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A walk from Baldock to Royston
on a summer's day - part 2
So on the morning of Saturday 4th June, around
10h30, a week before the Wallington village fete, I entered Baldock town via the
railway station, passing through its centre via Whitehorse and London Roads, to
pick up the path over the
footbridge that crosses the
A505 Baldock Bypass at the Weston Hill tunnels and heads towards
Clothall. Reaching the junction of this path with the Icknield
Way path, which crosses the A507 from Baldock and heads directly north between
Bird Hill and Quickwood Farm, I continued on towards Wallington. A cyclist
passed me on this, a bridleway and ancient pathway. In the distance towards the
west, cars raced up and down the A505, with the railway line I had travelled on
earlier beyond that even. The path emerges along the Clothall to Wallington
Road. I entered the village where George Orwell once lived and just before
reaching The Street, I tripped as I headed up a short set of stairs into the
woods towards the local church of St
Mary's, which I entered. I photographed the beautiful stained glass window,
which I was not able to do on my previous visit, with the sun now filtering
through from the outside. I have learnt that no matter how many times one walks
a route, from one occasion to the next, lighting, views and perspectives can
change, enabling one to spot something missed previously. Instead of heading
south to the village of Rushden, I diverted off the tree-lined path, heading
instead towards Redhill, where the Icknield Way continues, doubling as The
Hertfordshire Way, as depicted by signs en route (one of the huge pleasures of
walking English countryside).
I plodded on somewhat towards
Roe Green, having missed out Friar's Wood. I emerged on the road joining this
village to that of Sandon, which I had cycled along on more occasions than I
care to remember. I entered the All Saints Church upon reaching the village of
Sandon, which I had not done before. The appeal for funds for much-needed
repairs struck a chord and I responded accordingly. I sat on a bench at the rear
of the church gardens and enjoyed one of the sandwiches I had prepared, along
with some tea, which is one aspect of hiking I enjoy the most. I cast my eye
over the tombstones before me, picking out those that bore identical family
names of others close by, whilst trying to establish the most likely family
connection. Many tombstones were dwarfed by the long grass despite sections of
the graveyard having recently been mowed, in particular a corridor that led down
to where the path continues beyond the grounds of the church. Takinga
short cut along the edge of Philpott's Wood, I followed the beautiful tree-lined
Chain Walk, first east before suddenly heading roughly north where it joins the
Kelshall Lane track. I left this track just before reaching the Therfield and
entered the grounds of St Mary's Church via the gate at the southern end. Having
never set my eyes upon its interior before either, I was drawn to the numerous
arches along the vault of this church. I stopped off at the popular Fox and The
Duck on the village green and downed a well-earned pint of Aspall's Cider in
less than a quarter of an hour, such was the thirst that I needed to quench. I
noticed a path not seen before along the side of the pub, past the playground
behind it, picking up the Icknield Way Path into Royston itself. The rain came
down just as I headed out along the clay track though this did not deter me from
capturing the landscape on film. Following the edge of farmland adjacent to the
track so that I could take in the countryside that would otherwise have been
shielded from view, the lack of recent rain was clearly illustrated by the
dry, cracked soil underneath. I reached Royston around 17h30. |
