in a car-free household until the age of 50, and every Christmas, with some valuable free time off work, was deeply frustrated by the inability to go further than her legs would carry her. At that time, this might have been 15 miles or so, but it was still very aggravating!

Within Cambridge, there is, at least on weekdays and out of holiday periods, a reasonable bus service. Certain routes out of Cambridge are well served: City 13 to Linton and Haverhill runs a half hourly service; Bedford, St Neots, Cambourne and Huntingdon are well served, and of course the guided bus provides a wonderful service about every 10 minutes to and from St Ives, and the splendid recreational area provided by the Fenstanston Lakes. And I should mention a special Sunday service to Wimpole and Gamlingay which runs a couple of times a day on Summer Sundays, especially for walkers and cyclists.

But the weekday bus service to Saffron Walden only runs once an hour, and the big village of Balsham has a very poor service. Worse than this, there are places in Cambridgeshire that are lucky to have a couple of buses a day.

On the whole, residents of Cambridge City who want to take a country walk using public transport can do fairly well, so long as they accept there are places not reachable. However, someone living in one of the villages, even if that village has a good bus service, will probably find themselves required to go into Cambridge and out again, to reach the start of a public transport walk in another village. These remarks would apply, similarly, I believe, to those living in villages around, say, Peterborough and Huntingdon.

I do not know what proportion of ramblers living in Cambridgeshire do not have access to a car to get them to the start of a walk. The RA Cambridge Group programme puts on a reasonable number of public transport walks. The programme suggests that offers of lifts are often available for car-start walks. Do people think that the programme has got the proportion bus-/car- start walks correct?

Access for all – The Less Able
There are walkers and walkers. There are those who might be members of The Long Distance Walkers Association, for whom twenty miles in a day might be routine. And there are those for whom two to four miles in the countryside constitutes a pleasant if challenging walk, that, for reasons of strength, age or disability, they are just able to manage.

But where to take such a walk? Each person with a disability is different. Typical problems relate to poor surfaces, steepness of ground, steps, fast roads to cross, and obstacles such as stiles.

Reading the Ordnance Survey Explorer map can be used to give the first selection of a route. Measure the route for the distance, look for points of interest or refreshment, check there are no major obstacles, and no contours close together indicating a steep slope (what in Cambridgeshire?). But the map will not tell us where there are stiles.

In some respects, a walks guide to an unfamiliar area may be more helpful, specifically mentioning the location of stiles, seats along the way, etc. But remember that a year may pass between the path inspection and publication date, and much longer if the guidebook has been languishing on your shelves, or in a library.

The greater the disability, clearly, the greater is the potential access problem. Making the countryside enjoyable and reachable is about more than provision of wheelchair access or specially adapted toilets. Above all, it is about consistency and continuity. There is a huge bridge over the A14 at Hardwick, giving potential power-assisted wheelchair access to the long footpath going to Dry Drayton. But beyond the bridge, further progress on the rough path would be most problematical for such a buggy, and has proved very hard going for someone limping on a stick.

Over the years, improved access for the less able has been the aim of many organisations, such as The Fieldfare Trust, and including The Ramblers’ Association. Both the local RA Cambridge Group and Cambridge Rambling Club have recently been able to assist the County Council and local parishes by providing funds for seats and a stile.

What can ordinary ramblers do? Please report any obstructions, like fallen trees to the County Council. You may be able to struggle past, but others might have to turn back. If leading a walk, I suggest it is helpful to state if the route is stile-free, and give an indication of the pace. Similarly, I appeal to walking guide authors to give details of stiles or other potential difficulties, and to note the presence of seats along a route. Give distances, rather than time for a walk, as a lame person may walk at half the normal pace.
Janet Moreton

Parish of the Month – Cherry Hinton
History
Since 1934, Cherry Hinton has been part of Cambridge City, so you will not find its boundaries defined on Explorer 209. In times past, it was a separate parish, occupying the West corner of the Flendish Hundred.

The War Ditches, a hillfort 55m in diameter, stood at the top of Limekiln Hill (TL 484 557) where prehistoric activity was concentrated. Late Bronze Age barrows were discovered within the ditches of the chalky fort. The upper layers of the fort reveal late Iron Age pottery. Its single rampart failed to save its inhabitants from massacre ca 50AD. In Roman times, the War Ditches site was reused as a farm of 110AD, including 4 -5 buildings, rebuilt in the C2nd & C3rd, and many Roman coins were found. Roman buildings were also discovered on the site of The Church of the Latterday Saints on Cherry Hinton Road, and, in the north near Church End, a Roman villa was excavated in the 1980s.

Time moved on and the Bronze Age barrows in War Ditches were reused in the C7th as Anglo Saxon burial sites, with grave goods, including a crystal ball, sling, and spear head.

Cherry Hinton used to consist of separate settlements at Church End and Mill End, separated by land prone to flooding. In 2000, a Saxon Church was excavated at Church End, along with a cemetery of over 650 Saxon burials. Mill End had at least one watermill. The village green at Mill End surrounded Giant’s Grave (source of the brook) and stretched north down the present High Street beneath the Unicorn pub. Mill End had Rectory Manor and Netherhall Manor.

By 1066, Hinton was held as a manor by Editha The Fair. Her land was confiscated following the Conquest, and given to Count Alan of Brittany, as part of the honour of Richmond. Eventually, part of the manor passed to the Fitz-Hugh family, and held in direct succession for 350years. There were closely related manors called Uphall Manor and Mallets Manor in Church End, dating from around 1100. All the manors of Cherry Hinton had disappeared by the late 1700s. The marshland between Church End & Mill End was drained after Inclosure in 1810. Other marshes west of the village between Trumpington Drift (Queen Edith’s Way) and Cherry Hinton Brook, were drained 1825 & 1869. Of several streams, the only visible survivor is Cherry Hinton brook, a R Cam tributary, arising SW of the village at Giants Grave. The bridge that carries Daws Lane over the brook, north of Cherry Hinton Hall, was known as White Bridge.

The high quality chalk subsoil made for a thriving clunch and lime burning industry until early 1900s, and the former cement works and its pits have left a considerable impact on the parish.

The short-lived Chesterford to Newmarket railway built in 1847 passed through the SW of the parish. Taken over by the Great Eastern railway in 1851, it closed in 1858. By 1928, traces of the route, now Mamora Road had vanished (although the deep cutting of the railway can been seen crossing Fleam Dyke).

Reliable water supplies have made Cherry Hinton a good site for settlement since prehistoric times. In 1852, Cambridge University and Town Water Co. obtained an Act of Parliament for water to be piped to a high level reservoir at Madingley from the spring-head at Cherry Hinton. The project was completed 1855, with a reservoir on Limekiln Hill and a pumping station on the south side of Fulbourn road. By 1883, demand required two further wells. After a typhoid scare in 1907, the pumping station was replaced by one at Fulbourn. The Waterworks Co handed over the springs to Cambridge City Council in 1941, and the reservoirs have continued to supply the City since.

In 1086, 41 peasants lived in Cherry Hinton; by 1279, there were about 174 tenants; in 1377, 185 people paid the pol tax; and in 1664, there were 60 house-holds. In 1821 the population was 474, going up to 1537 in 1891. This was the start of suburban development, so that by 1901, the population was 2597; by 1921, 4269; and by 1961, 11201. Several suburban roads were laid out between 1889 and 1928 (Mowbray, Perne and Brook roads). In 1938, the Queen Edith’s Way to Coldham’s Lane section was made a ring road. By 1998, there were over 200 streets in the parish, many of them cul de sacs (so don’t go exploring without your street map!).

Afoot in Cherry Hinton
Amidst all the modern housing, it is worth looking for some attractive old buildings in Church End. The present church, St Andrews (in clunch and Barnack stone) dates from ca 1100. Its early English chancel was described by the Pevsner as “best”. At Church End, one timber-framed thatched cottage survives from the C16th. North of the Church, Uphall House is also C16th timber-framed, with a central chimney stack, but was extended in 1830. To the SW, Church Hall Farm has a late C17th 2-storey wing, with an C18th single storey E-W range. On the NE side of High Street, are C17th & C18th houses, and the 2-storey Glebe Cottage, C16th timber framed, remodelled in the C19th.

Nature Reserves
For the outdoor person, the jewels in Cherry Hinton’s crown are the nature reserves, managed by the Wildlife Trust. Limekiln Close, 2.6ha of medieval chalk pit, lies at the foot of Limekiln hill. It consists of chalk grassland, scrub and woodland, and is accessible in 3 places through handgates. Continue a short distance up Limekiln Hill, to come to East Pit, opened as a reserve in 2009, and giving a complete contrast to the wooded Limekiln Close, since it displays cliffs of bare chalk, and bare chalk paths, yearly becoming more colonised by characteristic chalkland species. At the top corner of the pit is an interpretive board for the War Ditches site, and other display boards explain the exposed chalk layers and plant life. Cross the road, and enter the caravan site. Between the driveway and the roadside, a very steep, almost mountain- like path ascends in the trees. Emerge in West Pit, a small reserve known for its superb displays of wild flowers between May and August. A conventional exit through a kissing gate leads onto Limekiln Road. It would be nice to recommend a walk up Limekiln Road & Worts Causeway onto the Via Devana, but neither road has a footway, and both are dangerous.

Cherry Hinton Park and pathways
This is a popular spot for dogwalkers, and the shady trees and pond provide an attractive venue for mothers with young children come to feed the ducks. Out the back of the park, a tarmac footpath leads to the Citi2 bus stop in Walpole Road. A branch path, turning off right behind the park, becomes City Fp 1, following Cherry Hinton Brook past allotments, and emerging at Brookfields, opposite the foot of Mill Road. Also from Brookfields, City Fp2 runs E-W past the former cement works lake & quarry, in a fenced defile, crossing the railway (becoming Fp3) & continuing generally east, still largely contained between fences. Meeting High St near the level crossing, it continues near the railway behind Tesco, acquiring a more open aspect. This route, now in Fulbourn parish continues to join Fulbourn Old Drift, past the Ida Darwin Hospital and giving a quiet route to Fulbourn village.

The Definitive Map for Cambridge City shows a number of other short paths in Cherry Hinton, now largely short-cuts through housing. Other such pedestrian through-ways are shown in the County’s “list of streets”, and are better tracked in a street map or good street atlas, than on OS 292. The unfortunate path City 109/ Teversham 2, was diverted as a footway around the fence of Cambridge airport.

Cantab Rambler by E-Mail & Post
Cantab usually appears some 4 times per annum.. 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, 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@outlook.com
Cantab83 © Janet Moreton, 2015.

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