Sun 20th June 2010 - Leg14 : Hare Street to Royston - 12.7 miles

It was the beginning of the end when Jim Web, Jonathan Berks, Sandra Scott, Linda Berks, Liz Beardwell, Ray Munden, Pat Fletcher, David Beardwell, Neil Guttridge, Howard Peacock, Fudge (the dog), Chris Hardy, Guy Garfit, Ginny (the dog) lined up in front of the Old Stores in Hare Street for the now customary group photo.

It was a cool but humid morning as all, except Jim, set off on the first short stretch to St Nicholas Church, Great Hormead. Jim had stayed behind just in case any members of the public decided to join us - we had arrived in Hare Street much earlier than the publicised start time and were itching to get going. We were also expecting the Warden for this stretch of the walk, Ian Hurst to join us and Jim had to wait for him.

We sat or walked around the churchyard amusing ourselves until Jim and Ian arrived. Off we set in earnest. Along pathways, across a meadow and down a narrow path onto the road in Great Hormead. As usual we turned in a direction so as to avoid the nearest pub.

We followed the path blindly until Ian shouted, “Left turn!” just as we were about to walk up the drive to Hormead Hall! With a screech of brakes (just imagine it) we turned left. Our route eventually brought us out in the village of Anstey and to the Church of St George. Here we had a break for coffee.

It so happened that we had arrived on the day of a service to commemorate the loss of ten American air crew, killed when their bomber crashed behind the church shortly after take off from nearby Nuthampstead airfield during World War II. The incident was described to us by one of the Church Wardens as he waited for two veteran US Airmen to arrive for the service. There is a stained glass window in the Church to commemorate the airmen.

We left the churchyard and continued our walk through the village, past the Blind Fiddler Pub, recently renamed after a local blind fiddler who, local legend has it, walked back to the cave in which he lived, fiddling all the way. After entering the cave the music suddenly stopped - the fiddler was never seen again.

Continuing on, we passed the old village pump and eventually entered the aforementioned Nuthampstead Airfield where we crossed the main runway. We were told by Ian that the hard core used to build the runway came from a demolition site in London then, when the M1 motorway was being built the runway was broken up to provide hardcore for the motorway - that’s recycling!

Onwards, across the airfield, to the Woodman Inn for lunch. Outside the Woodman is a memorial to the USA 398th Bomb Group which was based at Nuthampstead during WW2. Here we were joined by Ken and Di Charles but, unfortunately, Liz Beardwell had to leave for another engagement.

After lunch we were again on our way - the longest part of the day’s walk lay ahead. After negotiating several bridges, kissing gates (no more demonstrations by the Berks!) and other obstacles our path took us across a field of oilseed rape, more than waist deep for some of our party.

In due course we found ourselves wondering down Barkway High Street. Barkway, once a coaching stop on the road from London to Cambridge is now famous for its Street Market and Village Pantomime. We stopped for a breather by the village pond. Moving on, further up the High Street we turned left into Church Lane, our path the taking us through the churchyard and hence onto the village of Reed where we emerged close to the Cabinet pub, despite the temptations we soldiered on to the village church where we again took a breather.

 A lovely little church where, we noted, one of our Club members is a Church Warden. After lazing in the sun, we walked on through the village to emerge on the Joint, the road running between the A10 and Barkway. We crossed the Joint and took a path across the fields, vaguely in the direction of Royston.

At its highest point we had a splendid panoramic view across towards Cambridge, the Fens and Ely. With Ray’s binoculars we were just able to make out Ely Cathedral.

As we walked into a dip, the sea of blue before us turned into a field of linseed. On past a new “farm-hand’s” house and a large array of sheds and farm machinery. It’s amazing what is within a mile or so of your own home that you didn’t know about. We walked up the other side of the dip to the top of the chalk escarpment that borders Royston, then down through the woods to the bottom of the Grange Estate, out onto Barkway Road, down the hill to Priory Gardens, the churchyard and our final goal, the Cross. The End.

Chris Hardy

Sat 19th June 2010 - Leg13 : Bishop's Stortford to Hare Street - 11.4 miles

It was a fresh and breezy morning when at 9.20am President David, the Diplomat, the Alpaca sheerer, Pharmaceutical Consultant and Construction Engineer left Bishop Stortford on the penultimate leg of the Polio+ walk. The town meanwhile was girding ups its loins for the annual Fete and Fun day.


Bishop Stortford dates back to well beyond the 11th century when Bishop Maurice of London built Waytemore Castle to oversee the very key position, the ford over the River Stort, for William the Conqueror. Wayte means place of ambush and more a fen or marsh. The ford was a troublesome spot before the fort was built.
 The town has two other people of great distinction. Cecil Rhodes of South Africa fame, who was born there, founder of the two Rhodesia’s and the owner of what was then the largest diamond mine in the world, Kimberley. It is still being mined to this day. The second Sir George Jackson opened the canal in 1769 and was a major shareholder in it. He was also a promoter of Captain Cook who later named Port Jackson in New South Wales and Point Jackson in New Zealand in his honour.

It was but a short walk from the station and down the high Street and through the playing fields to the countryside. The ground under foot was cracked and dry but despite the longish dry period we have had, the fields and hedgerows were verdant. The latter were peppered with blushing pink and white dog roses and there was an abundance of Elder Flowers which people were already starting to collect for Elder Flower cordial and wine. Judging from the sloes on the Blackthorn they did not suffer too badly from frosts.

After passing under the A120 we entered Hadham Park and soon reached the Hall. Hadham Hall is a Tudor building parts of which date back to 1575. It was once owned by the ancestors of the Earls of Essex. The 2nd Earl of Essex, Robert Devereaux, a favourite of Queen Elizabeth I suffered the fate of ambitious men of the time by being thrown into jail for his failure as a general in Ireland. He was later banished and finally beheaded on his return for leading a rebellion against her.

Outside the gatehouse you will find a boulder of pudding stone but no Crème Anglaise. Pudding stone is in geological terms known as a conglomerate and as such fairly rare. Hertfordshire Pudding Stone consists of well rounded flints and sandstone pebbles cemented together by a matrix of silica quartz. Similar stones can also be found in Essex. In cross section it looks like concrete.

The hall grounds are now an upmarket housing development and business park.

Our next port of call was Partmore Heath which has an outstanding area of grass heathland and as it is such a scarce habitat in the south east is a SSSI. It’s the heath has a number of rare plants and its ponds are the home for thee forms of newts including the locally rare palmate newt.

Lunch was taken after 6.2 miles at the Catherine Wheel in Gravesend where we arrived at 11.30 am. The hospitality of the house was first class and both the food and drinks were reasonably priced.

The afternoon stroll to Hare Street was unfortunately spoiled by a few short sharp showers, none of which got us a wet as having to fight our way along a previously cleared path through chest high oilseed rape. Under the weight of the seed it had bowed over to cover our route. Unfortunately the path had previously been trafficked by horses which made the ground below the rape dangerous underfoot.

In addition to the dog roses the hedge rows and field edges were covered with oxeye daisy, red and white campion, teasles, blackberry and many other flowers. The remnants of last months May could be found and their seeds were setting ready to feed the birds through the winter.

Along the way we saw many Burdock plants. In my younger days we used to enjoy the soft drink made from dandelion and burdock which has I believe has been drunk since 1265. Can it be found today? The root of the burdock also has many herbal uses. It seems, in the past, to have been used as a cure all being a cure for common colds, arthritis, sore throats etc. and it was taken as a diuretic and for purify the blood. In modern medicine it is use in oncology and also reputedly used to treat other serious health problems.

As we walked through Mutfords, we past a field full of post war vintage Austin and Rover cars.

We arrived at Hare Street at about 3.00pm having enjoyed yet again a great day out in the Hertfordshire countryside.

Jim Webb

Approaching Little Hormead