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CANTAB58 September 2010

CANTAB58 September 2010 published on

** Please note that this is an archive of the CANTAB publication and contains out-of-date information **

CANTAB RAMBLER

Volunteers wanted…
I understand we are shortly to have a Year of The Volunteer.  But before you all rush out to sell secondhand shirts in Oxfam, consider also the needs of the Ramblers’ Association, and indeed, of other environmental charities.

Membership is down, since with the recession people are cutting back on subscriptions. And there have always been those who walk by themselves, or with family or with a walking club, who believe their wants are satisfied without the Ramblers’ Association, and who forget the work this charity does to protect their interests.  If you are not a Ramblers’ member, I remind you that the subscription pays/has payed for the RA to fight path closures, to press for access to moorland and heath, and currently to work on the coast path. In Cambridgeshire, The RA was funding a transport consultant to support us in obtaining path crossings over the A14 at the Inquiry, until the new government cancelled the project.

But I address those who regularly send their membership dues to The Ramblers. Looking at the combined programme for Cambridgeshire Area, I find almost every Group has vacancies on its committee, sometimes masked by a single member occupying more than one post.  Consider the attendance at AGMs, when it is well-known that folk avoid the occasion, lest they be elected onto the committee. One concludes that the members-at-large feel committee members are a gene-selected race apart, and of course it is out of the question that they themselves should agree to serve.  For your information, we too are outdoor folk, for whom committees are a necessary evil.

If you think this is unnecessarily hard hitting, consider Cambridge Group.  Our much-loved Footpath Secretary for Cambridge City, Jack Lewry, died so prematurely just a year ago, still dealing with Cambridge planning matters affecting paths, almost to the last.  In spite of the efforts of the Chairman and Committee, this post remains unfilled, although maybe 100 or more Cambridge members live within the City itself.  In absence of a City officer, some things have had to be neglected. For example the University is planning development of a West Cambridge Site, and has repeatedly invited a representative of the Ramblers to its meetings, but we have been unable to respond, perhaps with future implications for paths on the site.

For those for whom Committee work is totally objectionable, there are other ways to serve the cause of keeping the path network in optimum condition. The role of volunteers in on-site footpath work is likely to be needed much more as financial restrictions tighten the purse of County Councils.

Roger and I are Footpath Secretaries for South Cambridgeshire District, the 100 parishes (with some 1300 paths) surrounding Cambridge City.  We have been in this post for ca.30 years. We did it as well as we could while we were both working, and before the advent of the Internet, which has made communications so much easier. Over the years, we do feel that our contribution, together with the work of others within the RA, and working with the County Council and local people, has made a difference to the Cambridgeshire path network.  In the 1980s and 1990s we were much helped by other people within the Group who turned out to help with path surveying and waymarking, and problem reporting.  Nowadays, volunteers are much thinner on the ground.

However, presently we are fortunate to have in our Group Tim Miller, who has become a “Footpath Guardian”, and regularly visits a small group of parishes, Over, Swavesey, Fen Drayton, Willingham etc., reporting problems to ourselves and to the County Council.  Tim is an experienced walker and map reader, and his reports are a model of clarity. Moreover, if there are problems such as blocked stiles or dumped cars, he has the spare capacity to return again later, and yet again if necessary, and report again until the problem is cleared. With 1300 paths to cover, we are not always able to repeat visits. Tim is able to work by himself, and so there is a small group of parishes that we do not need to visit so often.  And friends like John and Tessa Capes, regularly report upon problems around Sawston. How wonderful it would be if another 20 or even another 5 people appeared, willing to do a similar task elsewhere in the District!

We have reaped satisfaction and enjoyment from our path work, which is now a full-time occupation, but there have been other times of  frustration and weariness.  We would be happy to continue if there was more help.  We are no longer young, and aware that we come this way but once.  There are other activities we like to do.  If you are still reading this, think on these things. Cambridge Group is not alone in having these problems.

Janet Moreton

Afoot in the Mordens
Guilden Morden and Steeple Morden, between them, have 107 public rights of way, as well as large recreation grounds apiece, and young Woodland Trust Woods: White Ponds Wood by a stream behind Steeple Morden rec; and Tween Towns Wood in Guilden Morden, on low land beside the same stream.

In recent times, there have been changes to the path network, some of which are on-going.  This article aims to update you on a few paths in Guilden Morden, and to give an impression of the work that has been done by Cambs CC and of the complexity of the network. All problems described in the text are already reported to Cambs.CC.

Cobbs Lane
Byway 9 in Guilden Morden, shared with Steeple Morden as Byway 1, runs from New Road at Great Green TL 286446  to a bridge over the River Cam at TL 283463, leading to Tadlow.

This hedged lane, formerly deeply rutted and founderous in Winter was closed for many months while repair work funded by CCC went forward. The lane is presently in lovely condition. One of the hedges has been cut back, and replanted in places, and the surface of the route has been made good.  Do use and enjoy the autumn colours!  There is a Seasonal Traffic Restriction Order (with gates locked against wheeled traffic in Winter) hopefully preventing damage occurring again.

Fp 14 should turn off W from Cobbs Lane at TL 286448, to run between an electric fence and tall hedge, but is presently obstructed by overgrowth. A little further along, however, Byway 8 turns off W at TL 285452 as a grass track, which later becomes a narrow residential road, leading back to Guilden Morden. A third option, just before the bridge over the river, is to take  fp 2, at TL 283463, and follow the comfortable grassy field-edge, later continuing as a farm track, back to Green Knoll Barn, Guilden Morden.

Cold Harbour Farm
In 2005, a new path, fp 56 was created by agreement down the driveway to Cold Harbour Farm, to turn SW across an arable field as the existing fp 48.  At the same time, fp 48 was re-aligned away from a grassy baulk which ran close to the buildings to a mid-field position. The N end of fp 48 crosses the drive, now avoids a horse paddock, and reaches Ashwell Road at TL 276415.  The S end of fp 48 reaches the County Boundary ditch, to continue beyond as Ashwell fp 18.

Following the diversion, we were not pleased that the new line of  fp 48 was (and is) often not reinstated.  Worse, there is a sign put up at the top of the drive, on Ashwell Road, “Private Road, No Public Access“.  Now whilst it is true that fp 56 runs down the verge to the drive, and not the drive itself, this is a misleading and discouraging notice. There is a signpost finger attached to a roadsign on the opposite side of the road, a long way away, and often not observed by potential path users.  Cambs CC have now accepted that this is a problem, and have agreed to erect a “Public Footpath” signpost on the verge at the top of the drive.  Let me know if it has happened, or if you have any problems here, please.

Obscure paths mid-village
Guilden Morden fp 31
Footpath31 is an example of an obscure path, useful as a short cut from Byway 27 (Church Lane) to Buxton’s Lane, without walking along the High Street.  At TL 279437, the path goes down a narrow passage between trees to emerge after 30 m into a small arable field.  Fp32 continues ahead, also going to Buxton’s Lane, at TL 280434, but fp 31 turns half-right to run S across the corner of the field (usually cleared).  At the other side of the little field, TL 279436, the path crosses a hard track, passing a neglected farm yard on right, and goes through a narrow passage under an elder tree, to reach the rear of domestic gardens.  Here it enters a narrow way between gardens, continuing  S to cross the drive from High Street to house no. 57A at TL 2790 4354.  Beyond the drive, a mostly 1m wide passage leads S under trees, with garden fences to left & right eventually emerging between houses nos 1 & 3 on Buxton’s Lane (Byway 29) by a signpost at TL 2790 4344.  This is a good example of several narrow, and rather adventurous paths in the Mordens. This one is not recommended for the very substantial walker, or one wearing many layers of clothes, as it is only 0.5m wide in a few places, e.g. where it passes a tree!

Guilden Morden Footpaths 43 & 44.
These paths are almost opposite fp 31, on the other side of the High Street, and are an example of Cambs CC’s ongoing efforts to sort out some complicated problems in this parish.

Fp43 is not really a problem, except that it lacks a signpost, and it is quite well used by village people. On High St. at TL 278435, fp 43 starts through the wide concrete entrance to the yard of Home Farm. The RoW runs W on a clear space up to 10m wide in the hard-surfaced  yard between sheds and barns, to exit through a wide gateway. There used to be a waymark here, but the exit is now partially blocked by some old farm machinery, which Cambs CC has promised to get removed.  At TL 277435, it emerges onto  Bridleway 17 (Silver Street) at a T-junction.

Now for the really difficult one. Go across the yard on fp 43, and exit onto Silver Street.  Fp44 should turn SE through the middle of a barn, and take a devious route across a derelict field, and behind gardens, to emerge through the garden of house no 74 High Street, and meet High St between the gardens of houses 72 & 74.  The barn seems to have been there many years, possibly even when the path was added to the Definitive Map in the 1950s – perhaps it was an open-work structure then!  However, presently, it is possible to walk a few metres SW (left) down Silver Street, and enter the derelict field (weeds and old polytunnels) making generally for the rear of gardens of houses 58 – 66 High Street. Cambs CC has recently partially cleared and waymarked the entrance to the rear of garden of house no 74. It is possible to go through the garden, keeping at close as possible to the fence with no 72, and emerge through a gate.  Cambs CC has consulted with Cambridge RA Group and the landowners on a diversion of this path, and it seems likely that only the part affected by the barn will be diverted. In the garden, there was a hazard of a broken manhole cover, obscured by a flower pot close to the path, and  vegetation at the rear of the garden, but these problems are in hand with Cambs CC..

There are at least a dozen paths which emerge through gardens, orchards or paddocks in the Mordens, several now  waymarked and in good order; some like fp 44 being worked on; and a few still in a difficult condition. Guilden Morden fp 20 (behind Town Farm) is another path being considered for diversion. At present it is obstructed by a stable block.

I hope this article has given some insight into complexity of this locality, for which the use of the 1:25 000 OS sheet 208 is scarcely adequate.

New wood in Cambridgeshire
The Summer 2010 issue of the County Council magazine, “Your Cambridgshire” has an article on the planting of a new wood between Girton and Oakington. Some 400 volunteers planted about 3000 trees, but when the task is complete, 8640 broad-leaved trees and shrubs will make up the new community wood in the 46 hectare site.  New access arrangements will allow the public to enjoy the site.  The wood has been planted to celebrate 100 years of County Farms Estate.

Vandalism to Fleam Dyke steps
Sadly, the new steps at the Fulbourn end of Fleam Dyke, put up in the last year by Cambs CC for £5000, have since twice been vandalised. Repair cost about £500.

Parking News
At Brandon Country Park, Suffolk, where cars used to park gratis, there is now a charge of 50p on weekdays, and £2 at weekends.  The adjacent toilets & cafe are open until 4.30pm.

At High Lodge Country Park, Norfolk, the car parking is more expensive, £1.80 per hour, with a maximum of £10. Free parking is still available at Warren Lodge, in Rishbeth Wood.

Debden village, Essex, has a large carpark in front of the recreation ground, a popular place to start a walk.  Recently, a notice has appeared, to the effect that parking is limited to 2 hours, other than for users of the recreation ground.

It is reported that non-members of the National Trust, parking at Wimpole for £2, can get this refunded when making purchases in the shop.

The Pathfinder Long Distance Path
This 46 mile circular route, passing old wartime airfields, was created by the military in honour of the Royal Airforce Pathfinder Force.  The leaflet was produced in 1999, but I have only just got round to trying the route.  Details of the route may be obtained from The Pathfinder Project Officer, c/o The Central Registry, RAF Brampton / Wyton PE18　8QL.  Recent OS Sheets Explorer 225 and 227 have the route marked.

I walked (most of) it with friends, in sections, and using two cars.  If any readers have done it using public transport, or all in one trip, I should be interested to hear from you.  Day 1 was walked from Dry Drayton to Papworth Everard; then successive trips continuing to Godmanchester; to Broughton; to Bluntisham, and then to Longstanton.  The amount of road walking required was discouraging, so we missed out the part between Longstanton and Dry Drayton along the very busy road that connects with the A14 near Bar Hill.

On Day 2, we cut out 1km of road walking, by taking a pleasant route through Graveley churchyard, then continuing on a path through pasture to rejoin the road at TL 246643.

On Day 3, near RAF Wyton, we cut out 2km of road walking, by taking the bridleway from the A1123 on the outskirts of Houghton at TL 280726, then the footpath running approx. N across 2 fields to reach the A1090 just beyond the airbase.  This left another 2km of busy road, before we could turn off, thankfully, on the path towards Kings Ripton.

So we will not be able to claim our certificate for having done all the route (£2 from the address above) but we have visited some new sites and paths, and thought about the frantic and dedicated wartime activity in these now very quiet fields.

Cantab Rambler by E-Mail & Post
Cantab appears approximately every two months. A large number of you now receive Cantab by e-mail. By hand, 10p is appreciated towards the cost of paper and ink. If you would like to receive an issue by post, please send an A5 SAE, and a 10p stamp.

Offers of brief articles will be gratefully received.

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

e-mail roger.janet@care4free.net

Price 10 pence where sold Cantab 58 © Janet Moreton, 2010

CANTAB57 June 2010

CANTAB57 June 2010 published on

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

CANTAB RAMBLER

This Month…
First, I have for you an article by Peter Dean on “Beating the Bounds”, an ancient custom revived in a few parishes, such as Little Shelford in South Cambridgeshire.

We are also much indebted to Peter for a second contemplative and thought-provoking article.
Where did he visit?

Janet Moreton

Bounds – Beaten or Unbeaten
Little Shelford Bounds Walk, 2010
Little Shelford, according to one authority (The Place-Names of Cambridgeshire, CUP 1943), takes its name from the River Cam crossing – “the shallow ford” -but there may be something in the fact that the Scaler family “owned” it as absentee landlords between C11th and C13th. Name and place are too close not to allow the possibility.

The Cam (or Granta) from its crossing with the M11 in the NW corner of Hauxton to the Dernford Mill bridge in the SE constitutes half the total length of Little Shelford’s boundary, an estimated 10 miles in all. The M11 takes about half the rest, but entry to that of course is restricted to mechanical transportation..  In a few places, the “Bounds” do come within immediate arms reach.

1. The bridge in Bridge Lane
2. Riverside walk at The Wale rec.
3. Dernford Mill
4. Whittlesford Road Crossing just before Spicers Pond.
5. The Whittlesford – Newton Road at Kidmans Plantation & also where the cinder path meets it.
6. At the Newton Road M11 underpass
7. At the Hauxton Road M11 underpass

Beating the Bounds weekend falls at Rogationtide, and was organised on Saturday 15　May by Little Shelford Parish Council Footpaths Subcommittee and the Little Shelford Local History Society. Some 30 people assembled for the start of the walk near All Saints Church, Little Shelford.

A similar event was held on the same day by Great Shelford, starting at St Mary’s Church, and the two groups met across the bridge in Bridge Lane.

Both parties carried out the ancient ritual of Beating The Bounds, rapping the ground with hazel twigs and claiming their territory.  The custom is believed to be originally of pagan origin, long before maps sealed and defined boundary lines, but has been subsequently acceptable to the church.  The Little Shelford party chanted:
“We’re beating the bounds in the name of Little Shelford” (repeated twice)
“To all we say: Go in Peace“.

Peter Dean

The event was recorded in the Cambridge Weekly News of 20 May, along with a happy photograph of the participants.

As well as marking its boundaries, the walk was in support of Little Shelford’s campaign for its footpaths.

Walking the Line in South Cambs
By Peter Dean
Cambridgeshire, so adjacent to and incorporating so much fenland, is commonly thought of as a flat county.  The fenland parts are, though you’ve only got to look at Cambridge itself with its Castle Hill up-gradient on the exit to Huntingdon or approach Ely from any direction and recognise its salients.  Nevertheless, generally low-lying though it is, it is not otherwise flat – it undulates, there is any number of small hills west, south and eastwards, its southernmost border at Royston boasting the tail-end of the Chilterns running away eastwards into another reputed flat county Essex – which, of course, also undulates most agreeably.

As a walker – one who wherever possible leaves the roads behind to strike out into traffic-free countryside – will tell you,  passage over the tracks and rights-of-way brings a constant shift of landscape view at human-eye level, long, short and medium.  In a very few steps you find a long vista has disappeared and you’re crowded in by a stretch of rising ground that cuts off any prospect but the little hillock or mound itself, only for you to emerge again in brief time to another prospect quite unlike the one you were looking at those few minutes before.

Let me take you on one such walk.  We’ll go clockwise round a circular route, traversing a sizeable portion of the village boundary, which roughly follows the river all down one flank.  We go north-west out of the village on the roadside pavement for a mile and a quarter (yes, I know, not the most enticing of starts, but things get better) until meeting the main arterial road into the city.  Turning due north here, we meet the (river) boundary line after about 250 yards where it crosses the road.   At this point we go east to make our way along a route more or less following the river, heading against the current.    But with what a difference!

Writing about another Cambridgeshire watercourse, William Potts [Proceedings of Cambridgeshire Antiquarian Society Vol. XCIV] memorably commented:

‘The natural courses of fenland rivers are remarkably convoluted…  original courses were 3 or 4 times longer than the path of a well-motivated crow.  A straight or fairly straight fenland river is the work of man’.

His words are wonderfully appropriate also to this location.  Human paths and routes have been formed usually through a compromise between directness and geography.  They make every attempt to stay as straight as they can – understandably since their purpose was to enable any journey to be accomplished with the least possible outlay of effort and time.  By contrast the river’s shape suggests the opposite – winding, looping, turning back on itself, with, in the section we’re meeting here, nary a straight stretch of any length to be found.  You walk the path alongside it seemingly initially and suddenly, as you were perhaps looking at a view that has opened up before you, perhaps trying to pick out some identifiable feature, it has wound away to a distance, almost become indiscernible under its low banks in the flat green meadowland.  Then, just as suddenly, it’s there at your elbow, glimpsed through a buckthorn or wild damson hedge lining the path, glistening down below, near enough now to jump into.  And even as you stare at it, putting one foot before the other on your walk, it swoops off in another extravagant bend and you’re not certain, such is the unrevealing nature of the contiguous countryside, which way it proceeds, having vanished round that corner, until your progress gives you an angle of view the better to decide.  But even then it’s a bit of a guess.

You only discover it made that general direction when it comes up close again half a mile later in your walk.   An OS map shows you the detail.  That well-motivated crow analogy comes to mind.  In terms of distance the man-made path lies somewhere inbetween.  And because it attempts as far as possible to follow the direction of the river, cutting corners across those loops and twists when it can, the track zig-zags, bringing thus the constant change of view, a different landscape and vista as you walk it.  Thus where at one point you have a view of gantries and towers and other tall buildings in the distant city, when you emerge from behind the long low bluff which cut you off from it all that has disappeared – you have imperceptibly changed direction and the new angle shows a tree-lined horizon and nothing to identify with your previous view.  It’s a surprise and a delight.  And behind you the river winds irresistibly northwards, like the zig-zag track you have trodden, determined by the invisible contours deep beneath your feet.

And at last with this panoply of views and impressions – the unfamiliar back of a familiar church now beyond the river shrouded in romantic willows and poplars; distant road-freighters cruising smoothly and soundlessly across on the motorway;  the mysterious underpasses for both that, when you come by one of those sharp zig-zags to it, and for the railway – suddenly you’re in slightly more recognisable country, another turn, another church and here’s the path coming to an end past the old farm buildings and you’re back with roadside pavement and turning west again and only the bridges to get over to the other side of the winding river in order to complete your circular walk.   The river will have done 5 or 6 miles:  you zig-zagging between the same two points perhaps two and a half:  that well-motivated crow not much more than a single mile.   Magic.

In all, a circular ramble of roughly four-and-a-half miles, not requiring the use of transport and production of c-oh-two to undertake it:  and the sort of thing that should be available in every community.

New Footpath / cycleway beside A1307
Between the Magog Golf Course roundabout, and the Wandlebury estate, a tarmac footway / cyclepath is under construction.  This will allow a safer and rapid (downhill) stride from Wandlebury Country Park, to the Babraham Road Park & Ride site (but watch out for speeding cyclists behind you. A pedestrian is in Addenbrookes’ with severe concussion, having been knocked down on a footway by a hit & run cyclist in Cambridge, as reported in Cambridge Weekly News, 22 April 2010).

A quieter route, from the rear of the Wandlebury Estate is, of course, by means of the Roman Road, a descent down Worts Causeway to the Beechwoods Reserve, and charming permissive paths inside the hedge to the rear of the P & R site.  The downside of this route, is, of course, the section down Worts Causeway from the Roman Road to the Beechwoods where there is no footway, and an unrestricted speed limit. Cambs C.C. is still to take action here.

This little piggy…
a mammal having short legs, cloven hooves, bristly hair, and a blunt snout used for digging…

Have you met a wild pig in the woods?  If so, were you charmed or alarmed?

An article in SAGA (May 2010), suggests that dog owners might not be too pleased to meet a wild pig, especially at this time of year, when there are little piglets to be protected.

Wild boars can weigh up to 500lb, and are possessors of 6 inch tusks.   The wolf is the boar’s natural predator in the wild, so sows with piglets loathe dogs, and will give chase. Wild pigs once roamed freely in the British Isles, but were exterminated by hunting by the C15th. Place names like Everton in Bedfordshire, and Eversden in Cambridgeshire may derive from “eofor”, the Anglo-Saxon for wild boar. Indeed, Little Eversden has a wild boar on its village sign.

How is it that they are back in the woods? They are certainly present in the Forest of Dene, Dorset, Devon, and Epping Forest. It seems they originally escaped from private collections, perhaps at the time of the hurricane of 1988, which brought down fences and enclosures.  As their natural habitat is woodland, they have bred most successfully since.

Has anyone encountered one? The article I read suggests that the risk to humans is low – but personally I would keep well clear, especially if there were piglets, adorable or otherwise.

Eversden Wood
This attractive woodland is topical, as it has recently been re-waymarked by a Karen Champion from the County Council, and local volunteer Clive Dalton,  with assistance from the landowner. In 1997, the whole parish was waymarked by RA Cambridge Group, together with a big local turn-out. Some of the old way-mark posts have been re-used, together with some smart additional ones, to clarify the routes within the woodland, and avoid inadvertent trespass..

Three points give public entry to the wood.
(a) On the S side at TL 345 529.
(b) On the W side of the wood, the point of entry is at TL 342 533.
(c) On the E side  at TL 349 532
Explorer Sheet 209 shows routes to these points from Eversden, Kingston, and the bend in the minor road above Wimpole Belts.

Eversden Wood is perhaps the dampest of all those in South Cambridgeshire.  Lying at the junction of Wimpole, Kingston and Eversden, on high, flat clay, perhaps this is the reason why the ancient woodland survived here untilled. Wellies are definitely needed to explore these woods in Winter.  At present, although pools persist on the rides, boots will suffice. The rides run between former coppice woods with standards, nowadays rather wild and unkempt.

Jealously guarded for pheasants, these woods also support a good selection of wild flowers in season.  In early spring, expect dog’s mercury (that indicator of ancient woodland), lesser celandines, and a few oxlips. Later, when we visited in May, we found a good spread of bluebells, ladies smocks, the yellow archangel, cowslips, bugle, ground ivy, greater stitchwort, pendulous sedge and wood sedge.. Young leaves on beech, hawthorn, field maple gave the rides a green glow. Later, there would be flowers of yellow pimpernel, silverweed, brooklime, figwort, red campion and angelica, as the leaves testify.  In mid-May, we saw some plants of early purple orchid, with spotted leaves, not yet in flower.

Where is waymarking much- needed?
Cambridgeshire County Council Team has acknowledged the need for more waymarking along paths in the County.  The Highway Authority has a statutory duty to signpost public paths where they leave a county road.

Waymarking along the length of a path is discretionary.  The County Council notes that the Local Access Forum regards waymarking as a priority.

Last Autumn Roger and I surveyed West Wickham, Horseheath and Balsham in South Cambs for further waymarking, and this was carried out by contractors early this year.  The Friends of the Roman Road and Fleam Dyke have waymarked a 25 mile route which has recently been promoted, also showing paths branching off along the route.

Do you have any suggestions? (Cambridgeshire only, please). If so, I will be delighted to pass them to Kate Day, at the County Council.

We have suggested, for example, that the long, cross-field path between Bassingbourn and Abington Pigotts is a prime candidate for re-waymarking, and this has been put on the waiting list.

Back issues of Cantab on CD
Thanks for the fan mail (to be shared with Norman De’ath, who did the index).  A cheque for £25 has gone to Ramblers’ Cambridge Group.

Cantab Rambler by E-Mail & Post
Cantab usually appears every two months. A large number of you now receive Cantab by e-mail. By hand, 20p is appreciated towards the cost of paper and ink. If you would like to receive an issue by post, please send an A5 SAE, and a 20p stamp. Offers of brief articles will be gratefully received.

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

e-mail roger.janet@care4free.net

Price 20 pence where sold Cantab 57 © Janet Moreton, 2010

CANTAB56 April 2010

CANTAB56 April 2010 published on

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

CANTAB RAMBLER

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Cantab Rambler by E-Mail & Post
Cantab usually appears every two months. A large number of you now receive Cantab by e-mail. By hand, 20p is appreciated towards the cost of paper and ink. If you would like to receive an issue by post, please send a large SAE, & 2nd class stamp.

Offers of brief articles will be gratefully received.

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

e-mail roger.janet@care4free.net

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

CANTAB55 February 2010

CANTAB55 February 2010 published on

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

CANTAB RAMBLER

The “Godmanchester Case”:  a note on claiming rights of way
In the “Godmanchester Case” (formerly called the “Drain Case”, after the name of one of the appellants), the Ramblers’ Association took a claim to a Godmanchester right of way as far as the House of Lords – something not lightly undertaken – in a successful attempt to clarify a point of law that had, in their view, been misinterpreted by the courts for many years.  The background to the case, as reviewed in Footpath Worker*, Vol.25 (1), Sept. 2007, is that since the Rights of Way Act 1932, it has been possible to claim a public right of way along a route, if it can be shown that the public has used it without interruption for at least 20 years.  The law on this point (most recently set out in the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981) then says that the landowner can be presumed to have “dedicated” the route as public, provided that he has done nothing over the 20-year period, to inform the public that he had no intention to do so.  Landowners have used, and continue to use, various methods to show their lack of intention to dedicate.  These may be fences, locked gates or “Private” notices, but have also included letters written to lawyers, or to the County Council or, in the Godmanchester Case, an agreement instructing tenants “not to allow any footpaths to be created”.

What was established in the Godmanchester Case is that such tactics can only succeed if they are communicated to the public, so that people approaching the path are made aware of the landowner’s intention not to dedicate.  A private letter or agreement will not do, even if it is written to the Local Authority (whose officer will simply file it away without anyone knowing about it).

The value of this ruling is already apparent:  the latest issue of “Footpath Worker”, Vol. 26(2), Aug. 2009, has notes on 5 cases in which rights of way were successfully claimed, in Berks., Cornwall, Cumbria,  Bucks., and Derbyshire, and in 2 cases the Godmanchester ruling was crucial.
Roger Moreton

*Footpath Worker is a quarterly bulletin “for all concerned with the care and protection of public rights of way”, circulated to footpath secretaries within the Ramblers’ Association, or available by subscription from “The Ramblers, 2nd Floor Camelford House, 87-90 Albert Embankment, London SE1 7TW, ramblers@ramblers.org.uk.

Footpath Worker is one of many initiatives funded by the Ramblers’ Association. Your RA subscription helps to keep it in print!

Parish of the Month – Orwell
Explorer Sheet  209
This pleasant village, 8 miles from Cambridge, is situated at the foot of the chalk ridge bearing an important prehistoric trackway, The Mare Way, which reaches a height of 90m at the northern boundary of the parish. The lower parts of Orwell are on clay, dropping to 20m near the River Rhee, its southern boundary.

Some 12 public rights of way lead around the village, and to neighbouring parishes of Wimpole, Whaddon, Meldreth, Barrington and Shepreth.  Use the public carpark at the foot of the village pit, and take time to admire the village, in the light of its history and setting.

Background to Orwell Parish
The parish takes its name from the spring S of Toot Hill, which has been partly quarried away for chalk. Orwell includes parts of the lands of 2 lost villages, Wratworth at the N end and Malton in the SE.  But before there were villages here, settlement occurred in very early times.

Prehistoric, Roman and Anglo-Saxon
Neolithic and Bronze age flint tools were found on the low land by the Rhee, and sherds of Iron Age pottery were collected before the golf course was built.  More Iron Age pottery & coins and Roman coins, broaches, a bronze javelin head and pottery (both local Nene Valley type and imported Samian ware) were discovered  near the river, where an old track led to a crossing place.  Excavations on sites just S of High Street  and in Chapel Orchard revealed Roman pottery. The A603 was a Roman Road.  Anglo Saxon finds in river dredgings at Malton included a Viking spear, key, spindle whorls, and axe-heads.

Middle Ages
The parish of Orwell included what is now Malton Farm, which was a hamlet with its own chapel.  Malton has evidence for Saxon settlement: it is on a ford over The Rhee, bridged in the C19th. Malton was part of the estate of the Tyrells of Shepreth, and was acquired by Lady Margaret Beaufort for Christs College. The scholars built their own house, and let the old manor.   Malton was already described as depopulated by 1428, and enclosure of its fields began in the C15th. A house was built at that time over an earlier rectangular moat.  Most of Malton’s chapel was pulled down in the C16th., when it was already ruinous, and had been used as a cow-shed.  The last traces of the chapel were obliterated in the late C20th, but signs of extensive moats are still visible, although nothing can be seen from Fp11, as it approaches Malton Cottages.

There are no clear manorial remains in Orwell itself, but a map of 1680 shows an area known as Lordship, with a large mound on it, possibly a castle.    This was levelled for a school in 1883, and when redeveloped, there were no indications of previous structures.  The site is recalled by the name “Lordship Close”, across the road from the church.

Village development
The main part of Orwell is along the High Street, aligned on an old trackway at the foot of the chalk ridge. The church stands at the W end, and immediately below it lies Town Green Road.  The name is all that remains of the Green, almost 600m long, but only 50 m wide.  The green was a deliberate addition to the village in mid C13th, when Ralph Camoys, the Lord of the Manor, was granted a (rather unsuccessful) weekly market & annual fair in 1254.  The green was gradual built over and enclosed.  In 1655 “Camping Close” at the N end (where the boys played) was given to a lawyer Thomas Butler, in exchange for help in protecting grazing access.  What remained by 1836 was divided by Inclosure and completely covered by cottages and gardens.

The brook S of the village (beside fp11) was straightened into a drain in 1837, after the parish was enclosed. The garden wall of No.30 High St is thatched and there are cottage gothic cottages.

Off the Malton Road on the village outskirts is the Millennium Meridian memorial, a handsome stone globe, with a small bench adjacent, wide enough for two close friends!

The Church
The earliest C12th church consisted of a squat tower, an aisleness nave and a small chancel. Part of the lower section of this tower remains.  In the mid-C13th, the tower was heightened, and a few years later, the N aisle was added.   In the early C14th, a S aisle and porch were built.  In 1398, the old chancel was removed, and rebuilt on a larger scale.  This was paid for by the rector, Richard Anlaby, as a memorial to his patron, Sir Simon Burley.  By the C19th, the church was in poor order, and passed through two massive restorations.

The present church, built of clunch, is mainly perpendicular, having an impressive chancel with fine windows. The finest feature is the roof, wagon-shaped in 5 slopes and with alternate bosses and shields carved at the intersection of 66 square panels. The church exterior is well-seen from Fp 5, which starts up a flight of steps beside the churchyard. Within, the altar table dates from the reign of Elizabeth I and there is a monument in the church to Jeremiah Radcliffe, one of the translators of the Bible.

Orwell Clunch Pit
The pit is an old quarry site of ca. 4 acres, approached from High Street either via Fp 5 next to the churchyard, and up Glebe Field or via Fp 6, adjacent to the carpark. An old may-pole once stood on the Toot Hill, above the clunch pit, which is now a nature reserve, and contains the prominent Millennium Beacon.

The Clunch Pit
This attractive pit has been owned by the Parish Council since 1974, and was designated by English Nature as an SSSI in 1985.  There was a major clearance of scrub in 1999, and short chalk grassland is maintained by use of grazing sheep.  This is a good place for wildflowers, including cowslips, scabious, knapweed, wild thyme, pyramidal orchids and bee orchids, and the yellow carline thistle.

Chapel Orchard
Next to the thriving Methodist Chapel on Town Green Road is a most attractive old orchard which is now a public open space. The owners, South Cambs D.C., had decided to sell the site for housing in the late 1990s.  After a local outcry, and the land was redesignated as a green space, with the Parish Council obtaining a 25y lease, and the site was formally opened in 2006.  Local residents have converted the wilderness to a charming wild park, with pathways and picnic tables. The old fruit trees have been pruned, and some of the grass trimmed. The wild-flowers here form a contrast to those of the short grassland in the Clunch Pit.  Using money from the Heritage Lottery Fund & SCDC grants, villagers have also restored the old spring and dip-well, from which Orwell derives its name: in Domesday, it was the Oreuuelle.

Village website
www.orwellvillage.co.uk
Where there was once a population of ca. 20 people at Domesday, the excellent village website now serves a population of over 1000 in the parish.  I have mined this for recent information on The Clunch Pit, and Chapel Orchard, for which grateful acknowledgement.

The Path Network
(a) The Northern circuit)
From the village carpark, TL 365 505, Fp6 runs up a gated lane to enter the Clunch Pit, where there is open access.  It continues, partly on steps up the E side of the pit, to the grass sward on the top, where it joins Fp5.

Fp5, leaves High Street at TL 363 505, and starts up a flight of steps beside the churchyard. It continues up Glebe Field, and enters the enclosure at the top of the Clunch Pit. Leaving the rear of the enclosure through a kissing-gate, it continues N, quite steeply down a fenced path to the A603.

Cross the A603, and turn right (W) for a few yards to the start of Fp2 at TL 363 510. This right-of-way (RoW) starts NE up a hard-surfaced drive, before turning NW beyond a bungalow, beside a line of trees, up Thorn Hill.  At TL 363 516, the RoW turns briefly left beside a lower crossing hedge, and then makes NNW across the arable field.  However, most users continue NW in the original direction by the tall hedge to Mare Way at TL 364 518.

Examine Explorer 209 carefully and it will be seen that two bridlepaths run along the course of Mare Way on the top of the ridge, one each side of a ditch.  The more southerly one is Orwell Bp 3. In fact, it appears to start at a dead-end at TL 365 516, then runs SSW to the junction with the Wimpole Road, by the large tanks at TL 352 524. The “double” path along Mare Way doubtless reflects the path’s original width and importance. (Sadly, Bp3 does not meet the A603.  Its failure to do so relates to the Inclosure Award, in 1836, when the bridleway was acknowledged, up to the point where it met a common.  When the common was enclosed, public access rights across it seem to have been lost.  A route crossing the A603, to link with the Whole Way was listed as desirable in the Cambridge Green Belt Local Plan in May 1984, but nothing ever came of it.).

From the junction with The Wimpole Road (Eversden byway 9) at TL 352 524, Orwell’s Fp4 is the start of the path going S to French’s Corner, and continuing as Wimpole fp 3 to Cobbs Wood Farm, and thence to Wimpole.  After sampling Wimpole Hall’s tea & scones, the walker might well return down the drive, and the track over the road, crossing a little stone bridge at TL 346 513, and climbing a stile towards Thornberry Hill Farm on Wimpole Fp4.  At the parish boundary, the continuation is Orwell Fp1, which runs along a field edge beside a tree belt, to reach the A603 opposite Fishers Lane. Alternatively at the stone bridge, continue ahead on the permissive path along the old Victoria Drive, within the tree belt, to reach the A603 at TL 359 507.  By either route, the circuit from the church to Wimpole Hall is ca.4 miles.

(b) The inner-village circuit
Again, starting from the carpark, go E along High Street, passing an attractive thatched wall, and several old cottages.  Start S on Malton Lane, noting  Barrington Fp1 soon turning off  left. (This pleasant path makes possible longer circuits, eg via Barrington, Shepreth, Meldreth, Whaddon and King’s Bridge, ca. 9 miles).  However, to explore Orwell’s paths, continue along Malton Road, here forming the parish boundary, admiring the Meridian Globe, and take Orwell Fp8 at TL 369 499.

This path is waymarked beside ditches, to bring the walker to Fp11 beside the deep drain.  To go S on Fp11 will lead to Malton Cottages, the last section being across an arable field, sticky in Winter.

Going  N on Fp11 leads back into the village, via Meadowcroft Way and Lotfield. (Note street names, if necessary to locate the start of the path in the reverse direction).  Continue N along Stocks Lane, to where Fp7 passes through a chicane in front of a thatched cottage at TL 361 502, to run WNW on tarmac between garden hedges. It crosses a residential road (Cross Lane Close) and continues in the same direction to emerge on Town Green Road at TL 362 503, almost opposite Chapel Orchard.  The short but interesting circuit from the carpark via Fps 8, 11, 7, and Chapel Orchard is about 2 miles.

(c) The southern paths
From the church, go S on Town Green Road. Part-way along, pass the Chequers Pub on the right, and a village store on the left. Continue past the recreation ground, where there are seats enough for a group picnic, and public toilets, generally open. Go past the junction with Hurdleditch Road, to Leaden Hill, which is the start of Fp10.  This path, at first an unmade residential road, runs SW to TL 356 496, then turns SE & S, going up and down a little hill, then beside a ditch, to be well-waymarked over Malton Golf Course. The path crosses a raised bridge over the River Rhee to continue in Whaddon parish.

For an Orwell circuit, however, after descending the slight hill on Fp10, turn left (E) on Fp12 at TL 361 490 along the S side of a hedge , crossing to the N side part-way along.  A bridge over the drain leads to fp 11, at TL 365 494, and the instructions in para (b)  allow a return to the church. (3 miles).

(Note that the route given for fp 12 is not quite on the definitive line, but is that in common use. Cambs C.C. is planning to amend the Definitive Map)

Fp9 is a continuation of fp 10 from TL 356 496, turning N to the A603. It is a rutted track, muddy in Winter.

Longer Routes from Orwell
A limited bus service (Whippet 75) follows the A603 towards Wrestlingworth.  A linear route can be designed on paths which lead via Whaddon, Kneesworth and Bassingbourn to Royston (7 miles+).

A circular route  (10 miles) from Orwell via Barrington, Harlton, Eversden and Wimpole is popular, although the cross-field path between Harlton Manor Farm and the A603 at TL 382 529 can be very sticky in Winter.

Orwell to Little Eversden, Comberton Church, Toft, Great Eversden and Mare Way gives a circuit of ca 9 miles, or 12 miles including a detour around Wimpole Belts.

Mid Anglia Line Walks 2010
Roger Wolfe of the Mid Anglia Rail Passengers’ Assoc., tel 01473 726649 sends details of a series of walks over the Summer. The first on 10 April, starts in Ipswich 9.15am station forecourt, 11 miles in Gipping Valley.  Find details of the other walks in next issue.

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

Offers of brief articles will be gratefully received.

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

e-mail roger.janet@care4free.net

Price 20 pence where sold Cantab 55 © Janet Moreton, 2010

CANTAB54 December 2009

CANTAB54 December 2009 published on

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

CANTAB RAMBLER

Editorial
The time has come, The Walrus said
To talk of many things,
Of stile and gate and seat and bench,
And boots to which mud clings….

Apologies to Lewis Carroll (and in the next breath to John Keats) but this is no longer the “Season of mists and mellow fruitfulness”, but the time for unmitigated mud, permeating all parts of the countryside since the rain in the second week in November.

The rain came in time to germinate the Winter wheat, and dress the brown fields within days in an attractive green fuzz, but also to convert nearly all paths to a condition of maximum stickiness. If we confined our attentions to the sandy Brecklands, we  might be less conscious of the problem. A visiting walker accustomed to the peaty moors of Cleveland, described our boulder clay as “friendly”, in that she could not rid her boots of it.  Some of us might choose a different adjective!   However, by March, when one has become accustomed to the post-walk boot scraping session outside the back door in the cold and dark, with a bit of  luck, strong winds will start to dry the surface.

Meanwhile, out in the countryside, where does one rest awhile in Winter?  I am all in favour of the recent trend to replace stiles with kissing-gates.  After all, climbing a difficult stile is probably my most athletic feat (feet?) these days, unless it is hanging up the Christmas decorations, or retrieving a pen from under the sideboard. I digress.  My point is, one cannot sit on a kissing gate, but a stile forms a relatively comfortable seat for two, one each side.  Most villages have at least one seat, and the pub or church porch is a valuable resource, but if one seeks solitude at lunchbreak, a fallen tree may not be to hand (most of the victims of Dutch Elm disease, and of the 1989 storm having long been cleared away).

An article in the East Anglian Daily Times of 20 November 2007 suggested that the new Disability Law may oust kissing gates!  Certainly, some of the  more recent structures put in by Cambs.C.C. have a facility to open wide, given an appropriate key.

A dear departed uncle, had a solution to sitting down in inhospitable places. A sheet of yesterday’s daily paper from his bag, would be neatly folded, and he would perch on the top of a concrete hydrant.

With these frivolous thoughts, I wish you all a Happy Christmas, and trouble-free walking in the New Year.

Janet Moreton

National Trust AGM
This was held on 7 November, during which there was a debate, “The Public Footpath, not The Country House, is Britain’s greatest contribution to civilisation”.  Chris Somerville and Janet Street-Porter spoke for the motion, and Marcus Binney and Clive Aslet (previous and present editors of Country Life  magazine) spoke against.

Kate Ashbrook reported the outcome on Ramblers’ Net.  The footpaths won.  Of 371 people voting, 43% were in favour of the motion; 28% were against; and 31% abstained.  Most speakers from the floor backed footpaths.

Letter to the Editor
Thanks for another edition of Cantab Rambler, read with interest as always. We don’t get to walk in the Cambridge area too often these days, but we did do the inaugural Fleam Dyke – Roman Road walk and enjoyed it very much. What a splendid guide book – it sets new standards!   We hope to do the rest of  the  route soon using ‘bus 16 between Balsham and Withersfield to break the walk into two shorter stages.

I was interested to see your comment about the refreshment place between Clare & Cavendish on the Stour Valley ‘Way’. The route is, in fact the Stour Valley Path, which may not seem an important distinction, but anyone wanting info from the web will get the Dorset Stour if they google ‘Way’ and the Kentish Stour if they try ‘Walk’. I’ve seen the refreshment place’s adverts but have yet to sample – it’s too early or too late in the walk when I do sections of the SVP. Interestingly, John Andrews thought the road from Houghton Hall to the A1092 should be PRoW, but I don’t know whether he ever got as far as submitting a claim.

Your comments on Bartlow were also of interest. Despite the rather poor network of paths in the parish we began many walks from the station when the lines were open. The lines lasted well into the post-war BR era; that to Saffron Walden and Audley End closing in 1964; the line to Shelford and Cambridge on 6 March 1967. I recall the latter date because I led a Cambridge Rambling Club (then  CHA – HF) walk from Clare to Long Melford, making use of the trains on the last day of operation. We returned to Cambridge in the evening on the penultimate train. (1923 was the year of transfer of both Bartlow lines from GER ownership to the newly formed LNER and can’t have made much difference in such far-flung outposts of railway empires – everything must have carried on much a usual, just as happened when BR took over from the LNER in 1948).

Roger Wolfe  ( e-mail in response to Cantab 53)

A Mistletoe Walk
Combine your Christmas shopping with a mistletoe-spotting walk!  Park behind the Cambridge Botanic Gardens on Trumpington Road, and visit the gardens, which are open free on weekdays from November until the end of February.

See some mistletoe on trees in the garden, and yet more, high in the willows, on Coe Fen (providing the old trees have not been cut down as part of the Council’s recent tree-felling activities!).  Cross Fen Causeway using the underpass and walk along The Backs to Castle Hill.  In the gardens below Castle Mound is an apple tree with several bunches.  If it is near Christmas, you can buy yourself a bunch in the Market!

Mistletoe, Viscum album, is a strange parasite of tree branches, specialising particularly in apples, poplars, willows and limes, but can be found on other trees. Distribution in the wild in Britain is uneven, with largest amounts found in Somerset, Gloucestershire, Worcestershire and Herefordshire, but is reasonably frequent in Cambridgeshire, especially in gardens.

To grow your own mistletoe, the following procedure is recommended. (I have not tried this, having no suitable trees!).  Take some fresh sprigs from your Christmas bunch, and keep them cool until a mild day. Each sticky berry has one seed.  Squeeze seeds from the berries and stick them with their natural glue onto the underside of a branch. A small proportion may germinate, but growth is slow for 3 y before any mistletoe is recognisable.

There are over 1000 mistletoe species around the World, but the European white-berried mistletoe is the source of many legends. Mistletoe is mentioned in Greek myths and Pliny and Caesar described the reverence of the ancient Druids for the plant.  Later, it featured in Norse sagas.  Like a number of heathen traditions, the custom has been taken into the Christian calendar, and used to symbolise peace and love.

Parish of the Month – West Wratting
Explorer 210
West Wratting is in Cambridgeshire, and is not to be confused with Little Wratting and Great Wratting, over the border in Suffolk.

In 1981/2, when RA Cambridge Group did a survey of paths in all 100 parishes of South Cambs., West Wratting distinguished itself by having some of the poorest, unfindable paths in the District.  Today, that is certainly not the case:  a majority of its 24 paths are in excellent order, and there is a good degree of waymarking, following a path re-organisation scheme in 2005.  An effect of this, however, is that your map may not show the changes, so follow waymarks carefully.

In the village, it is possible to use the recreation ground car park at TL 604524, or a few cars can park, considerately, down the dead-end lane, The Causeway, to the church at TL 606524.  This is a small village (10 years ago the population was 460) in a long, thin parish which stretches 6 miles.  It tapers from the clay woodlands near the village at the E end, to gentle chalk downs behind Fleam Dyke, which was recorded as a parish boundary in the C10th. A good deal of the parish was heath or woodland in the Middle Ages, and there were extensive sheepwalks at Inclosure in 1813. There are few prehistoric sites identified on the heavy clay soils, although on the W side there are soil marks of pits, enclosures and ring ditches which could be Iron Age or Roman.  There was a small Roman farmstead half-way between the church and the boundary with Weston Colville, where scatters of pottery of C1st-C3rd were found, along with burnt stones.

It seems possible that this was a late forest-edge settlement by Saxons moving from Great Wratting into a largely unoccupied area.  In 1086, the name was Waratinge, or the place where the cross-wort grows.  The village supported 33 residents in 1066, and by 1377 had 180 taxpayers (i.e. at least that number of households), but was decimated by the Black Death.

The church at the end of The Causeway was completely rebuilt in the C14th, then there were two C19th restorations.  Its predecessor is mentioned in Domesday. Immediately to the N of the church stands the C18th Old West Wratting Hall, on a site that may date back to Saxon times. The surrounding park contains a hollow-way, and other remains of the medieval village.  Not much of this can be seen from the churchyard.  Nearby at the top of The Causeway is the attractive well-shelter, recently restored. The Chestnut Tree pub on the High Street is still functioning, and when recently inspected, boasted of a tea-room, open 12-5 on weekdays.  Half-way between the well-shelter and the pub on the main street is a square brick enclosure, the former village pound. There is a village hall, but no shop.  Buses run through the village between Linton and Haverhill. The largest building, the red-brick West Wratting Park, dates from ca. 1730, and can be seen from fp10, running E from the large barns on Mill Road.  Further down Mill Road, at TL 605 510, the disused Leys Mill, dated 1726, a black-boarded smockmill with a white cap & sails, is a cheerful landmark.

On the E end of the village, the former WWII bomber airfield can be approached on the unfortunate path which crosses a huge arable field. Starting as West Wickham fp20, signed over a footbridge at TL 633501, it soon continues as West Wratting fp 16, before curving NW as Weston Colville 22.  This is surely the most demanding and unrewarding path in the locality, but the majority of others are generally in fair order.

Where can one walk from West Wratting?

To Balsham
From the well-shelter, TL 605523, turn SE along the High Street, to find fp 4 signed between houses on the right  Go up a passage between gardens, and turn right on the field-edge, using fp 3 behind gardens to the B1052.  Walk SW down the road, until reaching the broad Byway 17, which leads W to the track, Fox Road, and thence into Balsham.

Alternatively, on fp 4 behind gardens, turn left on the field-edge, which follow to Padlock Road. Here turn right, and soon notice fp 2 signed opposite. Waymarks point you across a field, and through woods , and out onto a good field path which leads to Plumian Farm, Balsham. Out on one route and back on another gives a 4 to 5 mile circuit, depending on routes through Balsham.

To West Wickham
From the well-shelter again take fp 4 towards Padlock Road, but before reaching the lane, there is an option of turning off across a field on fp 6 at TL 606 516, which brings one to the junction of Padlock Road and Mill Road. Go S along Mill Road to the large barns, and at the signpost turn left through the yard past the weighbridge on fp 10.  Follow this along a field edge, crossing to the other side of a ditch & continuing on a concrete road.  Fp10 turns N between trees to return to the village, but continue around a field-edge E on fp 15 (which formerly crossed the arable field). Go round 2 sides of the field to a waymarked gap in the hedge near Rands Wood.  Continuing, well-waymarked paths in West Wickham lead either to Burton End, or to Yen Hall, or to the church at the W end of the village.  (3 to 5 miles).  Note that the only pub in West Wickham has closed.

To Weston Colville
Go through the churchyard, and follow fp 7 through grassy fields to a farm road, where the path goes N for a few yards, before resuming its former direction towards The Grove. Turn N through The Grove, cross a bridge, and go on N across a field, and through a band of trees.  You are already in the parish of Weston Colville.  Continue in the same direction towards Weston Colville’s church.

Weston Green
This hamlet, in the same parish as Weston Colville, is best reached by following fp 10 round two sides of West Wratting park, to emerge on Wratting Common Road at TL 616 516.  Turn right along the road, and left down fp 13 beyond a few houses, where there was once a larger settlement.  The path follows the field-edge then leads over a ditch to continue as Weston Colville fp 11, to the chapel at Weston Green. There is a small shop in this settlement, that sells cold drinks and ice-cream.  Sadly, the only direct connection between Weston Green and Weston Colville is along the quiet road.  A circuit would make about 5 miles.

Other routes
A number of other paths allow circuits of the village. Most field-edge paths are in good order, but cross-field ones will at most have a tractor wheeling, and are very sticky in Winter.

Quotation of the Month
The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.
He maketh me lie down in green pastures;
He leads me beside still waters;
He restores my soul.
He leads me in the right paths,
for his name’s sake.

Psalm 23, 1 – 3 ;
New Revised Standard Version

Cantab Rambler by E-Mail & Post
Cantab usually appears every two months. A large number of you now receive Cantab by e-mail. By hand, 20p is appreciated towards the cost of paper and ink. If you would like to receive an issue by post, please send a large SAE, and a 2nd class stamp.  Letters or offers of brief articles will be gratefully received.

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

e-mail roger.janet@care4free.net

Cantab 54

Price 20 pence where sold
© Janet Moreton, 2009.

CANTAB53 October 2009

CANTAB53 October 2009 published on

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

CANTAB RAMBLER

Jack Lewry –
Cambridge Ramblers recently lost a dear friend, and a dedicated City Footpath Secretary.  Jack Lewry died of cancer on 22 September. His funeral on 5 October was in the packed church at Chesterton, where the well-represented ramblers were yet a small fraction of the hundreds of mourners.  The life’s work of Jack, a retired architect, was acclaimed by former friends and colleagues. We had only known him in retirement, when Jack & Phyl were popular regulars on the walks programme, and Jack as a much valued member of the Committee. He used his knowledge of City planning and regulations for the benefit of the inner-city path network. We are grateful for many instances where his negotiations brought a useful outcome for walkers.  One particular instance, is that of the right of way by the new Bradwell’s Court. Jack’s negotiations secured a wide passage on the original line adjacent to Christ’s College wall, instead of simply through the court between the shops, or worse still round the far side, where the developers wanted to put it.  Jack campaigned tirelessly for a footpath from the Leper Chapel across to Ditton Meadows – we still hope that this might come to be, perhaps as a memorial.

Our sympathies go to Phyl and the children.

JM

Icknield Way Association – 25 Years Old!
The IW Association celebrated its Silver Jubilee AGM on 10 October at Royston.

There was the traditional morning walk on the Heath in the morning, a special visit to the historic Royston Cave, and a talk given by Cllr F John Smith, Leader of North Herts District Council, on “Royston and the Icknield Way” which preceded the AGM in the afternoon.

The IWA maintains a team of voluntary wardens along the path, produces a newsletter, and publishes a guidebook to the Icknield Way Long Distance Path, some 100 miles long, from Ivinghoe Beacon to Knettishall Heath, and passing through 6 counties. The IWA’s route is for pedestrians only, and should be distinguished from the 170 mile long Icknield Way Trail, a route for cyclists, horseriders and pedestrians, which involves quite long sections of roadwork.

IWA membership details may be obtained from Sue Prigg, at 1 Edgeborough Close, Kentford, Newmarket CB8 8QY
tel.01638 751289

Byron’s Pool
Have you visited the Byron’s Pool nature reserve at Trumpington recently?  There have been considerable “improvements” which, to my mind, are of dubious value.  This has always been an area of rough woodland, beside the River Cam, and having romantic associations with Byron and Rupert Brook.

From the entrance, the car-park has been improved, and the grass cut, and some rather derelict picnic tables replaced.  I have no quarrel with this.  But by the riverside, we now have trim fishing stances, all the weeds tidied away, and the woodland path replaced with an all-weather surface, with any older trees removed, so that it looks like a sanitised municipal park.  Perhaps this is what most people require.  But I am sad, since this was one of the last little spots of wilderness within the City boundary.

JM

Round & About in S & E Cambs
Porters Way closed this Winter…
Porters Way, which runs from the B1046 near Kingston, to the Old North Road opposite the Red House, will be closed this Winter.

A seasonal traffic regulation order (TRO) was approved, along with several others for byways, and signs and gates are being installed.  In addition, part of this very muddy lane is to be hardened with road planings or similar material, and the drier parts will be grass seeded.  Kevin Green, Capital Projects Rights of Way Officer for Cambs CC, writes that it will be necessary to close the byway to the public, and once the work has been completed it may be necessary to keep the byway closed to allow the surface to establish.

Warning notices are posted in Bourn, Kingston, Caldecote etc.

Fen Rivers Way’s new seat at Clayhythe..
The Fen Rivers Way Association worked for some years to extend Cambs CC’s promoted riverside route between Cambridge and Ely, to go all the way to Kings Lynn. The FRWA was responsible for waymarking, and production of the Fen Rivers Way guidebook. When in 2002 their task was deemed complete, remaining funds were handed to Ramblers’ Cambridge Group, in order to reprint the guidebook as required, and to keep a watching brief on the long distance path. Your Editor and companions walked the route last Winter, and found it in good order throughout.

Over the years, a modest profit has added to the sum inherited by Cambridge Group for the Fen Rivers Way, and it became possible to purchase a seat, which has been sited on the Clayhythe riverside.  Thanks are due to Jill Tuffnell, Hon. Sec. of Cambridge Group, and to Pip Noone of the Cam Conservators for their organisation.

Afoot in Dullingham…
It is pleasing to note the creation of three new rights of way in Dullingham parish, following an application to Cambs CC, supported by Dullingham PC.  All are on or adjacent to the recently created Hope Hall Stud, which occupies land to the S of Dullingham Church, and E of Brinkley Road.

Fp27 leaves the existing Fp6 going S from Dullingham Church at TL 632 575, and goes E along a grass track between a tall hedge and paddock fence, to reach the rear of a cottage garden at Cross Green, where it turns right for 50m, then left, to emerge on the road to Dullingham Ley.

Fp26 turns off Fp27 about half-way along, at TL 634 575 and follows another grass track N, to come out on the road beside Dullingham sports ground at TL 634 579.

Fp28 will leave Fp6 further S, almost opposite existing Fp8, which also connects Fp6 with the Dullingham Ley road, and run W to join the Brinkley Road at TL 631 572.  However, there are problems at present because although there is an obvoius hard road from the new house by the path junction, the new right of way does not quite follow this.  There seems to be no objection to walking down this hard road, and exiting through a hand-gate onto the Brinkley road.  (Thanks to Phil Prigg for information).

These paths, though they cannot be said to lead into the wilder fastnesses of East Cambs, do provide some pleasant local circuits, which have already been in use for some time by local cognoscienti – which, of course, is why the rights of way claim was successful!

Is Juniper Worth Conserving?
As members of the charity Plantlife International*, we receive regular magazines and leaflets and, of course, the inevitable appeals for financial assistance.

One recent leaflet about Juniper struck a local chord, as the only wild population in Cambridgeshire is preserved on Fleam Dyke (on the section SE of the A10), and some of the precious remaining bushes were only rescued from obscurity or stifling during clearance of this section of the Dyke a few years back.

Juniper is one of the only three native conifers in the UK (the others being Scots Pine and Yew, according to Edward Step in “Wayside & Woodland Trees”).

Plantlife warns us that juniper is now in serious decline.  Many of the remaining bushes are over 100 years old, and are no longer very successful at reproduction.  Open bare ground is needed for seed germination.  On under-grazed land, the seeds do not germinate, and existing juniper bushes eventually succumb to enveloping scrub – which was what was happening to the bushes at the foot of Fleam Dyke!  And too much grazing, of couse, means the saplings are nibbled.This is why the bushes on the Dyke have a wire cage, to fend off rabbits.  Climate change projections suggest that in 80 years, Juniper will disappear from much of southern Europe.  If this happens the UK could become a last bastion of this much-loved plant, and perhaps the plants along Fleam Dyke among the most southerly on Earth!

Go gently past!

*Plantlife International – The Wild Plant Conservation Charity, 14 Rollestone St., Salisbury, Wilts, SP1 1DX

Friends of the Roman Road and Fleam Dyke – the new Long Distance Path
The new 25 mile Fleam Dyke & Roman road Walk was launched at Wandlebury on Sunday 13 September, attended by about 60 people, of whom 29 came on the 15 mile walk on the southern section, with 20 finishers.

By that time, the guidebook was published, representing excellent value at £2.50. This will be available by hand at Cambridge Group’s AGM on 20 November, Friends Meeting House, Hartington Grove, 6.30pm or by post at £3.25 from the Editor and prime mover, Roger Lemon, Brecklands, Main Street, Shudy Camps, Cambs, CB21 4RA.  Cheques should be payable to “Friends of the Roman Road & Fleam Dyke”.

Roger Lemon will be speaking on the development of the route at the AGM, and by that time, waymarking work around the route will have been completed by volunteers.  The waymarking is particularly valuable on those parts of the walk which join up the Roman Road and Fleam Dyke sections, taking in less well-known paths especially those  in West Wratting, and West Wickham.  The Friends are grateful for a grant from “Awards for All” (National Lottery) which has made the project possible, and to numerous volunteers.

Food for Thought –
More Pub & Café  News...
In Sawston, two adjacent pubs, The Black Bull, and The Queens Head have closed, and also The Woolpack, elsewhere in the village. However, Sawston is still served by a good number of restaurants, pubs, and four cafés (North’s Bakery take-away, Skivers, William’s café, and a café at the Free Church). I am indebted to John Capes for up-to-date information.

When visited in September, the Plough Inn at Radwinter was for sale.  In the locality, The Red Lion at Great Sampford has food, as does The Bluebell, Hempstead.

Has any reader sampled the food at Houghton Hall Farm, which is on the Stour Valley Way between Clare and Cavendish (Explorer 210, TL 785 466) ?  We have twice passed the display board, propped incongruously on the path itself, advertising coffee and cake in a sunny countyard, Thurs-Mon, 11am – 3pm.

Parish of the Month – Bartlow
OS Sheet 209

History…
There were originally 7 Roman burial mounds (once called the Seven Hills of Bartlow) in two parallel lines close to Bartlow church, of which only 4 survive to dominate this small village.  The largest is 15m high, probably the tallest in Europe.  C19th archaeologists excavated cremated remains, dating from the C1st – 2nd,  and recorded an iron folding chair, an iron-bound wooden chest containing glass drinking vessels, and lamps, bronze wine flagons, sets of Samian tableware, and the remains of funereal wreaths, for the burial of the upper class.  Some of the mounds were destroyed in building a road in 1832, and during the construction of the railway later in the C19th.  A modest Roman villa occupied to 350AD was also excavated at Bartlow Park.

No less memorable than the “hills” is the nearby Norman church, with a rare C14th round tower containing 3 ancient bells.  Note the cross-eyed lions in the upper lights of the C14th chancel windows!

The parish of Bartlow was cut out from parts of Ashdon and Castle Camps, and was owned by the de Vere family after the Norman Conquest.  Only the existence of the church in ca 1100 confirms the early presence of the village, as it was not recorded by name until the C13th.  The original manor house, recorded 1279, may have been a precursor of the present Old Hall, near the river.  In 1279, there were some 160 residents; by 1377 there were only 32 people living in the village; but in the census of 1801, 83 people were recorded. In 1996 still only 90 people inhabited the parish.  The railway came in 1865, making Bartlow a junction between the track from Audley End and the Haverhill to Great Shelford line.  The Great Eastern line closed in 1923, and the Audley End branch line was closed by Beeching in 1965.  The tracks were removed and the land, sadly, sold back to Bartlow Estate – the route would have made a delightful footpath!

Public Paths in Bartlow
There are only five usable public paths in Bartlow parish.

Fp 1 leaves the churchyard, and leads by a massive bridge over the railway to the well-maintained area around Bartlow Hills, where there is a display board.  Fp 4 leaves this area going west, and emerges on the road to Ashdon, at TL 585 449.  It then continues parallel to this road, inside at belt of trees. At TL 585447, it joins Fp 5, which passes in front of residences, and joins the footpath in Essex going to Steventon End.

Bp 2 is the start of the route to Cardinals Green, leaving the Shudy Camps Road at TL 598  452.  Within 100m, it enters the parish of Shudy Camps, continuing as Bp1, and later as Horseheath Bp13.  Fp 3, on a track passing under the disused railway at TL 594 451 was shown on the 1972 Revised Draft Map, but was disputed, and never made it to the Definitive Map.  Similarly, Bartlow Broad Balk is a track well-known to local horseriders, and would be much valued by pedestrians, but has not been registered as a right of way.

Following a Public Inquiry, held in the village in 2003, Fp 6 was added to the Definitive Map by Cambs CC, as directed by a DEFRA inspector on 13 January 2004.  A minor diversion at the east end was confirmed by Cambs CC on 11 January 2005.  Allowing for the gathering of information, which was started by a village resident Mr Ogilvy, and continued after his death by The Ramblers, the whole exercise took nearly 5 years.  The path starts from the side of the churchyard, where there is a wooden signpost.  The route passes between a garage and the wall of a house, and continues on a very wide gravelled drive between new properties, built on the site of the former farmyard. The right of way emerges at the junction of the roads to Cambridge, Ashdon and Hadstock.  It avoids a very dangerous corner of the road, near the Three Hills public house, and is a useful shortcut.

Walking Routes
Only the shortest of circuits may be made in the parish. From the churchyard; go past the Three Hills on fps 1 and 4, north along the Ashdon Road, and back to the churchyard on Fp6.  It is possible to park by the churchyard.

However, the village lies on several attractive through-routes, such as Horseheath to Linton, via Cardinals Green and Hadstock (minimum of 7 miles).  A circuit may be made from Ashdon, via Steventon End returning via the bridleway to Ashdon Sewage Works (6 miles).

Cantab Rambler by E-Mail & Post
Cantab usually appears approx. every two months. A large number of you now receive Cantab by e-mail. By hand, 20p is appreciated towards the cost of paper and ink.  If you would like to receive an issue by post, please send a large SAE, and a 2nd class stamp. Offers of brief articles will be gratefully received.

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

e-mail roger.janet@care4free.net

Cantab 53 – Price 20 pence where sold
© Janet Moreton, 2009.

CANTAB52 August 2009

CANTAB52 August 2009 published on

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

CANTAB RAMBLER

Editorial
Once again, my faithful readers are missing a Midsummer edition, because I have been away often in sunshine and showers over this period,  and when actually at home, rights of way work has become pressing!  So apologies, and I hope you will find this issue interesting.

I hope to use this space to bring you up-to-date with changes in the South Cambs path network.  Where walking is concerned, knowledge equates to enjoyment of a good walk. Even if you are the proud possessor of the latest OS sheet, it may not inform of the most recent path diversions and other changes.

Happy walking
Janet Moreton

Seasonal Traffic Regulation Orders, (TROs)
Cambridgeshire County Council has, within the last two years, confirmed a whole suite of TROs, affecting numbers of byways in South Cambs. District.

For several years, the RA had complained of the state of byways, churned up by  recreational vehicles, “4x4s”, so that enjoyment by other types of user: horseriders; cyclists; and walkers became impossible.  The County Council over some 10 years has spent quite a lot of money trying to improve these routes, so that they stood up to all-purpose Winter usage, but to no avail.  Consultations went on, mostly through the good offices of the Local Access Forum (LAF), and finally it was decided to apply TROs to a number of byways in the Winter months only.

The Orders have been made, and now confirmed – you may have seen the mud-spattered notices posted in the countryside. Signs have been put up, as have barriers and lockable gates, with a gap at the side to allow access by permitted Winter users.

However, local landowners have been given keys to the barriers, so that they may continue to take their tractors and other farm equipment along the byways all year, so in Winter, you may still find water-filled deep ruts in places. In some cases, the County Council  has not simply relied on the passage of time in a lane undisturbed by anything larger during Winter than a motorcycle (still allowed on a lot of byways in Winter, due to the persuasive arguments of the Trail Riders Fellowship), or the occasional heavy horse!  Money has been spent on improvements to path surfaces, placing of informative display boards, new bridges, and hedge trimming.  In the parishes adjacent to Longstanton, some funding has derived from central government “growth area funding” associated with the Northstowe development.

RA Cambridge Group would like to know how walkers think the new regime is working this Winter, so I would be glad to have details of your experiences.  In particular, can we have reports of any places where vehicles are side-stepping barriers, or breaking them down?

Where are these improvements?
Look for the parish on your map and  identify the byway symbol.  It seems overly complicated to bespatter the text with eight-digit grid references!

If you want to identify path numbers, see:
www.cambridgeshire.gov.uk/environment/access/findrightsofway.htm

Balsham 4 – Linton 23 – West Wickham 1
(These are all parts of the Roman Road, known as Wool Street or the Via Devana)

Bourn 1 (The Porters Way was closed to allow remedial work)

Carlton Byways 7, 9 and 12  (i.e. all the byways in the parish), and Weston Colville 15, leading off Carlton 9 towards Weston Green.

Steeple Morden  1 – Guilden Morden  9
(These are both sides of Cobbs Lane, leading N to Tadlow Bridge.  Note that this route was also closed for many months to allow improvements to be made, and may not yet be open, even to pedestrians)

Rampton 5 – Westwick 3 (Cuckoo Lane)

Cottenham 12 (Rampton Drift)

Landbeach 3 – Milton 3 –
Impington 3 (Akeman Street)

Rampton 4 (Reynolds Drove)
Rampton 2  (Pauleys Drove)

Rampton 1 – Willingham 8
(Haven Drove)

Willingham 9 –  Haddenham 22
(Aldreth Causeway)

Also in East Cambs,
Haddenham 15, 29, 30 &
Wilburton 10  (Fen Side)

What byways are not closed to vehicles?
In spite of repeated requests by ramblers, Fox Road north of Balsham remains open to all traffic, all year.  In Winter, this means the chalky surface becomes rutted and muddy, and in places with deep holes filled with water. In spite of its status as part of the Icknield Way Regional Route for walkers and horseriders, no seasonal closures have been applied on this path.

Also part of the Roman Road between the B1052 and the Hildersham – Balsham road  remains open to vehicles.

Confirmed Diversions

OS Pathfinder 209, Bourn fp 14 (TL 325 564 – 325 559).
The path runs from behind Bourn church, across the grass in front of Bourn Hall, passed through the garden of a bungalow, then across an arable field to Fox Road The section through the garden now goes through an adjacent grass field, fenced away from horses.  It will be clearly waymarked.

OS Pathfinder 209 Croydon fp 19   TL 311 492 – 308 486,
The path runs from High St, diagonally SSW across an arable field to a bridge and stile in the opposite corner.  Previously it turned right along a field edge then left by a hedge, to emerge along a short grassy lane to Larkins Road.  The middle section of the path, beyond the arable field has been diverted to run between fences of newly extended gardens.  Note that following RA representations, a condition has been written into the Order that all hedges are to be planted at least 2m away from the footpath to ensure that future growth does not obstruct the path.

Swaffham Prior Fen’s Little Chapel
A place of worship was recorded in Swaffham Prior Fen in the 1830s, but the present building, in the far NW of the parish a mile from Upware, near the River Cam at TL 531687, was built in 1884.

The 1881 census shows that some 130 people lived in Swaffham Prior Fen agricultural community, benefitted by a post-office, shop, and “The Jolly Anglers” inn over the other side of the river.  The chapel was well-supported in the C19th, and well into the C20th, until 1958, when the Methodist Church decided to sell the property. It was bought by Edward Palmer Brand of Ramsey, but regular Sunday services continued until 22 November 1959. The building was conveyed to a group of trustees in 1969, who have cared for it henceforth, as a non-denominational chapel.

Services are held occasionally, but it is best known for the harvest festival  held  at 3 pm on the first Sunday in October. An appeal this year raised £8000 for reslating the roof.

The Saffron Trail
This is a walk of 72 miles, from Southend on Sea to Saffron Walden. Redbridge RA Group has recently revised a booklet by Dave Hitchman, originally published in 2004. It is attractively-produced, with clear sketches and route directions, and I look forward to following it on the ground..  A copy was obtained by post from Roger Young, 16 Windsor Road, Wanstead E11 3QU, cheques to Redbridge Ramblers, for £3.50. It was disappointing that Saffron Walden Tourist Office had not heard of the publication.

A Satisfactory Result
I was recently very pleased to receive a letter from Chris Pagan, a RA volunteer from Ware, Herts.

“You may remember that in 2005 you sent me user evidence for part of the Stort towpath near Harlow, which wasn’t recorded on the Definitive Map, and for which I had applied for a modification order, and was appealing against the county council’s decision to refuse to publish one.  Although I hadn’t got enough user-evidence, I had a copy of the promotional leaflet published by British Waterways encouraging people to walk along the Lea & Stort towpaths, and the inspector ruled that the leaflet constituted intention to dedicate a public footpath.  So the modification order was published, and it’s just been confirmed unopposed.

The delay in publishing the order was due to the Definitive Map and OS maps, showing a short length of cul-de-sac footpath apparently along the towpath near Latton Lock.  This had to be investigated first…”

So all’s well that ends well, and congratulations to Chris.

The path, incidently, is part of the West Anglian Way LDP from Cambridge to Cheshunt, copies available for £2.50 from David Elsom, 91 Cambridge Road, Great Shelford, Cambridge, CB 22 5JJ.  Cheques payable to Ramblers’ Association, Cambridge Group, please.

A Reserve with a Bus-Stop
It is not “news” that the RSPB bought Fen Drayton Lakes in 2007, and is keen to attract local people to enjoy the Winter spectacle of thousands of wild birds. Now the Guided Busway is nearing completion, it is time to remind walkers that there will be a “stop” here, especially for the reserve, and, of course, for the extensive  network of paths around the reserve, and to the wider network, to Swavesey, Fen Drayton, Fenstanton, and the Great Ouse Riverside.  And the good news for us wrinklies is that we may use our bus-passes!

Little Chesterford – a new path
I am indebted to Jill Tuffnell for the information that a new, waymarked route through woodlands links Little Chesterford with Little Walden.  I have no information on the status of this route (seemingly on land owned by Chesterford Park), waymarked with yellow arrows and with no observed disclaiming notices.  The following grid references are approximate, as I had failed to carry my GPS when enjoying the bluebell woods last Spring.

Behind the bus stop on the B184 at Little Chesterford, a flight of steps leads up the bank to a gate in the fence, TL 519420.  The path skirts a small fenced enclosure, then goes ENE beside a hedge, parallel to the private road to Chesterford Park.

At TL 527422 it veers NE, passing a small wood, then continues in the same direction up a fenced defile. At TL 529426, it turns E on a farm track, then shortly enters a narrow band of woodland, continuing approx ENE to TL 535427, where the trodden track turns S, still in woodland. At TL 535 424, the route turns E, keeping close to the north edge of woods, to emerge at TL 539 424 on Petts Lane leading to “The Crown” at Little Walden.

We made a pleasant circuit passing Byrds Farm, then visiting Saffron Walden, returning via Catons Lane, and the footpath to Springwell and thus to Little Chesterford.

For notes on walks and points of interest around The Chesterfords, see Cantab Rambler of April 2004.

Stile-free parishes in South Cambs
During the last few years, Cambridgeshire County Council has had a policy to replace stiles with kissing gates, where possible, and funds permitting. The modern gates are generally of a metal type, with a wide “swing” so there is no need to remove rucksacs.

Kate Day, Countryside Access Team leader, is presently compiling a list of “stile-free” parishes in S.Cambs, including:.

Bar Hill;  Bartlow; Childerley;  Croxton;  Eltisley;  Harston;  Hauxton;  Histon;  Ickleton; Impington;  Milton;  Newton; Oakington; Pampisford;  Stapleford; and Teversham.

There are now good numbers of kissing gates in other parishes, but those unable to climb stiles should note there are several instances of a gate into a field, followed by a stile at the other end!  This may be a temporary situation, perhaps because one end of the route is in one parish, and the other end in another parish…

Go & See – Splendid Scarecrows – The Bassingbourn cyclist
Scarecrows are still quite often used in fields of peas, beans, or oilseed crops, as a pleasant relief to passers-by from noisy bird-scarers.  More frequently stuffed figures in old overalls and a flat cap supplement strings of rattling, shiny aluminium foil lids or discarded CDs in allotment gardens and vegetable patches.

The most magnificent scarecrow  we have seen (and apparently on permanent display) is in a private garden fronting the road at North End, Bassingbourn, ca. TL 330449.

A scarecrow in a top hat rides a penny-farthing bicycle!

See this and pleasant countryside on a walk from Bassingbourn, parking alongside the recreation ground off South End.  Walk up past the church, to join a footpath right, giving onto one running N, to turn onto the dead-end road, going W to pass the scarecrow, then to North End.  Continue to Shadbury End, then S and W to try a long, footpath across seven arable fields to Abington Pigotts.  This is a real map-reading challenge, but try it before the fields are too sticky.  In Abington Pigotts, notice the newly painted sign for the “Pig & Abbot” and try its refreshments!  Return past the wonderful gateway at Down Hall Farm and the footpath through the Mill Cottage garden, to reach the road to Littlington.  S along the road, find a path E to The Bury, and thence into Litlington Village.  Make sure you spot The Old Lockup, and find a seat on the village green, by a sign illustrating the former connections with WWII airfields. Walk SSW on a good path to Ashwell Street, and return to Bassingbourn via a permissive path past “The Springs”.  (7 miles)

The route can readily to extended to 10 miles, by continuing from Abington Pigotts along Bogs Gap Lane to Steeple Morden, and returning along Ashwell Street.

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

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

e-mail roger.janet@care4free.net

Cantab 52 – Price 10 pence where sold © Janet Moreton, 2009.

CANTAB51 April 2009

CANTAB51 April 2009 published on

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

CANTAB RAMBLER

Editorial
As the mud dries out on the field paths, lingering only amongst the violets and dog’s mercury in the woods, we look out our sunhats, and seek new venues, or at least paths which have been impassable all Winter.  In this issue, find reports of three new bridges which allow some interesting circuits, and consider some “Watery Ways” in the parish of Wicken or along the Fen Rivers Way.
Janet Moreton

New Bridges

Path Creation at Rampton
See OS Explorer 225
A new bridge and a new bridlepath (Br8)  have been provided at Rampton. A substantial bridge now crosses Reynolds Ditch at  TL 415674, and the new path, with a fine rubble surface, runs approximately N to join an old hedged lane, which meets the main road between Rampton and Willingham, at TL 415685. Thus it becomes possible to make a short circuit from Rampton, eg down Cuckoo Drove, Reynolds Drove, N up the new bridleway, and back along the main road. This is not recommended, as the latter is busy, and has no footway. However, a longer circuit, N again via Haven Drove into Willingham parish, returning along Iram Drove, Rampton Bp 7 to Irams Farm on Great North Fen Drove, and back on New Cut bank from Great North Fen Bridge to Giants Hill, Rampton makes some 7 or 8 miles, depending on the route through Rampton.  This circuit makes a dryshod route in Winter, but lacks shade and detail for a Summer saunter.

Abington Pigotts / Litlington boundary culvert bridge replacement
See OS Explorer 209
At TL 306 435, a former crumbling culvert bridge near the parish boundary between Abington Pigotts Fp 5, and Litlington Fp 2 has been replaced with a safe footbridge. This is an important and attractive link for a number of possible walks linking Bassingbourn, Litlington, Steeple Morden and Abington Pigotts.  Note that the cross-field paths either side of the bridge have been more frequently reinstated in recent seasons. Please report any problems here.

New Bridge at Great Gransden opens path unavailable for 50 years.
See OS Explorer 208
With the construction of a substantial footbridge over a deep ditch on Great Gransden Fp 2, a section of path has been made available after many years of complaint.  The bridge, near the junction with Fp 1 at ca. TL 265 556,  is indicated by a yellow waymark on a stile in the lane section of Fp 1. Descend the steep bank, and cross the bridge over the ditch. Continue diagonally across a rough, uncultivated field, towards the bank of a stream, which is reached in a garden, well away from the house.  Continue by the stream-side, emerging between stream and a new tall fence on the road, not far from the Crown and Cushion Inn. This path can be used as part of a circuit involving Great Gransden, Dick & Dolls Lane, Waresley Wood Nature reserve, Vicarage Farm, Wareseley, tea at the garden centre, and the minor road towards Abbotsley, perhaps turning off E on byway & bridleway to return to Great Gransden on Fp 2.  This circuit, of ca. 7 miles, can be augmented by visiting Little Gransden Church and windmill.

Fen Rivers Way
Since the last issue of Cantab, three intrepid walkers have now completed the Fen Rivers Way up-river from Kings Lynn to Byron’s Pool, above Cambridge.  Readers will recall in the February issue, we had walked as far as Downham Market by 16 January.  Since then, we have made a further 4 walks, completing the route on 24 March 2009.  Our “new completer” Joan Hillier, now has a certificate commemorating her passage along the route.   I wonder how many others have walked the route (for the first time, or again) since the organised series of walks in 2001?

Features of the walks were the consistent dry weather, on days selected in advance using the Met Office’s East Anglian website, and backed up early morning by BBC Cambridge’s “half-hour weather forecast”.  We travelled by train, fast, reliable, but quite expensive, even with Senior rail-cards.

Looking back on the different days, we were very pleased to find more to attract walkers on the section from Downham Market to Littleport.  At Denver Sluice, there are display boards “Riding and Walking in the Norfolk Fens”, and a display promoting nearby Hilgay.  Further on, we were pleased to find a new seat at Ten Mile Bank, and another at Black Horse Drove.  We noted that the old pumping house at Ten Mile Bank has been made into a large, attractive residence.

Around Littleport, one of the paths of the route near the station, is oddly signed “Field Footpath”. The Black Horse pub beside the route is still in business. We were rather irritated in places to find the Fen Rivers Waymarks had been overmounted by the “Black Fen Waterways Trail” markers.

There is a now a charming seat beyond Littleport, above the caravan site, inscribed, “In Loving Memory of George Glee 1917 – 2006 – A gentleman walked this way“.

Approaching Ely on 27 February, the paths behind the former beet slurry area near Queen Adelaide were all-but flooded, so we were glad of wellington boots. There were no problems around Ely, where the tourist office reports considerable continuing interest in the route.

On 17 March, we walked on as far as Waterbeach, using the east bank as far as Bottisham Lock.  We would have preferred to use the west bank for the splendid new bridge over Braham Dock (completed last year, and already inspected), but reports suggested that the Washes north of Waterbeach were flooded.  So we walked the cycleway on top of the bank from Ely to the turning to Barway, new since the FRW route was first completed.  The scars on the sides of the bank adjacent to the tarmac are healing over.  There are seats (one rather strange) and a sculpture along the route.  We were glad when the bank top resumed as grass, to lead us dry-footed past the Kingfisher Bridge Reserve.  Since our last visit a couple of years ago, there are now bird hides accessible from the river bank path, and interpretive boards. For a future visit, there is a carpark reached from the road near Wicken. I quote from the handout:
“Since 1995, the Kingfisher Bridge Project has transformed 150 acres of arable farmland into a mosaic of wildlife habitats…The project, started by private initiative, has many special features… reedbed, fen, mere, ditches, ponds, have all been created.  Since 1995 over 300 plant taxa have been recorded, most of which have colonised naturally...”

After a very pleasant interlude, came the snag.  The drove  from the A1123 to Commissioners’ Pit was flooded, so we were obliged to walk down the road to Upware.  Here the “Five Miles from Anywhere, no Hurry” is still in good order, and we resumed the flood bank towards Bottisham Lock.  The Environment Agency had been consolidating the surface of the bank, so we were walking on bare earth for about a mile – fortunately dry underfoot on this occasion, although below, and to our right, the floods were still out across the Washes. We crossed Bottisham lock  and made for Waterbeach station just in time to miss a train. But it was a good day.

Finally, on 24 March,  we walked from Waterbeach station, through Cow Hollow Wood, where the willows are being pollarded, and down the tow-path to Baits Bite Lock. Across the lock, we continued on the other side of the river to Fen Ditton, where we were pleased to find the rare black poplars behind the churchyard just beginning to display red catkins. On through Cambridge, where our boots and rustic clothing seemed somewhat out of place, over Silver Street bridge, to find muddy ways again beside the river in Paradise, by Newnham Village. The riverside path to Grantchester was nicely dried out, and the tree works at Byron’s Pool, which have continued through the Winter, are now nearly complete.  We solemnly shook hands above the weir, at the end of the path, before seeking a Citi7 bus in Trumpington. Another pleasant day, and a very good route.

Note that the Fen Rivers Way Association disbanded itself in 2003, and care of the route was taken over by Ramblers’ Cambridge Group.

Obtain the guide from David Elsom,  Ramblers’  Cambridge Group, 91, Cambridge Road, Gt Shelford, Cambridge, CB22 5JJ.  £3.50 inc.p/p

Wicken Parish and Wicken Fen
See OS Explorer 226
Wicken parish has some 35 public rights of way, consisting of a good density of paths in and around the immediate vicinity of the village; going over towards the river Cam and to Burwell and Soham parishes.  “Cantab” of Dec 2000 touched on the paths of Soham, but in a limited space could only give a flavour of its well-over 100 paths.  Similarly, the aim is to give an impression of the Wicken network, and the range of walking available. The highest point in the parish I can find on the map is 8 m, so paths are all flat (unless you count those which climb a couple of metres onto the dykes), and follow droveways, watercourses, or routes between housing in the village.  A few cross fields.

Wicken Fp1 along the River Cam E bank enters the parish from the N, to continue past Kingfisher Reserve to High Fen Farm.  Here it joins Bp 2, one end of which goes S passing the chalk pit, to Dimmocks Cote Road (A1123) and the other end runs E to join Shaws Drove (Bp 3) , and the track called High Fen Road (Bp 4).  Bp 4 runs S to A1123 at Red Barn Farm, from whence Docking Lane (Bp5) branches off NE to Grey Farm.  Here is an interesting network, muddy in Winter,  connecting farms, and only joined to Wicken village by the minor road, Lower Drove.

Wicken Fp7 continues S from the A1123 on the W floodbank of the R.Cam, generally a 2m wide path of short grass, and continuing into the parish of Waterbeach, having descended to the riverside.  Below on the floodplain, Explorer 226 shows the official W river-edge route of the Fen Rivers Way (Fp8), which, as the preceeding article relates, should be avoided during periods of flood. Fp9 is an obscure route marked on the map opposite Upware, probably recalling a former loop of the river.

Meanwhile, there is no riverside route close to the E bank of the Cam from the A1123 to Upware. Instead, the rutted Fodder Fen Drove (By 10) is followed to Commissioners’ Pit. The latter is an interesting Educational Reserve, where Jurassic fossils may be found in the Corallian limestone sides of the pit.

Beyond the pit, the route continues S as Fp11, leading to Upware, and the “Five Miles from Anywhere, No Hurry” pub. From the pub, the short Fp32 leads to the sluice at Upware. 

Just before Commissioners’ Pit, it is possible to turn E on Fp12 (generally reinstated across a field) to reach Upware Road, and continue opposite E along Spinney Drove (Fp14) which skirts Wicken Fen Reserve to the N.  From Upware Sluice, Fp13 takes the N bank of Reach Lode as a gravel track beside moorings, continuing in the parish of Swaffham Prior.

Between Spinney Drove and Wicken Lode is the “core” part of the National Trust’s holdings, which have recently expanded to include much of the farmland hereabouts.

An entry fee is levied to visit the core section of Wicken Fen, but what is not advertised, is that there are two public rights of way entering this part of the Fen.   From the entrance in front of the Visitor Centre at the bottom of Lode Lane, Fp19 (small yellow arrow!) enters the NT property over a bridge, and runs alongside the watercourse as far as the junction with Monk’s Lode.  Alternatively, from the carpark, go NW along Breed Fen Drove (By 16), and turn off into Wicken Fen on Sedge Fen Drove (Bp 15).  The RoW ends at a T-junction with an NT path at TL 553705, in front of a dyke. Of course, on both of these routes, one must reverse to return, unless an NT member. By 16 also leads to Fp14, and thence to Commissioners’ Pit, or N on By 17 to the A1123 at Afterway Houses.

Within the village envelope, N of the A1123 (here called Wicken Road) are no fewer than 9 interconnecting paths.  Cross-field Fp27 and the track, Drove Lane (By 23, 34) both lead to Bracks Drove in Soham Parish.

From Lode Lane around village, 2 miles
A promoted circuit from the NT carpark uses Fp20 on the E side of Wicken Lode, crossing a bridge to follow the S side of Monks Lode (in Burwell parish) to TL 571702, to the junction with New River. Cross a footbridge, and either turn right (E) along the N bank of New River (Fp31) to Burwell, or go N on the surfaced Fp30 to the village. At the rear of houses, turn left (W) along a back path (Fp29, then Fp35), which leads to Lode Lane, and thence to the car-park..

Walks to the S of Wicken Fen
A new National Trust leaflet, “Viridor Credits Walk around Hurdle Hall and Burwell Fen”, in fact offers 6 and 7 mile walks from Wicken Visitor Centre, but these are largely in Burwell parish. Most of the paths used are established rights of way shown on Explorer 226 except for a short length, Moore’s Drove on Baker’s Fen (where there are bird hides) and along Hurdlehall Drove.  An “envelope ” route, using both of the shorter circuits makes about 10 miles, taking in Monks Lode; Priory Farm; Cock-up Bridge; Burwell Farm; Hightown Drove; Hurdle Hall; Reach Lode; Pout Hall; Burwell Lode; Cock-up Bridge; Harrisons Drove; and Moore’s Drove.  Burwell Fen is very low-lying, and seasonal use of wellington boots may be essential.

The village
Cross Green in the centre of the village was the site of a market, granted 1331 for the fair of St Lawrence, whose church is sited at the far E end of the village, beside the A1123.  Fen shrinkage has necessitated heavy buttressing of the N aisle, and replacement of the original perpendicular-style roof. The old smock grain mill, seen from Fp35, running behind the main street, was  renovated recently. The reed-thatched Maids Head pub provides lunches. The village sign illustrates the swallow-tail butterfly. James Wentworth Day, author of the classic “History of the Fens” dwelt in 43 Chapel Lane.  There is some free parking near the village hall.

The National Trust Properties
The National Trust has recently bought up several of the surrounding farms, and is presently consolidating its holdings. There is a charge of £2 for parking off Lode Lane (NT members free).  The WCs are free. The free Visitor Centre emphasises the reserve’s importance for wildlife. The “core” reserve  is open 10 – 5 most of the year, on payment of an entry charge. The reserve’s very small mill ca. 1910, the last survivor of thousands of drainage pumps, was re-assembled here from Adventurers’ Fen in 1956. The exterior of the C19th “Fen Cottage” can be seen well from Lode Lane.  The interior is open Sun 2 – 5, May – Oct.  Presumably it was somewhat less damp when permanently occupied ! An excellent café is adjacent to the Visitor Centre.

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

Offers of brief articles will be gratefully received.

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

e-mail roger.janet@care4free.net

Price 20 pence where sold

Cantab 51 © Janet Moreton, 2009

Note Fp- footpath; Bp Bridleway; By – byway.

CANTAB50 February 2009

CANTAB50 February 2009 published on

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

CANTAB RAMBLER

Editorial
Thank you for all the Christmas messages from Cantab readers, and welcome to the 50th edition.  The first one appeared in November 1999. Since then, the format has swollen, and shrunk again to a regular 4 sides of A4. Contents have varied, but the most popular item by far seems to be “Parish of the Month”  Most of these have been in South Cambs,  which I know best, but a few have been as far away as Paston in Norfolk, Elmdon in Essex, and West Stow in Suffolk.

I aim to bring you information on walking in East Anglia, and especially data on any changes in the path network that come to my knowledge.  No one is more surprised than myself to find that Cantab is still going strong after 10 years.  I have much enjoyed producing it, although there have been some occasions, when there has been a 3 month gap between editions, rather than the usual two, mostly due to pressure of other things. Sometimes “copy” runs rather low, and I can’t emphasise  enough how much I appreciate feedback and short articles from readers.

Thank you for your continuing loyalty – it’s been fun researching the facts, and arranging them on the page, and I have enjoyed making many new friends along the way.

Janet Moreton

Parish of the Month – Whittlesford

History
As with most Cambridgeshire parishes, evidence exists of prehistoric, Roman, and Saxon occupation, but generally leaving little on the ground to note in passing during a walk.

In the case of Whittlesford, once there were spectacular evidences of Roman occupation.

Slight ring-ditches close to Great and Little Nine Wells Springs include remains of the Chronicle Hills, which were 3 prominent

Roman Burial mounds, deliberately levelled in 1818 for convenience of cultivation. (Some four skeletons were found; the largest mound was 8 ft high and 27 ft dia.) The barrows were part of an important Roman site, including a large villa & associated buildings.

At Domesday, Whittlesford (with 33 residents) gave its name to the Hundred which encompassed the lands of Whittlesford, Sawston, Hinxton, Ickleton and Duxford. At that time, Ickleton and Duxford were the richest places, and Sawston a poor relation! In Domesday Book, Whittlesford is Witelsforda or Witel’s Ford.

The original village lay at a crossing place of the Cam near the point where two separate routes running E from Thriplow converged before reaching the ford. The village consisted then of Church Lane, with the Manor House and church at the east end. Gradual expansion of the village through the C13th & C14th led to first an extension into High Street, and then west to West End, with sites of various village greens being progressively built over.  In 1306, the Lord of The Manor obtained permission to hold a market, and laid out a new green at West End.

The parish boundary with Little Shelford was not fixed until Enclosure in 1815.  The southern parish boundary is now the A505, a line of the Icknield Way that crosses the Cam at Whittlesford bridge.

Whittlesford today has over 1500 residents, most of whom work outside the parish.  In the C19th (with a population of 891 in 1891) there was some industry, such as Maynards Agricultural Machinery Factory, vinegar brewing, and artificial manure works.

The parish has nine public paths, leading round the village, and over the Cam to Sawston, and towards Thriplow and Duxford.  It is hoped that the following notes on points of interest round the village will enhance the reader’s enjoyment of the path network.

Sites of Interest
The parish church of St Andrew has a C14th tower and nave, some Norman windows, an ancient font, Jacobean panelling, medieval chest, and paintings on oak panels of the church as it was in C11th & C12th.

The stonework round the Norman S tower is carved with primitive half-human figures, perhaps Saxon.  The  attractive rustic timbered porch, was given by Henry Cyprian c. 1350. The S chapel was dedicated to St John the Baptist, whose C14th guild raised money for the church, and for the jettied, early tudor Guildhall at the village cross-roads.

Whittlesford Guildhall at the junction of North Road and West End, was built cooperatively by villagers, to provide charitable, religious and social services.  In later years, it served as poor house and school room.  Its roof is supported by a crown post from a tree felled in 1489.

The village sign, on North Road, made by Harry Carter of Swaffham, was erected to commemorate the Silver Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II in 1977. The centre panel depicts travellers from early times using the ford.  Archaeological finds confirmed the Icknield Way crossing was used by stone-age man, and the crossing near Moat House yielded Roman artefacts.  The medieval bridge emphasises Whittlesford’s important position on the R.Cam.  The left hand figure on the sign depicts Nicholas Swallow, a local benefactor, and the right hand figure shows a charity schoolgirl, reminding of the gift of William Wesley, a Cambridge grocer, whose land provided funds for schooling Whittlesford children.  The shield forms part of the armorial bearing of the Lord of the Manor. The motto is “Stick to the trothe”

Rayners Farm, at the junction of Middlemoor and North Road,  was built  in 1472, from the evidence of tree rings in the floor joists.

Duxford Chapel (reached over the footbridge from Whittlesford railway station) used to lie in the parish, but is now in Duxford. Originally a hospital of St John, founded before 1230, it was run by a prior and monks, to give medical assistance to the poor, and provide hospitality to travellers on the Icknield Way.  In C14th it was rebuilt as a chapel, in use until after the Dissolution.   Later used as a barn, it was restored in 1947.

Since then, the functions of hospitality have been maintained by the half-timbered Red Lion Inn (which keeps a key to the chapel).  One room has richly carved beams, early Tudor.

Features of the land
The parish lies on chalk, excepting alluvium along the river valley of the Cam. The parish is low-lying, being generally 20-30m above sea-level. The most low-lying areas of poor soil in the parish were kept as common grazing, and known as The Moor (now skirted by Footpath 6, and part used as a landing strip).  Old moats exist N of the church, and on the W side of North Rd, and traces of a third lie in West End.

Stanmoor Hall Farm, now cut off from most of the parish by the M11, has a Countryside  Stewardship permissive footpath waymarked alongside the M11 fence, then veering towards Little and Great Nine Wells.  A Display board at the road bridge  proclaims the enhanced wildlife habitat, including a beetle bank, and some attractive young tree planting.  Thriplow Peat Holes, an SSSI on Hoffer Brook shown on the Display Board, as being not far from Great Nine Wells, is in fact inaccessible from the permissive path.

The Path Network: see Explorer 209
Whittlesford has 9 public rights of way. The following three routes using these paths simply take the reader around and out of the parish – clearly, they may be used as parts of longer walks. In all cases, it is suggested that parking is available near the recreation ground, eg in laybys off Mill Lane.

Circuit 1.  To Sawston and back, 3 miles
Cross the rec diagonally towards the road junction, where admire The Guildhall. Go  down Church Lane, and turn off left down a passage (Fp 9) between high walls. This leads into the church drive (Fp1).  After visiting the Church, follow Fp 1 between fences, going N, then NE at a spinney. Beyond an avenue, the hard path goes over cultivated land, and crosses the Cam on a high bridge. Here it joins Sawston Fp 15, which follow across a railway crossing, and the Sawston Bypass. The shortest route into Sawston is down a long passage between fences, starting at the junction of New Road & Mill Lane. Having visited the various amenities of Sawston, continue S through the village, passing Church Lane, and finding a narrow passage beside Kingfisher Close.  Sawston Fp 9 leads back to the bypass, and over the railway, and river.  Here it joins Whittlesford Fp 2, over a bridge.  The hard path continues over a second bridge over a tributory, and leads back to Mill Lane. Note the attractive building housing the Hamilton-Kerr Institute, an out-station of the Fitzwilliam Museum.

Circuit 2  Towards Thriplow: 5 miles
Cross the rec, towards the pavilion, and veer right along “The Lawn”, passing bungalows.  At a gap, go forward, NW, to join a path into the churchyard. Beyond the church, at a junction of signposts, take the church drive (Fp1) going W onto North Road. Turn right, and pass The Village Sign. A little further is the Bees in the Wall pub, where bees issue from a hole at first-floor level. Continue to the road-junction with Middlemoor, to admire Rayners Farm.  Turn back a few metres, to take the stile into the field for Fp 4.  This enters a pleasant open-access area, with young trees.  Continue forward (SW) to join Fp 3 into a hedged defile, emerging past quaint cottages onto Whippletree Road.(Another branch of Fp3 leads to Vicarage Lane).  Turn left (S) cautiously along the road. In early Spring, there are plants of spurge laurel and the stinking hellebore in flower. At a signpost, climb a stile into Fp 6, The Moor. This pleasant path winds through woodlands, past arable, then fenced alongside an airstrip, then near the M11, emerging by a seat not far from the bridge carrying Newton Rd over the M11. Cross the bridge, and see immediately a display board for the permissive path on land of Stanmoor Hall Farm.  Descend steps, and follow this waymarked path, first by the M11 fence, past young woodland, then turning W to reach older woodland near Little Nine Wells. Go through a waymarked gap in the hedge, and follow the path to join Whittlesford Bp7. (It is easy to turn right here, and walk into Thriplow for a longer ramble.)  To continue, turn left, and follow Bp 7 (a potholed trackway) back over the M11 to  Hill Farm Rd.  Turn left, and walk through to High Street, where the post office has a couple of tea tables. Beyond the Guildhall, make across the rec to the start.

Circuit 3. Towards Duxford.  5 miles.
Set off from the rec, and visit the Church, Village Sign, and use Fp 4 and part of Fp3 to Whippletree Rd, as in Circuit 2.  This time, turn right on Whippletree Rd, cross over, and take Fp5 left, over a bridge, and through allotment gardens. Emerging onto Newton Rd, walk left towards a seat and signpost.  Here take Fp6 to The Moor (going the opposite way round to Circuit 2).  Emerge on the road near West End, which follow back towards the village cross roads. Continue as far as Stud Farm, where a sign indicates Fp8 turning off right up a drive and through a garden.  Follow this excellent grassy path towards the A505. On reaching the major road, an old road branches off, running parallel E towards the station.  Go down Station Road West, cross the railway by steps, and visit the  Red Lion and Old Duxford Chapel.  Retrace one’s steps up Station Road West, and turn right (N) to follow the footway back to the rec.

This route may be extended to Duxford and Hinxton, by crossing the A505, which, while needing care,  is not too difficult.

Fred Matthews – an obituary
It is with sadness we record the death  on 1 January 2009 of the octogenarian Freddie Matthews, a long-time volunteer path worker for the Essex Ramblers’ Association. He was for many years Secretary to the West Essex Group of the RA, and later served in several other capacities.  At the time of his death, he was Essex Area President.

We knew Freddie first as author (either alone or with Harry Bitten) of several walks guides for his patch including: Walks with the West Essex (ca. 1973); The Three Forests Way (1977); The St Peters Way (1978). We were first in touch with him personally in the preparation of The Harcamlow Way (1980), when we were able to advise on the Cambridgeshire section of the route. These routes are now part of the “classic” walks in our region, and marked on Ordnance Survey maps.  From 1985, Freddie was the initiator and co-ordinator of the county-wide Essex 100 Mile Walks, as an annual event, which served not only to introduce more people to walking, and to draw members of the various groups together, but also, through route selection, persuaded Essex County Council to make improvements on the route of the year.

When lameness stopped Freddie walking, his work for the RA continued through postal and e-mail campaigning. “39 Steps to the Future” was a paper he produced in 2001 seeking a standard of safe road crossings for paths nation-wide.  In the period 1999-2001, he was tireless in obtaining safe crossings over the newly built A120. His last e-mail reached us in Dec.2003, and some time later we learnt he had moved to a rest home.

Physically Freddie was not a big chap, but he was a giant in the Essex path scene. We remember Freddie with affection and great respect for his tireless pursuit of improvements to walking opportunities in East Anglia, which will stand as his lasting memorial.

Freddie and his wife Kathleen dreamed of having some land for a nature reserve. His niece, Daphne Mair, 6 Harewood Gardens, Peterborough, PE3 9NF, would welcome contributions to “Essex Wildlife Trust” on Freddie’s behalf.

Fen Rivers Way revisited…
We are revisiting the whole length of the Fen Rivers Way, walking it “backwards”, from Kings Lynn to Cambridge.  In the last issue, we described changes between Kings Lynn and Watlington. On 16 January, (before the present Arctic conditions) we walked from Watlington Station to Downham Market.

Leaving the station, we did a detour along a footpath, and minor road, cutting off some of the surprisingly busy road directly towards the bridge over the Great Ouse. We set off along the east bank, finding cleanly mown turf on the bank all the way to Stowbridge. New features along the route are owl boxes, on long poles, but we saw no occupants. At Stowbridge, the pub is still open, and a display board for the FRW is in good order. A short section of wall served as a place to perch for a snack.

We continued south, finding the path in good order. Downham Market has grown considerably since 2002, with an estate of new houses visible from the flood bank. Good news is that the station has opened a delightful, characterful café, with an open fire, and railway memorabilia, highly recommended!

In the morning, while waiting on Platform 4 of Cambridge station, we had enjoyed the mural “A Fen Journey” seen across the line, on the wall behind Platform 6. This evocative panorama from Cambridge to Kings Lynn, celebrates the 150th anniversary of the Cambridge to Ely line in July 1995, and was executed by Guy Davies and fellow students at Hills Road Sixth Form College.

Quotation of the Month
“In May 1900, the arrival of a car in Huntingdon, en route from London to Peterborough, was of sufficient note to warrant a substantial paragraph in the Hunts Post.  Within a very few years, the novelty had become commonplace, and the seemingly inexorable rise of road transport had begun.”
(from An Atlas of Cambridgeshire and Huntingdonshire History. Editors, Tony Kirby & Susan Oosthuizen).

Cantab Rambler by E-Mail & Post
Cantab usually appears every two months. A large number of you now receive Cantab by e-mail. By hand, 20p is appreciated towards the cost of paper and ink. If you would like to receive an issue by post, please send a large SAE, and a 27p stamp.

Offers of brief articles will be gratefully received.

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

e-mail roger.janet@care4free.net

Price 20 pence where sold

© Janet Moreton, 2009

CANTAB49 December 2008

CANTAB49 December 2008 published on

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

CANTAB RAMBLER

Editorial
What is there to say, but to wish you all a happy, but active Christmas, and good walking in 2009. I hope the walk suggestion below will enable you to combine a ramble with shopping opportunities!

Janet Moreton

Alternative Cambridge?
Instead of a “Parish of the Month”, I have looked at my adopted City of Cambridge, where I have lived these 48 years. There are innumerable guides to the colleges, but how about a walk around the City, looking at a miscellany of features? I will allow a few references to the colleges in passing!

This is a walk for you to do before diving into the shops for those last-minute items before Christmas, or for the temptations of the January sales. Or could you lure your visiting friends and relatives down the back streets to the riverside, to walk off seasonal excesses?  Walking boots are not required, but stout shoes are advised. The distance is at least 7 miles, more with various detours.

A number of possible starting points (A, B, C) are suggested.

A  Start –  Queen Anne Terrace Carpark
From the carpark, turn right in front of the Park-side swimming pool, and walk down Mill Road, passing Petersfield Playground, and 3 roads on the left leading to the Ruskin University in Cambridge. (Formerly the “Tech”, the College of Arts and Technology, it gained full university status in the Millennium. Hence find its adverts “Not just an old University in Cambridge!”). Beyond Mackenzie Road, turn down the tree-lined drive to one of the City’s cemeteries, now closed to new burials, but maintained as a pleasant open space and nature reserve.

Continue the direction of the drive, and emerge from the rear exit, near shops in Norfolk Street, and turn down St Matthews Street, noting the fine Victorian Church of that name.

Turn right into East Road, passing the City’s imposing, cylindrical Crown Court. Go down the ramp of the Newmarket Road underpass, and take the third exit, noting the attractive murals of smoking chimneys and of the medieval Stourbridge Fair, held for centuries on the Common.  Emerge up steps into Abbey Walk, passing the old Abbey House on the right.(The house may date from 1580, and is built on land of the former Barnwell Priory, founded 1112,dissolved 1578. The property is said to be haunted). Turn right into Beche Road, still with the Abbey House on the right.  Opposite is the Cellerer’s Chequer (once the Priory’s granary; a seat here). Turn left down Priory Road to the River Cam.  Note the houses fronting the river each have flood defence gates, since the disastrous floods of 2002.

Detour right to shop in Tesco, to view the new foot/cycle bridge, over the river, or to visit the Cambridge Museum of Technology (on the site of Cheddars Lane Sewage-pumping station, 1894 and gas works). Return, to pass by the riverside under Elizabeth Way Bridge.

Continue on the riverside path through Midsummer Common, passing Cutter Ferry Bridge.  All along this section, find attractive residential narrow boats moored to the near bank, and boathouses lining the far bank. (Look half-left across Midsummer Common to see the prominent spire of All Saints Church, in Jesus Lane.  The church is known for its pre-Raphaelite decoration).

Pass under the “Fort St George” Footbridge, and beside the pub of the same name. Go under the Victoria roadbridge, (1890, but note the date 1903 in the paving.) If the river is high, you may need to take the steps up and over the road.

By Jesus Green, continue on the surfaced riverside path past the Outdoor Swimming Pool (reopens 19 May 2009), to Jesus Lock and footbridge. (seats abound here, WC ) . (The lock was constructed by the Cam Commissioners in the mid-1830s.  An unusual feature is the elegantly curving balance beams). Still continue by the river, passing La Mimosa restaurant (formerly Spade and Beckett pub).  Walk along the boarding in front of the pub, passing posh flats and shops (on the site of the old electricity generating station, 1894 to ca 1950s) to reach Magdalen Road Bridge, with Magdalen College along the waterfront opposite. (The fine cast iron bridge dates from 1823, restored late C20th).

B – alternative start, near “Park & Ride” bus-stops.
Cross the river, and walk up Bridge Street, with its cafés and shops in interesting old buildings. Peer through the rails of Cross Keys Yard at another part of Magdalen College Cross Chesterton Road at the traffic lights, and take a short-cut through the yard of the ancient St Giles Church.  Continue up Castle Hill, and visit Castle Mound in the grounds of Shire Hall.  The views are exceptional, and, close at hand, one might see a wedding party outside the registry office. (See below for some notes on the history of the Castle Mound)

Descend Castle Hill, and cross the road.  You pass Castle Street Methodist Church (1914). Detour to visit the Cambridge Folk Museum at the corner with Northampton Street (admission charge).  Otherwise, pause to visit the tiny St Peter’s Church, and Kettle’s Yard (free gallery specialising in modern art).  Emerge through the buildings onto Northampton Street, cross Pound Hill, and pass Westminster College for nonconformist theological students. Use the pedestrian crossing to pass the rear of St John’s College, walking the footway beside the railings fronting a tributary of the Bin Brook.

Continue along The Backs, beside Queens’ Road, now on pleasant gravel paths under the trees, and pass consecutively Trinity, Clare and King’s College. On Scholars’ Piece behind King’s Chapel presently graze some white park cattle, probably on loan from Wimpole! By King’s back gate, use the pedestrian crossing to gain West Road.  On the right rises the huge (“waterworks style”) tower of the University Library.  Opposite the turning on the right to the “UL” turn left by bollards into the Sedgwick site, housing various non-science faculty buildings, all post 1960. Emerge onto Sedgwick Avenue (named after the C19th pioneer for higher female education, Henry Sedgwick).  Opposite is Newnham College, founded 1873. (The attractive building, like a muniments chest, striped in purple brick, dates from the Millennium.)

Turn left down Sedgwick Avenue to the traffic lights, and cross to Silver Street, to pass Darwin College on the right, and Queens College on the other side of the road. The famous “Mathematical Bridge” (originally built  in 1794 without nails) can be seen from the roadbridge.

C – alternative start, near Citi4 bus-stop.
Benches abound, subterranean WC. Pass the “Anchor” pub (whose basements are often flooded in Winter, “water on tap”). Turn right down Laundress Lane, passing the Library of Land Economy.  Emerge by the weir at the end of Mill Lane, and take the path on Coe Fen, going between bollards to follow the Cam, with the river on the left.  Note beyond the sluice, the old rollers where punts could be moved up or down the river. Scudamore’s Punt Yard is opposite.

Continue along the path, passing Robinson Crusoe Island, where grows the rare purple toothwort in late March. Take a cattle-creep under the Fen Causeway, or, if flooded, use the pedestrian crossing over the busy road.  Pass the outdoor “learner” swimming pool, and use the footbridge left over the river.  Continue across Coe Fen beside Vicar’s Brook, with the gardens of large houses over the brook to right, and the Leys School away to the left.

Emerge onto Trumpington Road, which cross, to visit the Botanic Gardens. (The gardens moved to their present site from Downing Street in 1846, so consider that the enormous Wellingtonias therein are less than 160y old. Entry to the garden is free on weekdays from November to February).

Walk through the Gardens (seats abound, café, WCs) to Station Road Corner, or walk up Bateman Street to reach the same point. All will be familiar with Cambridge Station Building – if returning from here, note the Italianate listed frontage was built 1845, by the architect Sancton Wood.

To return to Queen Anne Terrace, turn down Glisson Road, and Gresham Road (passing Fenner’s Cricket ground).

D alternative start – Station Road Corner for “Park & Ride”, Citi7 & county buses.

Cambridge Castle Mound
Stand here, and view the walking territory all around: from Balsham’s water-tower, The Gogs, to the higher ground above Madingley…

Habitation of the castle site dates from the Iron Age, and the Romans were quick to establish a fort here after the invasion of AD43.(A ditch under Shire Hall yielded Claudian pottery). After the Iceni uprising of AD70, a small town, Durolipons, developed at the junction of four roads.  The Anglo-Saxons had little use for Roman Roads and tended to use river-transport for goods, leading to the development of the “lower town” Granta Caestir, around Market Hill.  William The Conquerer’s castles spread across England after 1086, the flat-topped motte on high ground, topped by a timber tower being typical.  For two more centuries this was a royal castle and a jail. But in the C15th & C16th stone was robbed for the building of first Kings College Chapel, then Emmanuel and Magdalen Colleges.  In 1642, the site was one of Cromwell’s stongholds. The County Courts and jail were built here in 1913, only to be demolished in 1928 to make way from the present Shire Hall.

Quotation of the Month
This is taken from Bill Bryson’s”Icons of England”, publ. by “Think Books” for CPRE, 2008,  £20; ISBN 978-1-84525-054-6
”
Every right of way is an invitation, every stile is a step into somewhere gentle and generous...”
George Alagiah

Success at Stetchworth Public Inquiry
An Order adding a footpath between Mill Lane, Stetchworth, and the sandy track at TL 636 583, which leads to Eagle Lane Dullingham will shortly be confirmed, following success at a Public Inquiry held at the Ellesmere Centre on 28/29 October.

New Paths near Landwade & Exning
I am indebted to our Suffolk correspondent, Phil Prigg for the following information on legally confirmed recent byway creation, and a footpath diversion, on the Cambs/ Suffolk Border.

Byway24 – from Burwell Rd, TL 602661 to N End Rd TL 609 671
Byway25 from TL 609671 to Landwade Rd at TL 617680
Byway26 from TL 609671 to Haycroft lane, Burwell Byway 16 at TL 608672.

Also he notes the diversion of fp 19 through Landwade Farm, onto the route already commonly in use.

Cambs CC Refusal in Graveley
In November last year, Cambridge RA Group applied to the County Council to add to the Definitive Map a new footpath in Graveley, which would have helped to link the village with neighbouring Toseland. The path is included in the Graveley Inclosure Award but for some unknown reason was omitted when the map was drawn up in 1952. Right at the end of 12 month period allowed by law, the Council has refused the application, on the grounds of a legal technicality in the original Award. The RA is to appeal against this decision to the Secretary of State.

Pub Watch
I am grateful to our correspondent David Elsom who sends some useful information on rural pubs. I would be happy to pass on any other reports regarding changes in availability of refreshments in local walking areas.

(a)The Red Lion in Kirtling has now closed.

(b)The Kings Head, Dullingham has reopened.

(c) The Catherine Wheel at Gravesend, near Patmore Heath reserve, is not as expensive as it looks, and although mainly a restaurant, it has retained a small bar area, and beer garden, with light snacks at lunchtimes. Good parking.

(d) The “Coach & Horses” at Wicken Bonhunt is up for sale, and meanwhile food may not be available. Check on 01799 540516.

(e) Following a fire, The Cock at Stocking Pelham is still out of action.  The Brewery Tap at Furneaux Pelham & The Three Horseshoes at Hazel End, Farnham are still going strong, the latter with a Spanish flavour.

Return to the Fen Rivers Way
Those of you who completed walking the Fen Rivers Way route in 2001 may remember the outings with pleasure.  The guidebook to the route continues to sell well, so many others must be making the trek between Cambridge and Kings Lynn, or at least sampling parts of the path.  Recently, your editor has been making a sentimental journey along the Great Ouse, but this time, starting in Kings Lynn.

There are a number of changes visible on the ground.  Whilst not negating the usefulness of the guidebook, it may be worth noting a few points, from the section between Kings Lynn and Downham Market. (Other points of interest may be brought to your attention, when I have walked further!)

As a general point, there are, sadly, fewer signposts and waymarks for the route than previously, but I do not feel that a walker with a map and guidebook would be likely to go astray. There were wooden “Fen Rivers Way” signs at the end of the Kings Lynn waterfront, and again at Wiggenhall St Germans, where an illustrated route map is in good condition.

Leaving Kings Lynn, a two metre wide tarmac path now extends along the top of the east bank of the Great Ouse as far as Tail Sluice.  However, there is now no longer any need for detailed instruction as to how to proceed here in either direction.  The tarmac path continues directly over the sluice, giving way to a kissing gate and grass on the west side. But on stepping onto the sluice, my companions and I received a shock. A spectral voice issued from nowhere, admonishing us to keep to the path, and not to detour onto the automatic machinery of the sluices gates!  A second message greeted us at the other end of the structure – but this time we simply laughed!

Further on, at Wiggenhall St Germans, walkers will be pleased to learn that The Crown and Anchor pub is again open for business, and does meals.

Cantab Rambler (49) by E-Mail & Post
Cantab usually appears every two months. A large number of you now receive Cantab by e-mail. By hand, 20p is appreciated towards the cost of paper and ink. If you would like to receive an issue by post, please send a large SAE, and a 20p stamp.

Offers of brief articles will be gratefully received.

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

e-mail roger.janet@care4free.net

Price 20 pence where sold

© Janet Moreton, 2008

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