CANTAB57.DOC

CANTAB = RAMBLER
June=20 2010

This=20 Month...
First, I have=20 for you an article by Peter Dean on =E2=80=9CBeating the = Bounds=E2=80=9D, an ancient custom=20 revived in a few parishes, such as Little Shelford in South=20 Cambridgeshire.

We are also much indebted = to Peter=20 for a second contemplative and thought-provoking = article.
Where=20 did he visit?

Janet = Moreton

Bounds - Beaten or=20 Unbeaten
Little Shelford Bounds Walk, 2010

Little Shelford, according to = one=20 authority (The Place-Names of Cambridgeshire, CUP 1943), takes its name = from the=20 River Cam crossing - =E2=80=9Cthe shallow ford=E2=80=9D -but there may = be something in the fact=20 that the Scaler family =E2=80=9Cowned=E2=80=9D it as absentee landlords = between C11th and C13th.=20 Name and place are too close not to allow the possibility. =

The Cam (or Granta) from its = crossing=20 with the M11 in the NW corner of Hauxton to the Dernford Mill bridge in = the SE=20 constitutes half the total length of Little Shelford=E2=80=99s boundary, = an estimated 10=20 miles in all. The M11 takes about half the rest, but entry to that of = course is=20 restricted to mechanical transportation.. In a few places, the = =E2=80=9CBounds=E2=80=9D do=20 come within immediate arms reach.

1. The bridge in Bridge = Lane
2.=20 Riverside walk at The Wale rec.
3. Dernford Mill
4.=20 Whittlesford Road Crossing just before Spicers Pond.
5. The=20 Whittlesford - Newton Road at Kidmans Plantation & also where the = cinder=20 path meets it.
6. At the Newton Road M11 underpass
7. = At the=20 Hauxton Road M11 underpass

Beating the Bounds weekend = falls at=20 Rogationtide, and was organised on Saturday 15 May by Little = Shelford=20 Parish Council Footpaths Subcommittee and the Little Shelford Local = History=20 Society. Some 30 people assembled for the start of the walk near All = Saints=20 Church, Little Shelford.

A similar event was held = on the same=20 day by Great Shelford, starting at St Mary=E2=80=99s Church, and the two = groups met=20 across the bridge in Bridge Lane.

Both parties carried out the = ancient=20 ritual of Beating The Bounds, rapping the ground with hazel twigs and = claiming=20 their territory. The custom is believed to be originally of pagan = origin,=20 long before maps sealed and defined boundary lines, but has been = subsequently=20 acceptable to the church.
The Little Shelford party=20 chanted:
=E2=80=9CWe=E2=80=99re beating the bounds in the = name of Little=20 Shelford=E2=80=9D (repeated twice)
=E2=80=9CTo all we = say: Go in=20 Peace=E2=80=9D.

&nbs= p; Peter Dean

The event was recorded in the = Cambridge=20 Weekly News of 20 May, along with a happy photograph of the=20 participants.

As well as marking its = boundaries, the=20 walk was in support of Little Shelford=E2=80=99s campaign for its=20 footpaths.

Walking the Line in South=20 Cambs

By Peter = Dean

Cambridgeshire, so adjacent = to and=20 incorporating so much fenland, is commonly thought of as a flat = county. =20 The fenland parts are, though you=E2=80=99ve only got to look at = Cambridge itself with=20 its Castle Hill up-gradient on the exit to Huntingdon or approach Ely = from any=20 direction and recognise its salients. Nevertheless, generally = low-lying=20 though it is, it is not otherwise flat =E2=80=93 it undulates, there is = any number of=20 small hills west, south and eastwards, its southernmost border at = Royston=20 boasting the tail-end of the Chilterns running away eastwards into = another=20 reputed flat county Essex =E2=80=93 which, of course, also undulates = most=20 agreeably.

3D"Your

As a walker =E2=80=93 one who = wherever possible=20 leaves the roads behind to strike out into traffic-free countryside - = will tell=20 you, passage over the tracks and rights-of-way brings a constant = shift of=20 landscape view at human-eye level, long, short and medium. In a = very few=20 steps you find a long vista has disappeared and you=E2=80=99re crowded = in by a stretch=20 of rising ground that cuts off any prospect but the little hillock or = mound=20 itself, only for you to emerge again in brief time to another prospect = quite=20 unlike the one you were looking at those few minutes=20 before.

Let me take you on one such = walk. =20 We=E2=80=99ll go clockwise round a circular route, traversing a sizeable = portion of the=20 village boundary, which roughly follows the river all down one = flank. We=20 go north-west out of the village on the roadside pavement for a mile and = a=20 quarter (yes, I know, not the most enticing of starts, but things get = better)=20 until meeting the main arterial road into the city. Turning due = north=20 here, we meet the (river) boundary line after about 250 yards where it = crosses=20 the road. At this point we go east to make our way along a = route=20 more or less following the river, heading against the = current. =20 But with what a difference!

Writing about another = Cambridgeshire=20 watercourse, William Potts [Proceedings of Cambridgeshire Antiquarian = Society=20 Vol. XCIV] memorably commented:

=20 =E2=80=98The natural courses of fenland rivers are remarkably = convoluted=E2=80=A6 =20 original courses were 3 or 4 times longer than the path of a = well-motivated=20 crow. A straight or fairly straight fenland river is the work of=20 man=E2=80=99.

His words are wonderfully = appropriate=20 also to this location. Human paths and routes have been formed = usually=20 through a compromise between directness and geography. They make = every=20 attempt to stay as straight as they can =E2=80=93 understandably since = their purpose was=20 to enable any journey to be accomplished with the least possible outlay = of=20 effort and time. By contrast the river=E2=80=99s shape suggests = the opposite =E2=80=93=20 winding, looping, turning back on itself, with, in the section = we=E2=80=99re meeting=20 here, nary a straight stretch of any length to be found. You walk = the path=20 alongside it seemingly initially and suddenly, as you were perhaps = looking at a=20 view that has opened up before you, perhaps trying to pick out some = identifiable=20 feature, it has wound away to a distance, almost become indiscernible = under its=20 low banks in the flat green meadowland. Then, just as suddenly, = it=E2=80=99s there=20 at your elbow, glimpsed through a buckthorn or wild damson hedge lining = the=20 path, glistening down below, near enough now to jump into. And = even as you=20 stare at it, putting one foot before the other on your walk, it swoops = off in=20 another extravagant bend and you=E2=80=99re not certain, such is the = unrevealing nature=20 of the contiguous countryside, which way it proceeds, having vanished = round that=20 corner, until your progress gives you an angle of view the better to=20 decide. But even then it=E2=80=99s a bit of a = guess.

You only discover it made = that general=20 direction when it comes up close again half a mile later in your=20 walk. An OS map shows you the detail. That = well-motivated crow=20 analogy comes to mind. In terms of distance the man-made path lies = somewhere inbetween. And because it attempts as far as possible to = follow=20 the direction of the river, cutting corners across those loops and = twists when=20 it can, the track zig-zags, bringing thus the constant change of view, a = different landscape and vista as you walk it. Thus where at one = point you=20 have a view of gantries and towers and other tall buildings in the = distant city,=20 when you emerge from behind the long low bluff which cut you off from it = all=20 that has disappeared =E2=80=93 you have imperceptibly changed direction = and the new=20 angle shows a tree-lined horizon and nothing to identify with = your previous view. It=E2=80=99s a surprise and a = delight. And behind you=20 the river winds irresistibly northwards, like the zig-zag track you have = trodden, determined by the invisible contours deep beneath your=20 feet.

And at last with this panoply = of views=20 and impressions =E2=80=93 the unfamiliar back of a familiar church now = beyond the river=20 shrouded in romantic willows and poplars; distant road-freighters = cruising=20 smoothly and soundlessly across on the motorway; the mysterious=20 underpasses for both that, when you come by one of those sharp zig-zags = to it,=20 and for the railway =E2=80=93 suddenly you=E2=80=99re in slightly more = recognisable country,=20 another turn, another church and here=E2=80=99s the path coming to an = end past the old=20 farm buildings and you=E2=80=99re back with roadside pavement and = turning west again and=20 only the bridges to get over to the other side of the winding river in = order to=20 complete your circular walk. The river will have done 5 or 6 = miles: you zig-zagging between the same two points perhaps two and = a=20 half: that well-motivated crow not much more than a single=20 mile. Magic.

In all, a circular ramble of = roughly=20 four-and-a-half miles, not requiring the use of transport and production = of=20 c-oh-two to undertake it: and the sort of thing that should be = available=20 in every community.

New Footpath / cycleway = beside=20 A1307
Between the Magog Golf Course roundabout, and the = Wandlebury=20 estate, a tarmac footway / cyclepath is under construction. This = will=20 allow a safer and rapid (downhill) stride from Wandlebury Country Park, = to the=20 Babraham Road Park & Ride site (but watch out for speeding cyclists = behind=20 you. A pedestrian is in Addenbrookes=E2=80=99 with severe concussion, = having been=20 knocked down on a footway by a hit & run cyclist in Cambridge, as = reported=20 in Cambridge Weekly News, 22 April 2010).

A quieter route, from the = rear of the=20 Wandlebury Estate is, of course, by means of the Roman Road, a descent = down=20 Worts Causeway to the Beechwoods Reserve, and charming permissive paths = inside=20 the hedge to the rear of the P & R site. The downside of this = route,=20 is, of course, the section down Worts Causeway from the Roman Road to = the=20 Beechwoods where there is no footway, and an unrestricted speed limit. = Cambs=20 C.C. is still to take action here.

This little = piggy...

a mammal having short = legs, cloven=20 hooves, bristly hair, and a blunt snout used for=20 digging...
Have you met=20 a wild pig in the woods? If so, were you charmed or=20 alarmed?

An article in SAGA (May = 2010), suggests=20 that dog owners might not be too pleased to meet a wild pig, especially = at this=20 time of year, when there are little piglets to be=20 protected.

Wild boars can weigh up to = 500lb, and are=20 possessors of 6 inch tusks. The wolf is the boar=E2=80=99s = natural predator=20 in the wild, so sows with piglets loathe dogs, and will give=20 chase.
Wild pigs once roamed freely in the British Isles, but = were=20 exterminated by hunting by the C15th. Place names like Everton in = Bedfordshire,=20 and Eversden in Cambridgeshire may derive from =E2=80=9Ceofor=E2=80=9D, = the Anglo-Saxon for wild=20 boar. Indeed, Little Eversden has a wild boar on its village=20 sign.

How is it that they are back = in the=20 woods? They are certainly present in the Forest of Dene, Dorset, Devon, = and=20 Epping Forest.
It seems they originally escaped from private=20 collections, perhaps at the time of the hurricane of 1988, which brought = down=20 fences and enclosures. As their natural habitat is woodland, they = have=20 bred most successfully since.

Has anyone encountered one? = The article I=20 read suggests that the risk to humans is low - but personally I would = keep well=20 clear, especially if there were piglets, adorable or=20 otherwise.

Eversden = Wood
This=20 attractive woodland is topical, as it has recently been re-waymarked by = a Karen=20 Champion from the County Council, and local volunteer Clive = Dalton, with=20 assistance from the landowner. In 1997, the whole parish was waymarked = by RA=20 Cambridge Group, together with a big local turn-out. Some of the old = way-mark=20 posts have been re-used, together with some smart additional ones, to = clarify=20 the routes within the woodland, and avoid inadvertent=20 trespass..

Three points give public = entry to the=20 wood.
(a) On the S side at TL 345 529.
(b) On the W = side of=20 the wood, the point of entry is at TL 342 533.
(c) On the E = side =20 at TL 349 532
Explorer Sheet 209 shows routes to these points = from=20 Eversden, Kingston, and the bend in the minor road above Wimpole=20 Belts.

Eversden Wood is perhaps the = dampest of=20 all those in South Cambridgeshire. Lying at the junction of = Wimpole,=20 Kingston and Eversden, on high, flat clay, perhaps this is the reason = why the=20 ancient woodland survived here untilled. Wellies are definitely needed = to=20 explore these woods in Winter. At present, although pools persist = on the=20 rides, boots will suffice. The rides run between former coppice woods = with=20 standards, nowadays rather wild and unkempt.

Jealously guarded for = pheasants, these=20 woods also support a good selection of wild flowers in season. In = early=20 spring, expect dog=E2=80=99s mercury (that indicator of ancient = woodland), lesser=20 celandines, and a few oxlips. Later, when we visited in May, we found a = good=20 spread of bluebells, ladies smocks, the yellow archangel, cowslips, = bugle,=20 ground ivy, greater stitchwort, pendulous sedge and wood sedge.. Young = leaves on=20 beech, hawthorn, field maple gave the rides a green glow. Later, there = would be=20 flowers of yellow pimpernel, silverweed, brooklime, figwort, red campion = and=20 angelica, as the leaves testify. In mid-May, we saw some plants of = early=20 purple orchid, with spotted leaves, not yet in = flower.

3D"Your 3D"Your
Where is waymarking much-=20 needed?

Cambridgeshire County Council = Team has=20 acknowledged the need for more waymarking along paths in the = County. The=20 Highway Authority has a statutory duty to signpost public paths where = they leave=20 a county road.

Waymarking along the length = of a path is=20 discretionary. The County Council notes that the Local Access = Forum=20 regards waymarking as a priority.

Last Autumn Roger and I = surveyed West=20 Wickham, Horseheath and Balsham in South Cambs for further waymarking, = and this=20 was carried out by contractors early this year. The Friends of the = Roman=20 Road and Fleam Dyke have waymarked a 25 mile route which has = recently been=20 promoted, also showing paths branching off along the = route.

Do you have any suggestions?=20 (Cambridgeshire only, please). If so, I will be delighted to pass them = to Kate=20 Day, at the County Council.

We have suggested, for = example, that the=20 long, cross-field path between Bassingbourn and Abington Pigotts is a = prime=20 candidate for re-waymarking, and this has been put on the waiting=20 list.

Back issues of Cantab on CD

Thanks for the fan mail (to = be shared=20 with Norman De=E2=80=99ath, who did the index). A cheque for = =C2=A325 has gone to=20 Ramblers=E2=80=99 Cambridge Group.

Cantab Rambler 57 by E-Mail &=20 Post

Cantab usually appears every = two months.=20 A large number of you now receive Cantab by e-mail. By hand, 20p is = appreciated=20 towards the cost of paper and ink. If you would like to receive an issue = by=20 post, please send a large SAE, and a 2nd class stamp. Offers of brief = articles=20 will be gratefully received. This = is a privately=20 produced magazine, and the views expressed are solely those of the = editor,=20 or of the author of an individual = item.
Janet Moreton 01223 = 356889

e-mail roger.janet@care4free.net

Price 20 pence where=20 sold=20
=C2=A9 Janet Moreton, 2010.=20