Finchingfield

 August 2023

We started from the delightful and very popular village of Finchingfield and took a circular walk of 4-5 miles along many field boundaries, dry underfoot, returning to The Fox on The Green - an attractive 16th century coaching inn overlooking the village duck pond and the green.

Good menu, limited range of ales, all better when the music was kindly turned down (at our request).

Elsewhere the Guildhall (ancient, renovated, now a library, museum and wedding venue) and the church, St John the Baptist, were both well worth a visit.

In the car park of The Vine at Great Bardfield, we found one of Trotters original three wheeler cars as used in Only Fools and Horses. Oh, how we laughed!

Thaxted

July 2023

Thaxted derives from the Old English thoec or þæc combined with stede, being a "place where thatching materials are got" and indeed even today the town is bristling with thatch and many coloured pargetting.

Wayside Cottage - with infra-red filter

Church Steeple and nearby thatched cottage

John guided us round a pleasant varied and comfortably brief route of 4-5 miles which included passing the remains of the Elsenham and Thaxted Light Railway (opened 1913, closed in 1953 and currently having its remaining loco shed and water tower renovated as a private dwelling.

Loco shed and water tower c1951

 

Loco shed and water tower 2023

We had a very good value lunch at The Swan, which is opposite the impressive church and just up the road from the famous Guildhall.

Houghton Mill and Meadow

 June 2023

The longest day of the year, and one of the warmest so far, found us at Houghton Mill (National Trust) between Huntingdon and St Ives. Several road works and some re-routes meant a slow start and we weren't able to extend our walk of about 4 miles with many possible extensions. Nevertheless we made a very pleasant circuit of Houghton Meadows and looked around the village itself before heading off to Godmanchester to the White Hart for lunch. Very good food (soup or paté, sea bass or steak pie) and beer (Broadside on tap, oh joy!).

Cottage in Houghton

Houghton Mill

Shropshire

 April 2023

We spent three comfortable nights in Shropshire, staying at Bank House in Bishop's Castle, an attractive market town.

Tuesday. On our three hour trip across from Cambridge we took lunch at The Green Dragon at Little Stretton, which we can recommend, followed by a 4 mile stroll around Ragdon, avoiding some of the steeper inclines as three of us were suffering from knees and heels.

In the evening we ate at The Castle Hotel which was excellent.

Wednesday. We parked at the Bury Ditches car park and walked to Clun, with lunch at The White Horse at Clun before completing a 7.5 mile circular walk back to Bury Ditches. 

The weather was very favourable and the pub most congenial. As with several of the pubs we chose hereabouts it was old fashioned, intimate, a little dark and warm. The sort of places you could easily spend lots of time in.

The evening was at The Three Tuns in Bishop's Castle where we were very well looked after by a chirpy waitress and serenaded by a collection of musicians brandishing guitars and suffering from occasional over-amplification.

Thursday. We cut our planned walk short today but made the most of the morning on a circular walk around Cardington, with lunch at The Royal Oak, which was as above, traditional, mature wood everywhere, good lunch and excellent beer.

Exhausted by our exploits we browsed in Church Stretton and returned to Bishop's Castle just as the market was closing.

In the evening to the Powis Arms at Lydbury, where there were excellent steaks and very moderate prices and some good ale.

Friday. Mark escaped early to return home while the rest of us strolled around the fine market town of Ludlow with its remarkable half timbered shop frontages, some castle remains and the splendid church of St Laurence in the perpendicular style. Marvellous misericords and a beautiful ceiling.

A simple sandwich from Tesco and we were home by mid afternoon.

We like Shropshire with its quiet rural lanes and rolling hills.

 

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Shepreth

 Shepreth

March 2023

With two Walking Boys away (Scottish Highlands, Costa Rica) the remaining two explored the Shepreth area. 

On a rather dull and rainy day, we parked at the RSPB car park in Fowlmere (free for RSPB members) and walked alongside the River Shep, a small chalk stream whose source is the spring in the nature reserve. After crossing the A10 at the curiously named Frog End, we waked into Shepreth village, partly along the lane and partly on footpaths that conveniently cut off a couple of the corners. The second of these came out at Shepreth Mill, now a private house (photos below). 

The walk continued through the village and took another footpath, which emerged onto the A10 opposite the road into Foxton. Soon after the delightful village green at Foxton we turned right into a lane, which eventually becomes a footpath ‘climbing’ (by Cambridgeshire standards!) over a low chalk ridge to come out eventually on the road between Fowlmere and Shepreth. We turned right and then left at the cemetery to follow the single track road back to the RSPB reserve. After this approximately 6 mile walk, we felt we deserved our excellent lunch at the Chequers in Fowlmere.

Here is the farmhouse nearby, taken in infra red style.

Weston Colville and Brinkley

February 2023

 This 6 mile walk starts opposite The Reading Room, at 46 Chapel Road, Weston Colville CB21 5NX. There is a parking area opposite the Reading Room.

Above, the Reading Room, below, the route.

We crossed the source of the River Stour. Look out also for Lower Wood an ancient woodland which boasts a fine array of bluebells in April.  It was quite muddy with heavy clay underfoot and there was much scraping of boots. The field edges showed signs of walkers and riders so we thought this was a popular rural walk.

As The Red Lion was not offering food we lunched very well at The Black Bull in Balsham (excellent pie and a pint of Wherry).

Linton and Hadstock

 November 30th 2022

We set off in misty conditions but during our walk we warmed up and so did the weather, ending quite bright and pleasant.

Linton is not far from Cambridge and this five mile walk designed by John made for good conversation and easy exercise. Only one muddy field crossing and short clay sections of track slowed our progress and most was on good surfaces making easy strolling. Part of the walk followed The Icknield Way and we also crossed the old railway joining Linton and Bartlow - the Stour Valley Railway between Shelford and Marks Tey.

We parked at The Crown and took lunch there with cheery staff, several good beers on tap and very good value bangers and mash. A friendly and sociable day out.