Length: 23.7 km (14.7 mi) or 17.5 km/10.9 mi
Ascent/Descent: 258m (full walk)
Net Walking Time: ca. 5 ¼ hours (full walk)
Toughness: 4 out of 10 or 3 out of 10
Take the 09.27 Cambridge North train from Liverpool Street (Tottenham
Hale 09.41), arriving Audley End at 10.22.
Return trains: at xx.10 and xx.47. Buy an
Audley End return.
This is a relaxing walk in the quiet chalky uplands of north-west Essex,
on the borders of Hertfordshire and Cambridgeshire, very much off the beaten
track, and with gently rolling hills, plenty of woods and copses as well as
some pretty villages. Right from the start the walk takes you past picturesque
thatched cottages with ample examples of pargeting, a decorative medieval
plastering technique, and on through some farmland to the early lunch stop in
Arkesden, one of the prettiest villages in Essex with one of the best pubs and
loveliest churches.
The route then gently ascends to Chrishall, the dedicated lunch stop on the full walk, along field boundaries and green lanes. Chrishall village is close to Essex’ highest point and the approach offers fine views into the Hertfordshire plain and back down the wide ‘winding valley’ that gives Wendens Ambo its name. After lunch you follow the Icknield Way to Elmdon, with views north out across the Cambridgeshire plain to Cambridge, then alongside a high hedge with views off to your right into the winding valley back to Wendens Ambo.
A slightly longer , more westerly route (25.7 km/16.0 mi) takes you over Essex’ highest point itself.
Lunch: The Axe & Compasses in Arkesden
(4.9 km/3.0 mi) but you will pass it before it opens for lunch (unless you
start an hour later and do the short walk). So, there is only The Red Cow
in Chrishall (13.1 km/8.2 mi, food to 16.00).
Tea: The Bell Inn (open all day), 10 minutes from the station.
For walk directions, map, height profile, photos and gpx/kml files click here. T=swc.116
1 comment:
Hard rain kept falling when I got out of bed, but it had stopped when I left the house, and the rest of the day also performed to the forecast: grey sky upon arrival at AE Station, soon clearing to a w=sunny-with-a-few-passing-clouds day
7 walkers alighted from the train and kept a good pace, visited the church at Arkesden with its grandiose memorial, stopped every once in a while to get the group back together (1 of us had only gotten off a plane from HK late Saturday evening) and got to The Red Cow at 5 past 1. They were fully booked inside, and indeed loads of people were streaming in while we sat outside in the sun. This eagle-eyed observer then spotted one of a later group walking into the pub with the menu in hand while a tiny corner of a paper with a well-known typeset poked out from underneath: the SWC walk directions!
Later enquiries showed that he was leading a group of 5, who had started an hour earlier than us and also walked the extension, which is why we hadn't seen them on route. Regular users of our walks, following the written directions, hey ho!
A picnicker walked on ahead of the rest of us (15.47 train for her) and after just short of an hour in the pub, we also walked on, generally with very good autumn colours, with the leaves still mainly on the trees rather than on the ground. Also some good colour from the arable fields, where green shots largely dominated (winter wheat?). Combined with fine far views in the clear and clean air, this was a wonderful day out.
We got to the street on the fringes of Wendens Ambo at 5 to 4, where 2 turned left to catch the 16.10, while 4 turned right to The Bell to then catch the 16.47.
On the platform we bumped into 4 SWC stalwarts who had started an hour later, lunched at The Axe & Compasses in Arkesden (pre-booking needed) and then walked the shortcut.
n=11 plus n=5 independents
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