Jack Lewry -
Cambr=
idge
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 fri=
ends
and colleagues. We had only known him in retirement, when Jack & Phyl w=
ere
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 t=
he
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 o=
f 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 Coll=
ege
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.
&=
nbsp; &nbs=
p; &=
nbsp; &nbs=
p; JM
Icknield Way Associati=
on -
- 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 speci=
al
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 Ivin=
ghoe
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 rout=
e 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 ro=
ugh
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.&nb=
sp;
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, wi=
th
any older trees removed, so that it looks like a sanitised municipal park.<=
span
style=3D'mso-spacerun:yes'> 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.
![](3D"CANTAB53.html_files/image002.gif")
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 ot=
hers
for byways, and signs and gates are being installed. In addition, part of this very mud=
dy
lane is to be hardened with road planings or similar material, and the drier
parts will be grass seeded. K=
evin
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 CCR=
17;s
promoted riverside route between Cambridge and Ely, to go all the way to Ki=
ngs
Lynn. The FRWA was responsible for waymarking, and production of the Fen Ri=
vers
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 pa=
th.
Your Editor and companions walked the route last Winter, and found it in go=
od
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.&nbs=
p;
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 C=
C,
supported by Dullingham PC. A=
ll 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 g=
oes
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 probl=
ems 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 Brink=
ley
road. (Thanks to Phil Prigg f=
or
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 Conse=
rving?
As
members of the charity Plantlife
International*, we receive regular magazines and leaflets and, of cours=
e,
the inevitable appeals for financial assistance.
One
recent leaflet about Juniper struck a local chord, as the only wild populat=
ion
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
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, me=
ans
the saplings are nibbled.This is why the bushes on the Dyke have a wire cag=
e,
to fend off rabbits. Climate =
change
projections suggest that in 80 years, Juniper will disappear from much of
southern Europe. If this happ=
ens
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!
&=
nbsp; &nbs=
p; Go
gently past!
*Plantlife Internation=
al -
The Wild Plant Conservation Charity, 14 Rollestone St., Salisbury, Wilts, S=
P1
1DX
![](3D"CANTAB53.html_files/image003.gif")
Friends of the Roman R=
oad
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 t=
hat
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 Ro=
ad
and Fleam Dyke sections, taking in less well-known paths especially those
Food for Thought -
More Pub & Café
In Sawston, two adjacent pubs,=
The
Black Bull, and The Queens Head have closed, and also The Woolpack, elsewhe=
re
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) ?&nbs=
p;
We have twice passed the display board, propped incongruously on the
path itself, advertising coffee and cake in a sunny countyard, Thurs-Mon, 1=
1am
- 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 domi=
nate
this small village. The large=
st is
15m high, probably the tallest in Europe.&=
nbsp;
C19th archaeologists excavated cremated remains, dating from the C1s=
t -
2nd, and recorded an iron fol=
ding chair, an iron-bound =
wooden
chest con=
taining
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, wi=
th a
rare C14th round tower containing 3 ancient bells. Note the cross-eyed lions in the u=
pper
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 i=
n 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, ne=
ar
the river. In 1279, there wer=
e 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 rai=
lway
came in 1865, making Bartlow a junction between the track from Audley End a=
nd
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 Bartlo=
w
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.<=
span
style=3D'mso-spacerun:yes'> 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 Roa=
d 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, b=
ut
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 Defini=
tive
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.&=
nbsp;
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 wo=
oden
signpost. The route passes be=
tween
a garage and the wall of a house, and continues on a very wide gravelled dr=
ive
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 churchyar=
d;
go past the Three Hills on fps 1 and 4, north along the Ashdon Road, and ba=
ck
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 lar= ge number of you now receive Cantab by e-mail. By hand, 20p is appreciated tow= ards 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.<=
br>
Janet Moreton 01223 356889
e-mail roger.janet@care4free.net
Cantab 53 - Price 20 pence where sold
&=
copy;
Janet Moreton, 2009.