Ashdon to Great Chesterford - Around Essex (10)

In two minds whether to continue my jaunt around the county this morning - looked like another lovely day but there was a particularly attractive-looking game of football on the TV at lunchtime!

Decided that if I walked quickly enough & the buses were kind I could be back in Saffron Walden for most of the second-half & certainly home in time for the late afternoon kick-off: with the clocks going back tonight it would have seemed an awful waste of daylight & sunshine not to venture out....!

Caught the first bus of the day back out to Ashdon & was walking before the early cloud had shifted
Chilly.... but not so for November!

Bragg's Mill was built by local carpenter, William Haylock, in 1857 & overlooks Ashdon village despite being closer to Steventon End

Splendidly restored by Ashdon Windmill Trust Ltd (the mill was gifted to the village in 2000), the new sails were fitted in 2006

Song of the Day (an occasional series!): fans of late 1960s 'bubblegum' music may recall 'Magic Windmill' by The 1910 Fruitgum Company I can honestly say that the tune hadn't crossed my mind for well over 40 years.... but, suddenly, there it was!

Essex from Cambridgeshire - walking the county boundary near Bartlow

Had felt a little guilty about 'scrumping' on my last outing but passed enough well-endowed apple trees today to keep a whole supermarket-chain going for a week or two!
Apple of the Day: the one captured from a tree hanging over the footpath at Steventon End - not the one that fell & hit me on the head as I sank my teeth into its friend!

Highlight of the Day: Roman Burial Mounds at Bartlow Hills
Largest group of Roman Barrows in Northern Europe - a secluded & quite phenomenal site yet, somehow, the Great Eastern Railway managed to drive a line through here, unhindered, in 1857!


With the railway long gone, the mounds, too, seem to be disappearing into woodland

Originally there were 7 mounds but only 4 are obvious nowadays; the highest is, astonishingly, over 50' in height & has a wooden staircase to help visitors to its summit!
Excavated in the early 19th century, many of the most precious relics were taken to Easton Lodge in Dunmow where they were destroyed by fire in 1847

Quite happy to include these as a highlight as they used to be in Essex until one night in 1990 when they upped roots & moved into Cambridgeshire.... courtesy of yet more boundary changes!









Definitely back into Essex - the village sign confirms that!
Though I do understand there are more boundary changes planned - must cost a fortune in new village-signs alone!

Beer of the Day: 'Strisselspalt', a single hop ale from the Buntingford Brewery - a hop that just happens to be French grown
Pale, with a strong hoppy flavour, the notes suggest it is likely to appeal to lager-drinkers; if lagers tasted as good as this I wouldn't be averse to sampling a few more! Enjoyed this!

'The Kings Head' appears to have had something of a checkered history since my last visit
I was here several years ago on the very day that a new landlady & family were arriving; the current incumbents moved in during January 2011 & between there were several other publicans & several periods of closure
With a succesful Beer Festival during the Summer, Live Music  & good real ales perhaps this might be a turning point for this very good village pub


The Church of St Botolph stands impressively on a small hill above Hadstock



Parts of the building date back to the 11th century while the Saxon door is the oldest still in use in a British church; legends that the door was once covered with the flayed skin of a marauding Viking have proved to be unfounded.... though it's a good story!

Another feature of the village sign is the World War II airfield on Hadstock Common, officially known as RAF Station Little Walden
Returned to agricultural use in 1958, these are the only aircraft you'll see here now!

Essex Way, Stour Valley Path, Silken Threads.... now the Icknield Way - oldest of the lot!
Following England's chalk ridge it runs from Ivinghoe Beacon in Buckinghamshire to Knettishall Heath in Norfolk along ancient &, in some cases, prehistoric pathways

A good area of the county for village-signs though this one at Great Chesterford is looking a little faded!

Arrived here 10 minutes before my bus was due so no time for a pint, especially as I hadn't a clue where the bus stopped or even from which direction it would approach! Great Chesterford has been here a long time & its geography is quite complicated!

Interesting footnote: in the 1630s the village was popular as a stopover for those travelling to Newmarket races, Charles I was a regular visitor. Drunken behaviour by race-goers on one particular Easter Sunday led to a ban on Sunday horse-racing which stood for well over 300 years!

Well, ended up at 'The Cross Keys' after all.... the only pub I could find in Saffron Walden showing football but they did manage to serve me this time! Arrived about 10 minutes into the second half only to find that I'd missed 5 goals! Did see another 3 before the end - cracking stuff & a good decision!

15th century building  & 2 of the ground-floor windows on the corner are original!