Royston to Chrishall. 

Today’s earworm, Stevie at her best…

That is not strictly true; thunder can occur in stormy weather without it raining, but it is usually a sign that rain may be due. Remember the formula for calculating how far the storm is away? Count the time between the lightning flash and the thunder in seconds and divide by five for the distance in miles. I never saw any lightning today, but I certainly heard the thunder, and it rained.

I should be going home today, but I’m enjoying this walk so much that whilst I’m down here and feeling fit, why not do a couple more days? One or two phone calls last night, and things were sorted back home. I don’t have the guidebook pages from here on, but the waymarking has been so good, I think I can do without.

The stone base of the Rosia cross stands at the junction of Ermine Street and the Icknield Way. That is where my walk starts today.

A trudge alongside a main road past new housing, with an appropriate name, gaining height out of pleasant Royston.

At the Greenwich Meridian, I cross over to the drive of Burloes Hall, a permissive few yards, closed every February 1st, and I’m in the woods. However, all is not well, as the noise from the encroaching A505 dual carriageway becomes increasingly intrusive. It stays this way for about a mile.

And then I’m onto a hard farm road that goes straight as a die. Not the best start to the day, but at least it’s dry, for the moment, and the traffic noise slowly abates.

At last, I’m in fields on an enclosed path between bushes, which give a little shelter from the brisk breeze.

I think this could be Bulace as it doesn’t have the spikes of Blackthorn, Sloe.

And is this Buckthorn?

I’m passing through massive harvested fields. What must they have looked like before the combine went through a few weeks ago? The castles of straw indicate the scale of modern farming.

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Field of corn.

To the right are the chalk downs where the villages I’ll visit today lie.

I turn at a right angle and start climbing to the first village. The flora is typical of the chalk lands, which I’m becoming familiar with. It appears they have left wildlife strips at the sides of the cultivated land. The orchids must have been spectacular in the early summer. 

In the woods towards the top, roe deer scamper away on my approach, or is it the thunder overhead? The clouds are darkening, and a few spots of rain appear. Can I reach the church in Heydon before the downpour begins?

Thatched cottages and those characteristic wooden barn conversions welcome me into Heydon.

I am soaked by the time I reach the church. I have the usual mooch around and end up sheltering from the rain, which has arrived in earnest.

Holy Trinity has a fascinating history, having been mostly demolished by a bomb in the Second World War. The stone arch surrounding the north door records that a place of worship was established on the site in 1298, but there is little doubt that a church was established there long before this date, a “˜Vicar of Heydon’ being recorded as early as 1164.

In 1940, enemy bombs fell near the church, collapsing the tower and most of the north side of the nave and the north aisle.  The chancel was restored in 1952, and the remainder, the nave and tower, was completed in 1956. A collection of oak pews from other churches and a new tower clock completed the work.

The stained glass at the east end was commissioned from C E Kempe, the renowned Victorian designer who worked with W Morris.

Those steps up the bell tower tempted me. Can you see the headlines – Walker mysteriously killed in church.I have to leave at some stage and take to the wet fields and paths to Chrishall.

I don’t take many photographs.

I’m steaming by the time I arrive in Chrisall. I was hoping the Red Cow would be open for shelter and a coffee—no such luck. I’ve had enough for today.

A bus shelter helps during the heaviest downpour whilst I await my Uber taxi to deliver me back to Royston for an early shower of the hot variety.  All in the day of a long-distance walker. Turns out I have been in three counties in the one day,  Hertfordshire Essex, and Cambridgeshire. 

I have to give a shout-out to my Airbnb accommodation in Royston. An unassuming property in a cul-de-sac on a newish estate. An Italian couple, Antony and Elena, provide a room and a bathroom in their spotless house. Access is by a key box. The epitome of the original Airbnb ethos before all the commercial chalets and country cottages jumped on the bandwagon. Check out La Caza

What more do you need?

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