To Spaldwick from Cherry Hill Farm
Walked by Sally and Richard, Sunday 16th September 2018
About 5.2 miles of walking (2 hours), 5 miles on the route of the Three Shires Way
For more photos of this walk, click here.
We were in Sussex yesterday and had various things to do before leaving home in Norfolk today, so - as has become the norm - we didn't have time for a very long walk this afternoon. The next little section of the Three Shires Way, which we walked in reverse because of uncertainty over parking at the Cherry Hill Farm (Covington) end, was not the most exciting walk ever, but it was pleasant enough, despite slightly odd weather (overcast and windy, but very warm).
By 2.45pm we had parked one car in Spaldwick, in the same place outside the Manns agricultural machinery premises at TL127730 and driven on towards Covington, being relieved to discover that although there was one car already parked in the small parking place at TL064723 on the bend on the narrow road from Keyston, we managed to make space for Richard's smallish car too. Parking in this area appears to be somewhat challenging, compounded by the narrow roads, though actually we had spotted another parking place just further back along the road from Keyston.
We left Cherry Hill Farm by way of a path along the field edge. We passed the route of a dismantled railway and continued, emerging onto a minor road shortly after a slight kink to the right. We turned left and walked along the road, being passed by occasional vehicles, but making very fast progress. Very soon we were passing attractive farm buildings at Tilbrook Grange and turning left onto a slightly more major road towards Catworth.
We turned right off the road onto what is marked on the map as a byway. Initially it was a wide, stony track - rather boring - but past Molly Rose Lodge (which, bizarrely, has a Old Great North Road sign in the garden) it became a narrower tree-lined route, labelled "Cockway Lane". As we approached Spaldwick there were occasional views to the church spire in the distance. However the final approach to the village was somewhat unexpected - suddenly we saw a 30 mph sign amongst the trees, followed by a street light and, sure enough, there were the houses. From this point looking back, we saw that there was indeed a destricted (i.e. 60 mph) speed limit down the narrow tree-lined track. Hmmm.
We were soon at the junction with the road we had walked down into Spaldwick last week. Today we took a footpath across common land to the Church. It was delightful, complete with grazing horses...except that the horses seemed to think that we had food and Richard found himself being followed and nosed by first one then two then three then four horses. We escaped into the Church yard and then had a quick look at the picturesque green (though Richard was hit by a conker as I was photographing the village sign!) before returning to the car and driving to collect the other one.
From the parking place at Cherry Hill Farm, my posh new iPhone showed two routes of almost identical length to Milton Keynes, and I opted to take the more westerly one by way of Higham Ferrers, Wellingborough and Olney. Richard's iPad had not shown this route, but he agreed to drive that way too, and he had a fast and easy journey. So did I, but for some reason I found myself directed by way of Kimbolton (a most attractive place) at which stage I realised I was NOT on the westerly route, so I continued on the easterly circuit of St Neot's and then my usual route to Milton Keynes, past Bedford. Richard just beat me! I've no idea whether the problem was operator error or the first mistake my new phone has made, but it didn't really matter.
