March 2020
A last post about walking in the Fens for now. Your sense of disappointment is palpable.
We must stay indoors, bar essential shopping or an hours exercise. Waterbeach had been busier than I’d ever seen it on Tuesday, full of dog walkers along the Cam.
It seemed there was nothing to stop you finding somewhere a bit quieter, so I popped up the A10 to Ely and the deserted village of Sutton.
In the summer of 1977 my Dad drove my Sis and me to Sutton to meet Starsky and Hutch, at the height of David Soul mania.
We parked at the church, just as I did now, 43 years later.
David, and the other one, never showed up.
Turns out there were two Suttons.
The Fenland village (pop.3,952) whose team had kept mighty Leeds to 6 nil in the cup in 1970, and a scary bit of London Surrey London which I now know to be a pubby gem. Sis had to be placated with a curly wurly bigger than her head.
The church of St Andrews is stunning, perched on a hilltop from which you can see the, er, delights of the lower Fens.
Known only for a giant auction of farm equipment and community spirit, it’s a place I’d only ever been to a couple of times for a wedding and a pint.
I enjoyed the walk, you rarely get gradients like these in Cambs. Very bungalow and Union Jack Fens, just with a view. Everyone said “hello” as they crossed the road to avoid me.
The America was bit of a disappointment, to be honest. Simon & Garfunkel may have been able to write about Widnes, but Sutton would beat the most creative mind.
At home that night, I saw this;
Makes sense, I guess, less risk of traffic accidents. So there you go, only walks from the front door, back within an hour.
Back to the archives, then.
Am working from home at the moment, but early afternoon Matthew and I managed a circular walk of just under three miles from our front door and back.
May have been slightly over an hour, as we diverted to a local shop to buy essential supplies – loaf of bread for Mrs PBT’s, snacks plus cans of Heineken for Matthew!
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The drones flying overhead are monitoring your movement to the minute, according to our neighbour.
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I hadn’t thought about the idea that they’re trying to reduce the number of traffic accidents; that helps me understand these rules about banning driving to parks and so forth. Is bicycle riding allowed? That could get you a bit further afield from your own front door, I suppose. It’s like they’re deliberately imposing limits on your blog, honestly! 😉
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I’ve been thinking out bikes. Not seen as much about as you’d think. Sure that’s fine.
What are you able to do safely, Mark?
I’ve no problem with restrictions, just to be clear.
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We’ve all been staying in the house the vast majority of the time, only venturing out for groceries. It did occur to me though that some people might drive miles out to a distant cabin in the woods to get away from all this– I reckon they’re out there right now, feeling very pleased with themselves!
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Our lot have been using their copper chopper to monitor people on the beaches, most of whom appeared to have driven to the coast like it was Easter weekend. Most were staying well apart but seems daft to drive. The council have closed the car parks now. Just looking forward to normality.
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One of the senior GPs on Radio 5 this week was agreeing with a dog walker it made sense to drive a little way to find a quieter place to exercise, so it’s no surprise folk get a bit confused. Our village roads, mostly dead ends to the river, have been like pedestrianised motorways while the A roads are empty.
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It’s probably safe enough for us to drive any distance now that we won’t be stopping off at any pubs.
Do I need a dog ?
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