Main Walk: 18½ km (11.5 miles).
Long walk - via St Ives.24½ km (15.2 miles)
Difficulty: 1 out of 10 (2 for the Long Walk)
An easy circular walk, starting along the River Great Ouse, to Hartford. Then, to an early lunch stop in the attractive twin villages of Houghton and Wyton. From Houghton, there is a choice of routes.
The Main Walk continues with a circuit of Houghton Meadow. (It’s possible to bypass the meadow for an even shorter walk of 9 or 10 miles)
The Long Walk goes further, to the town of St Ives. There, the 15th century bridge features an unusual Bridge Chapel. If you happen to visit Holt Island Nature Reserve, you can walk on a boardwalk that the younger Mr Tiger himself helped construct. (Just saying….).
Both options return via water meadows to the last working water mill on the river, Houghton Mill (it costs to look inside unless you're an NT member). They have a tea-room. Return through a nature reserve and more water meadows, hopefully awash with buttercups.
Trains : Get the 10:13 from Kings Cross Platform 8 (Finsbury Park 10:19), arriving 11:14.
Return at xx:59
Lunch: The suggested lunch stop (after 6½ km) is the Three Jolly Butchers (01480-463228) in Wyton, which has a large garden. A little further on in Houghton, you got the Three Horseshoes Inn (01480-462410).
There are more options on the Long Walk, the Axe & Compass (01480-46360 )in Hemingford Abbots, or, 1 km further, the upmarket Cock (01480-463609;) in Hemingford Grey.
Tea: The suggested watering-hole is the George Hotel (01480-432444) in George Street, an old coaching inn. Nearer the station you’ll find Sandford House (01480-432402), a Wetherspoons .
Directions: here t=swc.31
1 comment:
N=4 today.
Lunch was partaken at Wyton . The four jaunty walkers trooped into the Three Jolly Butchers. No tables available but there were a set of comfy chairs .
The group divided here. Three, mindful of the dire afternoon forecast, had opted for the shorter option. One, spurred on by tales of a fabulous boardwalk, headed for St Ives.
The forecast, as it turned out, was overly dire. The day was a mix of w=cloud-and-occasional-sun Apart, that is, for a micro-squall in the afternoon (5 mins?) that occasioned us to don waterproofs. By the time they were on, the sun.came out.
The three went for a look round the mill which was quite interesting. A kindly benefactor took Mr Tiger in as a guest.
Then back through the water meadows, which weren’t ‘awash with buttercups’. There was a smattering but, if they were awash with anything, it was mostly grass. Still, can’t have everything.
“We’ve been lucky with the weather” said one. “Ssh” said another. Luckily, fate wasn’t listening.. The sun stayed.
The three rounded things off with a visit to the Wetherspoons.
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