Yet another great walking route we found on essexwalks.com, which we followed to the letter. The possibility of finishing at The Three Hills pub tempted us to start the route in Bartlow. However, the highlight of this walk for most will be Barlow Hills, ancient roman burial mounds, so we’d advise not crossing that off right at the start. There’s quite a lot of farmland mileage between Ashdon and Bartlow and it’s best to have this at the start of the walk, rather than the end.
12.3km / 7.6 miles
Link to OS Route Map: Ashdon to Bartlow Circular
Conditions: Sunny, Dry Underfoot, Humid, 20 Degrees
Car park: on the junction of Fallowden Road and Church Hill, Ashdon (free)
Although just shy of 8 miles, we’ve classed this as both a short walk and a half day hike. It will take less than 3 hours if you go at a steady pace, but we advise allowing time to stop as there’s so much to see and do; varied terrain, remains of romans and railway lines, medieval churches, two pubs, a windmill and even a village museum. Despite the numerous points of interest, this was actually a peaceful, quiet walk.
Ashdon Halt to Bartlow Station
The interest on this walk starts quickly; starting on the westbound Harmcamlow Way, within a third of a mile we came across part of the dismantled Saffron Walden Railway line veering off to the left. Now someone’s private driveway, the line was closed in 1964 and the track lifted in 1968. The wooden “waiting room” is in fact a disused GER carriage and is still there in its original position on the earth-constructed platform that was once Ashdon Halt station (1911-1964). Wild vegetation taking over an abandoned, once thriving, station like this lends a sad and eerie juxtaposition to the scene. The dismantled lines in the area are a common theme throughout the walk.
Continuing up the footpath we passed the station buildings (again, now someone’s home) on the left. As the Harcamlow Way veered to the left, we turned right, took a minor descent through some corn fields and then a steady climb again up past Ashdon Street Farm. A general note that at times we found official footpath markers were quite sparse. Thankfully the landowners are pretty vigilant with their private property signs, so it’s easy enough to stay on the public footpaths. The path randomly went down some steps off the field edge, catching us by surprise, and into a sunken path that made us feel as though we were walking through the middle of a hedgerow. This passage veers round to the left (there is a sign) and emerges for more field edge walking to Bowsers Farm.
A small part of me was dreading the mile long bridleway that follows Bowsers Farm. Thankfully the undulation and views across the rolling hills (well, for Essex anyway) added interest. The highest point on this bridleway is level with the two peaks that can be seen, at 90m above sea level, and across to the East we spotted the windmill we’d visit towards the end of the walk.
Turning left at the end (after saying hello to a couple of inquisitive horses) we easily followed the path through more fields and down a collapsed farm track. It was at this point we passed a pair of ramblers, the first people we’d seen on the route so far. Before long we were on a narrow road. We were once again greeted by the dismantled railway line, this time in the form of the remains of the bridge, which is missing its top but charmingly overgrown. Passing under the bridge (can you go under a bridge without a roof?) we entered Cambridgeshire and Bartlow.
On google streetview, the area to the right after crossing a small stream/river is thick with trees, but this has been cleared and there’s now an abundance of summer wildflowers. With Blackditch Barns opposite (#housegoals) this little stretch of road is very pretty. Behind the trees and out of view on the right are the grounds of Booking Hall, a private residence that was once Bartlow Station (1866-1964). Turning left at the T-Junction we eagerly approached The Three Hills pub.
The Three Hills – Bartlow Hills
Since this was only our second outing to a pub since lockdown was lifted, we were eagerly awaiting a mid-walk refreshment! We were not allowed into The Three Hills pub in Bartlow (fine with us, we are still pretty cautious about covid lockdown easing) and really liked their system. Upon arrival, you sanitise your hands, they take your details, then you use their website to order and pay for food and drinks online. For people not au fait with this, you can also order at the table. Staff are all in PPE, dogs are allowed on leads and there were water bowls out for them too. The open-air benches are seated really far apart (not like in Maldon Hythe!) and there’s also a covered outdoor section. It’s clear they’re taking it really seriously and it was great to see.
Despite our good experience, we didn’t stay long and carried on through Bartlow village to St. Mary’s churchyard with its unusual round tower, one of only two surviving round towers in Cambridgeshire; even then, they are mainly an East Anglian feature.
The rest of the walk follows Harcamlow Way. The section before Bartlow Hills is short but magical; there’s a tree-covered descent where you pass over a stream, huge trees, mysterious walled gardens of the residence to the west and finally another railway bridge, this time going over instead of under. Looking down on the dismantled Stour Valley Railway line, it’s not over-grown at all and it’s easy to imagine it still in action. Down there on the track, under the bridge are two huge gates, we would like to know what’s behind them!
The footpath opened into Bartlow Hills and this – besides the pub – was the most people we’d seen on this peaceful walk. Bartlow Hills are in fact not hills but Roman Burial Mounds. There were originally seven barrows at the site making them the largest group in Europe. Unfortunately, those pesky Victorians flattened three of them when they built the railway line. On the bright side, the largest surviving barrow is 45 feet tall and is the highest in Britain, (second only in size to the prehistoric Silbury Hill, which is apparently not a burial mound) so it retains that accolade, at least.
Luckily we were only one of three small groups at the site, so we were able to climb the steps to the top of the tallest mound whilst adhering to social distancing. The grounds are surrounded by trees, so there’s not much of a view from the top, but you can look down on the other two barrows. Visitors have climbed the other barrows too, there’s obvious tracks. If you visit, please only climb the one with steps so to avoid eroding the other two; let’s do better than our Victorian ancestors, eh?
Bartlow to Bragg’s Mill on the Harcamlow Way
There’s an information point about the history of the mounds and their excavations to the other side of the largest mound, and we exited the area by the path behind this board. At the end of this footpath is a road. Had I been alone, I would have missed the footpath which runs parallel to the road in the wooded area – luckily Martin spotted this! Unleash your inner child and use the stepping “logs” towards the end of this section of footpath before heading left through a farmyard with it’s random round tower.
We bumped into the other walking couple again here (making MUCH faster progress than us), who had been walking up the road unable to identify that the farmyard was a footpath. The Harcamlow Way does go through this so make sure you don’t walk on this fast road unnecessarily! The wheat in the field as you exit the farmyard was incredibly golden. Martin has a tongue-in-cheek theory that it’s due to the difference in soil; Cambridgeshire being chalk based and Essex being clay.
The next section of the hike followed field track and footpath back into Essex. It was relatively mundane but allowed us to pick up our pace and get a sweat on. Before long we were walking through a gate and down a beautiful tree lined avenue, past numerous horse paddocks, the walled grounds of Waltons and 17th century cottages. This is a working stud farm and there were covid-19 precaution signs requesting not to linger in one place for too long, nor to touch the horses.
Crossing the road takes you into a field with a stile on entrance and exit. Our greyhound would definitely not have got through these and it’s the only part of the walk that makes it non-big-dog friendly – unless you have Hulk-strength and gymnastic-balance. There is another route to the windmill from here but it involves turning left at the the stile and walking on the road for a bit, but we’ve not verified that the other footpath is passable for a large dog either. The route we took went up through a field of wheat; now back in Essex, the wheat was much less golden. As to Martin’s “theory”, I’m not convinced the soil could be that much different, I doubt it pays attention to county borders in the same way humans do.
The footpath takes you straight up to the beautifully restored Bragg’s Mill. Unfortunately, it’s closed at the moment for coronavirus precautions, but usually has frequent open days. We could still get right next to it (Martin wanted to touch it but resisted of course), just not inside. The windmill was built in 1757 and is now a grade II post mill, preserved by the Ashdon Willmill Trust.
Ashdon and The Rose and Crown
Exiting the site and back onto the Harcamlow Way took us along the “final stretch” back to Ashdon through fields popular with dog walkers. Coming into the village got a little tricky, I was tempted to walk straight on over a little footbridge, but the main footpath continues to the left through the field and pops out onto Kate’s Lane. This is the “new” part of the village, established in the 13th or 14th century. We left the Harcamlow Way in search of The Rose and Crown for refreshment. On the way to the pub we passed a gorgeous Tudor house, and a tiny house with a tiny door!
The CAMRA Good Beer Guide approved and Grade II listed Rose and Crown was sadly on its last day of trading for the current publicans, who had been there for 5 years. Another pub taking covid-19 seriously, they were only serving via table service in the beer garden which meant we were not allowed inside. This was particularly painful for Martin since it meant he couldn’t see the Cromwell Room. Built in the 1630s, the pub was in a predominantly pro-Parliament area during the English Civil War. Legend has it that monks from Bury St. Edmunds Abbey were kept prisoner in what is now The Cromwell Room. They rebelled by painting panelling and religious texts, many of this ‘graffiti’ is hidden behind wooden panels. The landlady did kindly take some photos for us though, and the beer here was incredibly well kept. We’ll have to keep an eye as to which pub they head to next but also re-visit this pub one day to take a look inside.
We followed the road down to the Ashdon Village Museum (also closed due to coronavirus precautions; there’s a theme emerging!) rejoining the Harcamlow Way footpath to the side. This leads into a field bordered by lovely houses with well-kept gardens and “guard dogs”. On the other end of this path is All Saints churchyard. This is the original, oldest part of the village though you wouldn’t know it by looking at the relatively modern houses in this area. To the east, you can supposedly see the medieval earthworks in the field (we couldn’t) and the bubonic plague mass grave was south of the 15th century Guildhall (to the left as you enter the churchyard). The church was built in the 14th century on the site of the former Saxon church. Exiting through a newer cemetery to the north of the church took us back to the car park and the end of a rewarding, varied, and peaceful walk.
Love Wild Walks
