East of England

This walk was done with the Cambridge Rambling Club, and takes in the three churches at Moulton, Gazeley, and Dalham - three villages just east of Newmarket - and much of it follows the Icknield Way.

We start at Moulton, which is well known for both its church - the Church of St Peter - and a 15th century Packhorse bridge spanning the tiny River Kennet, on the old cart road from Cambridge to Bury St Edmunds. We leave the churchyard, and after a little road walking, take the path between the hedges of the Gazeley Stud to reach the All Saints Church and then the village itself.  From here, we cross the road and join the Icknield Way (a 110-mile route from Ivinghoe Beacon in Buckinghamshire to Knettishall Heath in Suffolk), crossing fields and several woods.  There are views of the 3,000 acre Dalham Hall as we turn off for the Church of St Mary the Virgin; it is a lovely church, and there are traces of old wall paintings above the chancel arch.  The church cuts into grounds for Dalham Hall, and is right next to the viewpoint for it; one of the previous owners of Dalham Hall and stud farm was Cecil Rhodes, the Victorian empire-builder and founder of Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe), but it is now owned by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the Ruler of Dubai and Prime Minister of the UAE.  As we walk down into the village, we pass an old and large conical red-brick malting kiln.  After a packed lunch in Dalham Village Hall, we double back past the malting kiln and turn off to follow a footpath along the River Kennet back to the Church of St Peter at Moulton

 A good, 7-mile walk.Read more