Reinterred: Exning, Burwell and Landwade Walk

Today I did a walk from Exning to meet up with Joyce's walking group on this walk...

"Friday Feb 11th Snowdrop Walk. We are going to attempt a walk in a new area for many. I road tested this walk last week and it's very lovely. We are visiting the small hamlet of Landwade. The grounds are full of snowdrops and aconites, at the moment, and it's a delightful small estate.

We will meet at 10am at Newmarket National Stud car parking area on the London A1304 road out of Newmarket. CB8 0TW is the nearest postcode I can find for it. There is a massive roundabout with a horse sculpture in the centre and you'll need to follow the National Stud brown signs to the last exit.

It's a 15 mile walk. We will be walking on the Devils Ditch to Burwell where we will have a coffee stop at Elk coffee shop (5.5 miles) and then onto the amazing little estate of Landwade. It's a tough little route but worth it ! Yell if would like more details. Finish time will be 4pm. "

Well I wasn't sure I wanted to walk 15 miles again anyway after yesterday, but I had to be home for 3:30pm as Laura was visiting, so I devised a way to join up with this and get home in time. Besides, I had walked Devil's Dyke before (see here). I knew the route included passing through Exning after Landwade (as Joyce showed me it), so I decided to park in Exning and walk to Burwell, explore the village and then meet the others at the Elk coffee shop.

This was my route*.

*Actually I forgot to turn my tracker off when I got back to my car in my rush to get home so I had to do a bit of tech magic to get this. Subject of another post some time, perhaps.

And it worked perfectly, although I didn't get home until 3:27pm, which was cutting it a bit fine! Here are a few of my photos.

My route involved walking along the road from Exning to Burwell, but I researched it on Google Maps and saw there were generous verges to walk along most of the way and a field-edge path that avoided the little rise over the path of the old railway line. Here it is as I left Exning village.

Soon enough I was in Burwell and I took a back path past the allotments, with a view of the Mill.

But first I visited Burwell St. Mary church, possibly the grandest church in Cambridgeshire.

They were just clearing up after a coffee morning as I went in. I was quite impressed with the wooden enclave with hatches underneath the organ case where serving was done through the hatches. When they saw my camera, the ladies asked if I would like them to pose for me, but I decided I couldn't afford their modelling fees.

Outside in the churchyard I had to photograph these - it is a snowdrop walk, after all.

I went to have a look at Burwell windwill, although the museum wasn't open. Stevens' Mill is Burwell’s only surviving mill and was built around 1820 for local miller Oliver Carter. Today it is the only Grade II* listed building in the village.

I carried on to Elk coffee shop. It was just as well Joyce had booked a table as it was otherwise full when I arrived.

When they did, they told me they had abandoned the Devil's Dyke as it was a bit slippery. Hmm... what would the paths be like later?

We left the coffee shop and went north to the end of the village, passing the 19th century former St. Andrew's church in North Street, with its large and distinctive decorated chimneys – one on each

side.

Into the open countryside, and yes, Howlem Balk track was rather muddy.

But it was only for a short stretch and then the paths were fine. Just before we got to Landswade we were met by Kim, so now were six. We passed some snowdrops.

Now we were on the Landwade estate approaching the 15th century St. Nicholas church, not a parish church but a private chapel of ease....

...and Landwade Hall. The hall was owned by Simon Gibson, a well-known philanthropist who passed away in May 2021. On 1975 he established his eponymous charitable trust, The Simon Gibson Charitable Trust. The trust has over the years bequeathed millions of pounds to local and national causes, including the East Anglian Air Ambulance, Ely Cathedral and Addenbrooke’s Hospital, as well as endowing the Gibson Music School at King’s School Ely. A lot of the hall contents were on sale in September last year (see here). Read more about him here and here. “There was not much in Exning and Newmarket he did not pay for", says one of the articles.