Clothall to Great Chesterford
After a lovely stay with Helen, I rejoined the Icknield Way. It was a beautiful morning, the sun was shining, but the wind kept it cool.
The Icknield Way took me along footpaths through fields and woodland to Redhill.
I couldn’t have hoped for better weather to start the day, it was beautiful. The fields were quiet and it was just me walking along.
Today is my mummy’s birthday, so I stopped for my morning break and rang her. It was lovely to wish her a happy birthday. It has been odd to miss family events, whilst I’m walking. We had a quick catch up, before I’ll ring her again this evening.
The footpaths then took me through Sandon, which was a lovely little village. As I walked through the churchyard, the locals had all got through together to do some gardening.
I then followed a mix of footpaths and lanes to Kelshall.
One of the footpaths went through a field of long grass. It was lovely to walk through and watch it swaying in the wind.
On the way into Kelshall, there was a rather tight kissing gate. I couldn’t get through without taking my bag off, but I opted to hop over the fence instead. This was much easier than taking my bag off and lifting it above chest height, before dropping it over the other side!
Kelshall had a lovely little memorial in the middle of the village. It was surrounded by daffodils on flower.
After Kelshall, I took a footpath all the way to Royston. This footpath was very similar to the Ridgeway. It was a straight wooded track, which opened up into fields halfway along.
Along the way, I met a group of men from the Outdoor Lads. Outdoor Lads are a group of gay, bi and trans men, who meet for walks and other outdoor activities. It was lovely to meet them, hear about their group and tell them about my walk. They all said that they were grateful to meet me. In my head, I’m just me on my little walk, so it feels really special when people are so amazed by what I’m doing.
I stopped on the edge of The field Heath for some lunch, before continuing through Royston. Royston was a nice little town. As I was walking through, a chap in his van, beeped his horn and gave me a thumbs up!
On the way out of Royston I passed a marker for the Greenwich Meridian. This is the line of 0° latitude.
I then rejoined the Icknield Way to Chrishall Grange. Along the way I met a couple from Kenya, who live in the UK. It was really interesting to chat with them. We spoke about each other’s walks and the mountains in Kenya.
The footpath ended and I took a couple of lanes to Ickleton. My feet had got used to the footpaths of the last week, so found the lane quite hard. I stopped at the pub in Ickleton for a quick lemonade and a chance to give them a rest.
After Ickleton, I followed the road to Great Chesterford. Along the way I crossed from Cambridgeshire to Essex. I managed to weave between the different counties today: Hertfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Essex.
I was soon in Great Chesterford, where I finished for the day. Tonight I’m camping at the pub. It’s due to be a chilly night, so I took the opportunity for a pub meal, before putting on every layer that I’m carrying and cuddling into my tent. I’ve also got my hand warmer out to generate some more heat. Mission keep warm is definitely on tonight!
Edit to add: Mission keep warm was definitely accomplished! I was nice and toasty all night 😊
Leave a Reply