Cycling on the Cambs/Herts border

The  weekday weather forecast for last Sunday was for heavy rain, so we were relieved to know on the Saturday that sunny intervals would be around for the next day.

At Steeple Morden , Bill and Inger (and Gill Light) were waiting with their bikes.  We were puzzled as there was no sign of their white van.  Had they cycled all the way from Pymoor and were then prepared to go a further 20 miles ?  Er....no.
Lurking in the car park behind us was a new sleek black hatchback, which had a 2-bike rack that could be stored in the boot when not in use.   A useful bit of kit and much admired.

We were soon joined by Cliff , Ann, Duncan and Parviz.   Leaving Steeple Morton we set off in the direction of  "Wrestlingworth". Fearing that the folk there might be violent we continued on to Eyeworth !

This was a typical village ; old houses nestling alongside new ones, and everywhere there were daffodils ; on verges and in gardens , and some had even been planted alongside one of the deep fen-like ditches. I noticed some early yellow coltsfoot by the road and the white blossom of the blackthorn was starting to show as well.  Where there were trees there was the first green tinge to the branches ; the new shoots displacing the black/brown boughs of winter.

The roads were undulating - no obvious steep hills but there were several long inclines. When cloudy, a stiff cold breeze sprang up and in this headwind even the inclines were a challenge.  However, there were several long downhills on quiet lanes so the sprinters among us could take off and blow away the cobwebs.   This is an area of arable farming and the landscape often lacked trees , hedges and fences ,so fields under cultivation were huge.  It was strange to see nothing but big green mounds of growing crops right up to the horizon.

We cycled through the immaculate villages of Dunton and Edworth,and stopped at Hinxworth, where an unusual war memorial presented itself as a lunch venue.   A central clock tower was flanked by a high wall on either side, complete with wooden seats. Just the place for a group photo as well.

The sun decided to shine and we were glad of the slight warmth as we ate our sandwiches. On the tower a plaque recorded that the restoration of the clock tower in 1997 was funded by Major Robert Clutterbuck , no doubt a descendant of a Vincent Clutterbuck whose name was inscribed on the WW1 Roll of Honour.  We were nearly shot off our seats when the bell in the tower above our heads struck one o'clock !

Apparently Hinxworth was known as 'Haingesteuuorde' in the Domesday Book of 1086: 'enclosure where stallions are kept'. Judging by the number of horseboxes in people's yards as we went around, and Newmarket not a million miles away, the locals are certainly keeping up the tradition !

We continued to the large, vibrant village of Ashwell and then on back to our starting point at Steeple Morden.  Cliff was in good spirits as he had found a lucky dried rabbit's foot before we set out, and Inger had managed to purchase a bunch of leeks on the way round.

We all thanked Inger and Bill for organising the ride (20 and a half miles) and then fell to the task of putting bikes on racks before leaving this interesting corner of Cambridgeshire and North Hertfordshire.

Jill D.