Great Chesterford to Stretchworth: Greater Ridgeway Day 22

Another day over increasingly low, green hills, but with two coffee shops on the way.

Today was the start of RSPB's Garden Bird Watch. As I was leaving Great Chesterford, passing its housing, a multitude of sparrows were flying about chattering to each other, no doubt wanting to be counted for this annual survey of bird numbers and maintain their number one slot. Hills were now gentle swellings clothed in green, although one slightly longer uphill stretch was rewarded by a bench at the top to sit down at, by a cairn of stones with a sign saying "for remembrance"  My route was again over open fields and on tracks between hedges or trees. The fields were large, created no doubt by removing earlier hedges, however, perhaps in a reversal of this trend, new hedges had been planted. Some were just twigs in plastic tubes, but others had long outgrown their tubes which still clung to the bushes beneath their branches. Another sign of their newness was their lack of diversity. Old hedges are mixtures of many species that have accumulated over many years. In a nod to biodiversity, on this trip I have spotted several signs beside wide field margins stating they had been left wild to encourage wildlife. Mature hedges had been cut by flailing, that is by a rotating chain or similar, which breaks rather than cuts the branches. It made them look unsightly, but hedges have to be cut to stop them growing ever wider.

By a brick water tower I noticed people with flags standing well apart at points around a large field. Curious I asked one what they were doing. Part of a "shoot" it appears, presumably of pheasants although I thought I saw some partridges later. Coffee shops have sadly not been that common on my Ridgeway walk but my research had revealed that there were two on my route today, so I was looking forward to patronising one. All the tables were taken at the "Linton Kitchen", and I was still full from breakfast. I reached Balsham at lunch time which gave an excellent reason to buy a pulled pork roll to eat with my coffee at the "Old Butchers". The roll was enormous, with apple sauce spilling out the sides. Although very good it did lay heavy in my stomach for my afternoons walk. 

"Old Butchers" café in Balsham.

I briefly joined the E2 European Long Distance Path that goes from Scotland to the south of France, a challenge I might take up in the future. A sign mistakenly said it was a European Community route whereas it is designated by the European Ramblers Association. Towards the end of the day I found that a kind farmer had carefully avoided ploughing up the footpath which crossed his field. In the fresh earth beside the path I looked at the hard flint pebbles which came from the soft, unseen chalk rock hidden beneath the soil. They are white on the outside but blue grey on their curved fracture surfaces where broken. The following section was less attractive. A straight, narrow, muddy path between prickly hedges.

A considerate farmer has not ploughed up the footpath.

Fragments of flint from the underlying chalk rock in a ploughed field.

Cross Green Bed & Breakfast, where I am sleeping tonight, provided a filling evening meal, brownies, a beer, lots of materials for breakfast and newspaper to put my muddy boots on in a modest apartment. Tomorrow night may not be so pleasant...