14 Great Chesterford to Whittlesford – 5 Miles (8 Kilometres)

The Hundred Parishes Walks between railway stations – number 14 Great Chesterford to Whittlesford – 5 miles (8 kilometres) This walk is quite flat, mostly in Cambridgeshire in the valley of the River Cam. It starts in Essex on the outskirts of Great Chesterford and finishes just inside the Hundred Parishes at Whittlesford station, which is actually in the parish of Duxford. The first and final sections of the route are not special, but in between it passes through three attractive Cambridgeshire villages. Start: Great Chesterford Station (Ordnance Survey Grid Reference TL504424). Finish: Whittlesford Station (TL485472). (Limited parking at both stations). Ordnance Survey Explorer Map 209. 5 miles, mostly along roads. No stiles or gates to climb. Note: There are pubs in each of the 5 villages. Those closest to the route are noted. A map of the route appears at the end of the route description Tip: If travelling by train to and from the two stations it is usually cheaper to buy a return ticket for the most distant station, rather than two single tickets. Tip: If travelling by car, it is suggested that you park at the finish and catch the train to the start, thereby avoiding the possible pressure to finish the walk at a certain time. There is paticularly limited parking at Great Chesterford. Leave Great Chesterford Station from the London-bound platform (which also has a ticket machine and booking office). Pass through the car park and bear left along the station approach road. Keep left at the junction with London Road, the B1383. Immediately opposite is a former mill, now converted into apartments. Very soon turn left, signposted to Ickleton, and soon fork left, slightly uphill, to carefully cross the rail track at a level crossing. This road soon rejoins the main carriageway, just as we leave Essex and enter Cambridgeshire. As soon as it is safe, cross the road and continue on the pavement on the right. The next few minutes are uninteresting, passing beneath the two carriageways of the M11 motorway, before reaching the village of Ickleton. Keep to the right, where there is generally a pavement. Pass this lovely 500-year-old timber-framed building that was once a farmhouse before reaching Church Street. The route turns first right into Church Street. [If you would like to see a little more of the village keep on the main road, following it round to the left past the Ickleton Lion pub. Before the next road junction, turn and retrace, following the road round to the right before turning into Church Street, signposted to Hinxton]. Pass the village store, then the war memorial on the green on the right and the Norman church of St Mary’s on the left. The church is noted for its rare 12th century wall paintings which were discovered only during restoration after a fire in 1979. Follow the road round to the left, with the church on the left. Pass Mill Lane and turn right at the next junction into Brookhampton Street. Pass Ickleton Cemetery with its flint chapel, built in 1883. Follow the road round to the right and, with care, cross the railway line level crossing. The road crosses the River Cam and about 50 metres later, turn right through a gate (immediately opposite a footbridge across the river on the other side of the road). Follow the path round to the left, initially with a small copse on the left, over a wooden footbridge, to join a gravel path that runs parallel with the road. To the right can be seen the 18th century Hinxton Hall, now greatly extended with modern buildings that form the Wellcome Trust Genome Campus. Follow this permissive path alongside the road for 300 metres until it rejoins the road and continues as a grass verge. After the bend, when safe, cross the road onto the pavement. Turn left into Hinxton High Street. Pass the 17th century Red Lion Inn, the war memorial and Church Green on the right. Church Green leads to the parish church of St Mary and St John the Evangelist which dates from around 1200 AD. Pass Hunts Lane on the right before turning left into Mill Lane. When the lane turns sharp right, keep straight ahead following the footpath through the gate of Miller’s Cottage and keep to the right. The path soon reaches Hinxton watermill (shown here), which straddles the River Cam and dates from the 17th century. [see www.cambridgeppf.org/hinxton- watermill.shtml for more information and opening times] Retrace along the footpath to rejoin Mill Lane at the sharp bend. Turn left and at the junction, cross the road to the pavement and turn left, heading towards the ford. This is Duxford Road and the route follows it for some distance. Avoid the ford by using the footbridge to cross the river which is called both the Cam and the Granta. Keep to the road and, with care, use the level crossing to cross the main London to Cambridge railway line. The road passes industrial premises on the left. Soon after a sharp left bend, bear right to diagonally cross a playing field before rejoining the road which is now called Hinxton Road. Turn right into the village of Duxford, passing Fisher Close on the right. When the pavement runs out, cross the road with care to join the pavement on the other side. Keep straight on past the war memorial on the green and St Peter’s Church on the right (the first of two Norman churches in Duxford). If refreshment is needed, the Wheatsheaf pub is just beyond the war memorial. Continue along Chapel Street until the road bears right. Here, turn left beside a tiny traffic island into Green Street. On reaching the green on the right, take the second path across the green towards the church. The path rejoins Green Street. Continue along it, passing Duxford’s second Norman church, 12th century St John’s, which is now in the care of the Churches Conservation Trust. Turn right at the road junction into St John’s Street. Pass a cemetery and the entrance to Greenacres on the left and reach a road junction. Should you require refreshment, turn right and you will soon reach the John Barleycorn pub. Otherwise, turn left. This road soon leaves the village of Duxford. With care, cross to the pathway on the right side of the road. On leaving the village, the giant hangars of the Imperial War Museum at Duxford Airfield come into view on the left, albeit about a mile away. [for further information, see www.iwm.org.uk/visits/iwm-duxford ] After passing commercial premises on the left, the pathway reaches the very busy A505 dual carriageway, which must be crossed with great care. The safest option is probably to cross to the triangular refuge and then cross each carriageway in turn, following the signposted cycle route towards Whittlesford and Cambridge. On the far side of the dual carriageway, continue ahead and soon meet a road. Cross this with care and continue uphill on the pathway on the right side. At a cross roads, turn right into Station Road West. When safe, cross this road and continue along the pathway on the left to Whittlesford Station. This approach comes into the station on the northbound platform, for trains heading towards Cambridge. The booking office is on this side. For southbound trains, towards Great Chesterford and London, cross the footbridge. Just beyond the London- bound side of the station is the 16th century Red Lion Hotel and then the medieval Duxford Chapel which was built as part of a hospital in the 13th century and is now in the care of English Heritage. These buildings, pictured here, were within the parish of Duxford until 2010 when the parish boundary was redrawn to shift them into Whittlesford. Not all trains stop at all stations so, before boarding one, please check that it is scheduled to stop at your intended destination. The route map on the next page was prepared by Glyn Kuhn for the Hundred Parishes Society. This route description, last updated 24 May 2018, was downloaded from www.hundredparishes.org.uk. .

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