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  • TravelerCambridgeshire; South District

    Toft, Comberton and Hardwick

    May 15 in England ⋅ ☁️ 15 °C

    These three villages were visited during a 12 mile walk with the Cambridge Rambling Club.

    Toft is a small village 6 miles west of Cambridge.  We walk east across part of the Cambridge Meridian Golf Club, which has the Prime Meridian running through the 14th fairway, and reach the southern part of Comberton.  This is a much larger community than Toft, having the local village college and various other amenities.  Our route is through part of the village northwards before we cut across to Hardwick.

    Hardwick is historically very old and is now another large village approx. 6 miles west of Cambridge and 4 miles east of Cambourne (see previous post in Cambridgeshire; South District); it has a large housing estate area north of the centre, but the older area is attractive and interesting.  From Hardwick, we walk west and then south along the edge of Hardwick Wood (rather wet and muddy) before crossing back to Toft.

    A good day out (despite some rai) and some interesting views (details are on pictures).    Read more

  • TravelerCambridgeshire; Cambridge City

    Standing Tall; Giraffes in Cambridge 2

    May 13 in England ⋅ ⛅ 18 °C

    This post follows on from Standing Tall; Giraffes in Cambridge 1, and shows the rest of the sculptures in Cambridge Cilty Centre as well as those at the two railway stations; once again, location and sculpture name are indicated on the the photo captions.Read more

  • TravelerCambridgeshire; Cambridge City

    Standing Tall; Giraffes in Cambridge 1

    May 12 in England ⋅ ☁️ 21 °C

    Cambridge Standing Tall is a giraffe sculpture trail in Cambridge city centre from 21 March to 2 June 2024; after this the sculptures will be sold off to raise money for Break, a charity organisation working in Cambridgeshire.  Break "gives vulnerable children, young people and families the time, support, and care they need to achieve their full potential", and the purpose of the trail is to raise the aspirations of the county’s young care leavers.  

    The trail comprises 31 large giraffe sculptures, each decorated by an artist and sponsored by a local business; en route, there are also 60 mini giraffes created by local schools and community groups.

    We followed the trail for the large ones, and these are shown in the order on the Trail Map. This post covers Eddington, on the northwest of the city centre, to New Square Park, in the centre. Captions on the photos indicate the location and the name of the sculpture.    Read more

  • TravelerCambridgeshire; East District

    Dullingham and Stetchworth

    May 8 in England ⋅ ⛅ 12 °C

    These villages were visited on a 7.5 mile walk with the Cambridge Rambling Club

    Dullingham is a small village and civil parish situated 4 miles south of Newmarket and 14 miles east of Cambridge.  It is a pretty place with a village green, local pub, church and nice properties, and even has its own railway station; opened in 1848, it lies on the Cambridge branch of the Ipswich to Ely Line, via Newmarket.  We leave the village, passing by several small horse stud farms on our way to the small village of Dullingham Ley, where we head north along Basefield Wood towards Woodditton.

    Woodditton is a small village that lies at the south-eastern end of the Devil's Dyke, a defensive earthwork thought to be of Anglo-Saxon origin (see FP post in The Cambridgeshire Dykes).  The embankment is high here and thickly enclosed by scrub and bushes, with large roots crossing the path.  After a short walk of about 1/2 mile along it, we turn off for Stetchworth.  

    Stetchworth is another small village and civil parish and we are now 3 miles south of the horse-racing centre of Newmarket and around 12 miles east of Cambridge; typically, there is a pub, church and interesting properties here; the Ellesmere Centre is a community centre, including a post office, and community store, serving Stetchworth and the neighbouring villages mentioned above - we have our lunch here before heading back to Dullingham.

    Another good walk - in splendid weather, this time    Read more

  • TravelerCambridgeshire; Cambridge City

    Hobson's Conduit; Nine Wells - Cambridge

    May 2 in England ⋅ ☁️ 17 °C

    I have long wanted to do this complete walk, from the source of Hobson's Conduit to the city centre, having walked parts of various sections over the years.  Hobson's Conduit, also called Hobson's Brook, is a watercourse that was built from 1610 to 1614 to bring fresh water into the city of Cambridge from the freshwater chalk springs at Nine Wells; the scheme was financed by Cambridge University, but Thomas Hobson, a local businessman, was involved in the construction and set up a maintenance endowment for the waterway which is now named after him.  

    Nine Wells is a nature reserve close to Addenbrooke's Hospital; there are four springs here and a monument, one of two, to the conduit.  Hobson's Brook runs past the hospital and biomedical campus; there is a slight diversion for walkers away from the brook due to ongoing building work at the new Cambridge South railway station, but I soon re-join the path and follow it with the Hobson Park Bird Reserve on one side and the edge of Great Kneighton village on the other.  I then cross the Cambridgeshire Guided Busway track before walking through more green space to reach Long Road (A1134); after this, the waterway reverts to its original name of Vicar's Brook as I cross over and onto Darien Meadow.

    At the end of the meadow, the man-made channel of Hobson's Brook branches off from Vicar's Brook - there is a small bridge to cross here (obviously) and the two run parallel for a while enclosing a stretch of common ground, now used for allotments (the Empty Common Community Garden), emerging at the junction of Brooklands Avenue and Trumpington Road.  The waterway passes the west side of the Cambridge University Botanical Gardens (it supplies water to the small lake here) before reaching the conduit head at Lensfield Road, where there is the second monument to Hobson and the conduit - the original Market Fountain was moved here in 1856.  

    The flow of water was divided into four separate branches from here for different uses, but only one branch remains - the Trumpington Street branch, which fed Peterhouse and Pembroke Colleges, as well as the original Addenbrooke's Hospital.  I follow this, seeing the deep channels known as runnels at the side of the road that did this, and then divert to the Market Square; the original fountain was partly moved to form the monument in Lensfield Road and soon after a Gothic Revival gabled fountain was erected, but most of this Victorian fountain was pulled down in 1953.

    It has been a very interesting 4.4-mile walk with great views in places (see captions on photos).    Read more

  • TravelerNorfolk

    Oxburgh Estate

    April 21 in England ⋅ 🌬 8 °C

    We stop off at the Oxburgh Estate, near Swaffham, on our way home. Oxburgh Hall is a moated Manor house originally built by Sir Edmund Bedingfield as a symbol of power in 1482. It underwent extensive refurbishment in the mid 19th century, and this Grade I listed building is now managed by the National Trust

    The Bedingfield family were strong Catholics, but things changed in the 16th century during the reigns of Elizabeth I and Henry VIII when Catholics were persecuted and even executed for sheltering Catholic priests.

    We walk around the gardens and part of the grounds before visiting the house itself (part is still used as a family residence); there are many portraits and artefacts describing the Bedingfield family's turbulent history. The house is particularly noted for the Oxburgh Hanging and a priest hole (see pictures and captions).

    It has been another excellent visit to Norfolk.    Read more

  • TravelerNorfolk Coastal Path
    1

    Old Hunstanton to Hunstanton

    April 20 in England ⋅ 🌬 7 °C

    It's a short walk from our accommodation to Old Hunstanton Beach, where we rejoin the coastal path and walk up to the lighthouse and cliffs at Hunstanton (a popular coastal resort on the North Norfolk coast). Both the coastal lookout and the lighthouse at the top are now holiday homes that are available for rental.

    A stone's throw away is the ruin of St. Edmunds Chapel, which was erected in 1272 in memory of Edmund who landed in 855 and was crowned King of East Anglia. He led an army against Viking invaders but was captured and killed. He was later martyred, becoming a patron Saint of England; when his body was found, it was being guarded by a wolf.

    We follow the path along the top of the cliffs, noted for their distinctive stripes of carrstone, white chalk, and red chalk, to the Esplanade Gardens and then further to The Green. The Norfolk Coastal Path starts or ends here.

    By coincidence, some family members are staying in Hunstanton this weekend, and we meet up with them for coffee.

    It's been a good morning!    Read more

  • TravelerNorfolk

    Burnham Thorpe and the Creakes

    April 19 in England ⋅ 🌬 10 °C

    We drive to Burnham Thorpe and park near the church. Burnham Thorpe is a hamlet on the River Burn and famous for being the birthplace of Horatio Nelson, the victor at The Battle of Trafalgar on HMS Victory. His father was the rector of All Saints Church when he was born; the house where Nelson was born was demolished soon after his father's death, but a plaque commemorates his birth.

    We start our walk at the church, passing a flint and stone barn, to meet the wall around Holkham Park. Here, we follow the course of an old Roman Road south and then turn down a farm track. There are good views en route before we turn to follow the road to North Creake, also situated on the River Burn. We visit St Mary's Church and walk through the village before taking the road and then a bridleway north towards Creake Abbey ruins; these Grade I listed ruins are St Mary's Abbey and now under the care of English Heritage.

    The Abbey was at its peak in the 14th century but was destroyed by fire in 1483. It was rebuilt in parts, but the Monastic community was wiped out by sickness in 1506.

    We walk on to Burnham Thorpe, seeing some more of the pretty village. Another great day out, and 10.1 miles of easy walking.

    In the evening, we meet up with our old friends Paul and Miriam for dinner; they used to live in Duxford, but now live in Norfolk.    Read more

  • TravelerNorfolk Coastal Path

    Brancaster Staithe to Old Hunstanton

    April 18 in England ⋅ ☁️ 8 °C

    It's a nice day as we set off on the 9:34am Coastal Hopper to Brancaster Staithe to resume the walk from where we left off. After a short while, though, we had to retrace our steps as the path was flooded and workmen were rebuilding it. We walked back and followed the diversion to Brancaster along the A149. From there, the coastal path and diverts inland behind Titchwell.

    There are good views of the countryside and of a pig farm before the 1 mile walk down to Thornham and the coast. The path is raised as we walk along a coastal defence towards the Holme Dunes National Nature Reserve, enjoying great views of saltmarsh, water pools, and pasture. There is a "wild" beach at the Nature Reserve; this is ideal for coastal breeding; we see a lot of bird watchers and stop here for a late cappuccino and lunch.

    We then set off for Old Hunstanton along the coastal path and have good views from the beach on the walk there. Another good 12 mile walk.    Read more

  • TravelerNorfolk
    1

    Royal Sandringham; House and Garden

    April 17 in England ⋅ ⛅ 7 °C

    Sandringham House is a royal residence of King Charles II, and usually used by Royalty in the winter; it was originally a large manor house in the Elizabethan era and was rebuilt in the Jacobean style between 1870 and 1900. It is the home of the Royal Stud and has excellent shooting on the grounds.

    We visit inside the house, where there are excellent guides to describe the various rooms downsrairs that are open to the public; these include the saloon, drawing rooms, dining room, and no photographs are permitted. We also see a collection of 26 innovative garments and accessories, made using plant waste taken from Royal Gardens, including Highgrove and Sandringham, as part of an ongoing collaboration between VIN + OMI and His Majesty.

    Outside, we visit The Old Stables Courtyard and former Coach House, where there is a small museum showing old Royal Cars and the Sandringham Fire Engine (now no longer used). We walk around the Sandringham Gardens via the stream, Lower Lake, Upper Lake, Topiary Garden, and North Garden before visiting St Mary Magdalene Church; this is used by the Royal Family when in residence. After lunch, we follow the 3 mile Nature Trail walk around the Royal Parkland.

    It has been a really interesting visit.    Read more

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