Great Chishill 146m / 479ft and Chrishall Common 147m / 482ft 21/02/2020
The SatNav told us it would be just under an hour’s drive to Great Chishill from where I would solo walk/jog the afternoon route taking in the high points of Cambridgeshire and Essex. All went well at first along some quiet country roads until I realised after about 40 minutes that the indicator signals in the van were not working. We pulled off the road at a petrol station to double check, succeeding in annoying a few car wash patrons but deciding that we needed to find a solution. Cath quickly searched online for local garages as we drove off – directional misunderstandings meant a choice of reversing about 50 yards along the main road from some traffic lights or negotiating a few narrow one way streets through the village of Linton – I opted for the latter and we found the desired garage shortly after. Some more nifty reversing was required to avoid causing congestion and the garage owner came out to give a diagnosis – probably a blown fuse. I got out the vehicle manual and managed to locate the fuse, friendly Mr Garage Owner departed and promptly returned with several replacements, fitted one, tested the indicators and all was well. He refused to charge us but accepted a small donation towards his next pub visit. Mini-crisis dealt with we drove the remaining miles to find a suitable parking place for the afternoon
Great Chishill itself occupies a prominent position so when we parked next to the village play area near the church we were already getting views of the surrounding countryside. Cath had decided not to walk, which suited me as I really just wanted to crack on and get it done – 2 tops and about 7 miles, probably across muddy farmland, so we agreed PJ would not accompany me either. I set off along the road knowing that the Cambridgeshire high point was not far away, just off the road about 800m from the road junction. Once again in such a flat area there was no clear high point so I went with the prescribed grid reference and found myself in a muddy field. So that was it, county top number 5 ticked off, now for the walk.
The route I had planned followed public footpaths across farmland and tracks down into a valley, over the county line into Essex and back up to Chtishall Common. The path over farmland was very muddy and sticky, but no cattle around.
The track back up to the common was just wet but allowed me to jog a little and make faster progress as the clouds arrived and the temperature started to fall. There were a couple of alternative routes across the common to the high point – the one I took was muddy wet and slippery until I reached a small wooded area. Rather than skirting the outside I followed deer tracks through the wood – a bit of a battle at times but eventually I came to a signpost which pretty much marked the spot.
I filmed the obligatory short video and had a look at my map to decide which route to take back to the van, I had already concluded it would not be the same way I came so there were 2 choices of similar distance, both of which would involve more muddy paths. I made my mind up and moved on.
Quickly back through to the southern edge of the wood I skirted around the edge of a field on firmer ground than before and turned onto the expected very muddy track which traversed a couple of open fields before reaching a farm. Here I was treated to a large group of deer scattered across the fields but not brave enough to come and say hello. At such rare times I wish I had a really good camera available but sadly not the case. I reached a lane and decided to jog again the short distance to Little Chishill, crossing the boundary back out of Essex in the process.
The road descended before I reached the turn to head north again along another undulating and muddy (surprise!!) farm track which brought me back to Great Chishill. It was then just a short uphill walk into the village and back to Cath, PJ and Betty. A quick drink and snack then back on the road heading north towards Rutland.
