Bank holiday Monday saw Hilary, Dominic, Lewis, Victor and three Brians exploring a new route to the south. The five miles of minor road between Chrishall Grange and Littlebury offer some of the best views over South Cambs / North Essex - and are notable in several other respects.
Firstly, the roads are - for us lowlanders - remarkably hilly. Secondly, they are heavily pot-holed, at least on the Cambridgeshire side, whereas once you cross the border into Essex the tarmac is silky smooth. But thirdly, and most notable of all, is the sublime sight of the bluebell wood on the hill above Littlebury.
|
Victor in seasonal blue
|
Chatting afterwards over coffee at Duxford Community Centre, we wondered whether there were any poems about bluebells to match Wordsworth's on daffodils. Dominic promptly found
one by Anne Brontë who must have been in competition with her sister, Emily, who penned
another.
We returned to Shelford having clocked up 27 miles, a little further than Brian's promised 24 miles, but worth it for the bluebells alone.
|
Pausing for a breather on the Cambs / Essex border
|
|
27 miles anticlockwise |