Wednesday 10 June 2020

Exercise And Enjoyment

Yesterday my brother and I met up to go for a stroll in the countryside. The route had been thrown together in about two minutes of glancing at maps so we didn't have too much hope of it being anything other than a bit of much needed exercise for us both. It turned out to be rather better than expected and, as long as you keep the recommended two metres away from your computer screen, you're welcome to join us! 


We started at the church in Orwell and immediately had to ascend the dizzy heights of Toot Hill which is all of 100 feet (30m) above the level of the street! 


It does however give a surprisingly extensive view over the surrounding area. And that's what "toot" means: a lookout or vantage point. It was probably one of the reasons why there was a settlement here in the first place. The other was the well or spring which gives the village its name, as Orwell means "the well by the hill".


Near the top there is an old clunch pit. Clunch is any slightly harder outcrop of the predominant chalk rock which was exploited for building material. It's not a particularly hard-wearing building stone, though it does have the advantage of being very easily shaped into handy shapes for construction - you can't have it both ways!


Our route then took us downhill again and across the A603 road, which follows the line of an old Roman road, and into arable farming country. This land is farmed by the National Trust as part of their Wimpole Hall Estate so there are more trees, hedges and wildlife than on some arable farms. The path leads up again onto the chalk ridge.


Once on the ridge there's a wide path which was once a road known as the Mare Way. It's a very old route indeed, sometimes thought to be Roman, but probably much older than that. It runs for several miles across South Cambridgeshire; parts of it are now road, a few short sections have been ploughed up, but most of it forms an easy, pleasant walking route. The plant adding a little colour is Lucerne (known elsewhere as Alfalfa) which occurs wild in the UK and is also grown as a fodder crop.


We then turn off down the old Wimpole road towards Cobb's Wood farm. Cobb's Wood was named after Geoffrey Cobbe who was Lord of the Manor here around 650 years ago. In 1381 he joined the Peasant's Revolt. He was condemned as a traitor and only survived because of a pardon from the king.


This is the track Les and I often follow when we walk in the grounds of Wimpole Hall, but today we turn off by the Old Wood Yard.


The buildings of the former blacksmith's forge and the woodyard house are now beautifully restored, having at one time become rather dilapidated. Behind the house we found a very long-maned horse.....


The next field had a sign warning that a bull was in it, but it was thankfully deserted. The field after that also seemed empty, till we were half-way across when some cows suddenly galloped out from the barn. And they were accompanied by.....


…..a very muscular bull. Fortunately he was only interested his womenfolk and let us walk through unmolested. We didn't even need to go through this pasture as there was another track, just slightly longer, that we could have followed through woodland, though I wasn't sure whether it was open to walkers or not.


We eventually joined up with that wooded route anyway. There was once a village called Wratsworth around here which was mentioned in the Domesday Book but had declined to almost nothing by the 14th century. There's still an old moat marked on the map.


And our walk ended back at St Andrew's Church in Orwell.


Take care.


28 comments:

  1. Interesting John. I would have avoided that muscular bull - dairy bulls are notoriously unpredictable but luckily you got away with it. The lucerne was interesting - at one point it used to be grown as a fodder crop when I lived in Lincolnshire and the fields were such a beautiful colour. I haven't seen any for years. And that is a fascinating little church in Orwell. I enjoyed the walk from start to finish and looks to be a good day.

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    1. I'd have avoided Bully if he'd been visible when I entered the field, as it was we were half-way across when he and his ladies appeared and there was nothing else to do but keep going.

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  2. Quite a lovely walk there with your brother. The views are so beautiful.

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  3. Lovely photos of a lovely countryside. The entire place looks scenic and peaceful.
    Greetings from Sri Lanka!

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  4. The mare needs a pandemic haircut like many of us.

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  5. I've really enjoyed this walk. Your countryside is so beautiful. I never realized that alfalfa was so pretty. I'm so glad the bull was kept busy by his lady friends and you were able to pass through the field safely. How wonderful to have a brother to explore with. You have a super day, hugs, Edna B.

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  6. Nice looking old church, you can go back next week and visit inside if I'm right. I have come across a couple of places where a village once stood, I find it sad that they disappeared

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  7. What a beautiful walk. Glad to hear the bull wasn't interested in chasing you guys. :)

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  8. Lovely post and I don't know why but 'Toot Hill' amuses me. lol
    Briony
    x

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  9. Thank you. I really enjoyed our socially distant walk (though I am sorry to say it gave me no exercise).
    Lupins are most definitely a garden plant here. Am I right in thinking there were poppies in the forth photo?.

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  10. I sure did enjoy this post - your great photos and the descriptions of all we are seeing plus a lot of history! Well done. Thanks for sharing!

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  11. Enjoyed the walk and pleasant break from the news reminding me to focus on the moment. Since I live with dairy and beef cattle surrounding me I certainly would never have entered the field with the bull. He looks powerful!

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  12. How long did you walk take you? You seem to cover a lot of ground!

    I want to get in there and brush out that horse's main!

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  13. Such wonderful countryside you have to walk through!

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  14. Yes, as has been said above, a good walk! What about Tootwell instead of Orwell. Or Welltoot. Perhaps people have never wanted to name a town Toot.

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  15. Another lovely walk. I hadn't realised that Lucerne and Alfalfa were one and the same. Here we eat alfalfa sprouts and feed Lucerne to cattle.

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  16. Thanks for the walk. It was quite a long one but I didn't get out of breath, I was a bit scared when I saw the bull. Lovely scenery as usual.

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  17. Nest time you and your brother take a walk like this, give me a call, and I'll be happy to tag along - six feet apart of course! Impromptu is often delightful, as this little excursion illustrates.

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  18. What beautiful walk, John. Your photos and descriptions gave me the feeling of taking the walk myself. I must confess, however, that your account of the bull encounter took my blood pressure up a notch. A few years ago, while walking the entire Offa's Dyke Path, I was unexpectedly charged by a bull and came very close to being severely injured or perhaps killed. As your famous bard recognized, however, all's well than ends well.

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  19. Hi John - well you both had a lovely walk and I bet enjoyed the brotherly banter ... gorgeous weather we had in May - now it's a little more miserable now - but we desperately need that wet stuff - whether we get much down here or not ... is up to the rain gods. Loved the tour - thank you - Hilary

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  20. Lovely walk with brother - mine lives in France and we haven't managed a walk together since last year in Devon - our original home).
    My lovely friend Gina has several acres of alfalfa fields in Utah - I didn't realize that was lucerne - such a beautiful flower.

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  21. I enjoyed walking with you - apart from meeting that bull. I'm glad I was 2m from my screen.

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  22. I love your photo of the church...and so glad to see that photo of alfalfa. That horse is a beauty.

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  23. Such lovely walks you take. Thanks for sharing!

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  24. Another beautiful walk through the English countryside John, how nice it must be to take these walks with your brother ✨

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  25. Beautiful scenes on your walk. I think 'thrown together in 2 minutes' walks are often the best ones! Those and the make it up as go walks!

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