Reed, Buckland, Anstey, and Nuthampstead

This post describes a 12 mile circular walk from Reed done with the Cambridge Rambling Club, combined with a follow-up trip by car to visit the churches properly.

Reed is a small, pretty village in North Hertfordshire and is situated on a chalk ridge approximately 3 miles south of Royston.  We walk around the village green, past the old chapel (used as the local school for many years before becoming a private residence) and down to St Mary's Church; this had a new organ installed at a cost of £170,000! We then walk north for a while to the main footpath and past Reed Wood on the route to Buckland (another small village).  Then it is east and over towards Anstey, passing Anstey chalk pit.  The church here, St George's, is cruciform in shape and noted for its stained glass windows in memory of the USAAF 398th Bombardment Group who lost their lives in combat in WWII - they flew from the nearby former air station at Nuthampstead.  This is a short distance away, and we walk up along one of the runways of what was USAAF Station 131 during the war; the airfield was constructed by the U.S. Army engineer battalions starting in 1942.  We pass the Barkway DVOR (Doppler Very high frequency Omnidirectional Range Station), an aeroplane navigation aid that is in active use.  There is another monument to the USAAF 398th outside the Nuthampstead Airfield Museum, but this is unfortunately closed.  

After a break - we have walked over 8 miles so far - it is back to Barkway via a footpath along the Cokenach Estate and then back to Reed.  Another great day out in a local area not that far from Duxford.Read more