Past Walks

2017 Historic Cambridge

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Centurions Social Walk around Historic Cambridge (about 6 miles) Sunday 30 April 2017

Start time 10:30 Cambridge Railway station
Finish: Cambridge Railway station about 4.30pm
The route today consisted of two loops:
Loop 1: From the railway station, our route went anti-clockwise via Castle Street to Kings Parade near Market Hill.
Loop 2: Walking anti-clockwise to Lammas Land, then on to Trumpington Road and returning to Market Hill.
The route did indeed include (as promised) picturesque views of the river, some of the colleges including the opportunity to walk round one of the gardens, along the Backs to see the spectacular view of King’s College Chapel, through Sheep’s Coe Fen and end at the Sunday market.
Again (as promised!) we had plenty of time to gaze at other sights along the way and learn some interesting facts about Cambridge.
Being a Bank Holiday Sunday along with the promise of good Spring weather, Cambridge was a pretty crowded place. But, thankfully, our route seemed to avoid most of the tourists.  We did manage to see the garden of Magdalene College as we pretended not to be a group. (Groups aren’t welcome…..)
From there, up Castle Hill and by Shire Hall climbed up to the top of Castle Mound (see Team Photos below).  Then it was back down to the City centre, over the  River Cam stopping off at Trinity College. Now, as luck would have it, we had Ruth Borgars with us who is a member of Trinity College and so we manage to gain entrance to the College and take a look at the courtyards (see photos below). Then winding our way throyugh some of the narrow streets, we stopped for an al fresco lunch outside the famous Kings College.
Lunch over,  on we went through Lamas Land and headed back into the City Centre  passing the Botanical Gardens and the famous Fitzwilliam Museum on the way..
Inevitably, there was a parting of ways as some of us went to catch buses and trains. Chris went off to get the bus back to Trumpington Park & Ride and believe it or not, as we were making our way down Trumpington Street – there he was on the bus!!!  Much shouting, waving and jumping up and down, but he just ignored us!! Karsten then made his way home as did Ron, Joan, Ken and myself heading back to the station. So a total of six DNFs!!!
Many thanks to Sue who organised the walk (and weather) for us.
Report by Kathy Crilley
Magdalene College was founded  in 1428 as a Benedictine hostel,
in time coming to be known as Buckingham College, before being
refounded in 1542 as the College of St Mary Magdalene
Although there are no ruins to be seen on Castle Hill, this grassy
mound is of great importance in the history of Cambridge.
This was the site of the Roman town of Duroliponte, originally
an Iron Age hill fort.

Well worth the climb to the top of the Castle Mound – expansive
views over the roof tops of the town and surrounding countryside.
Trinity College was founded by Henry VIII in 1546, combining
Michaelhouse and King’s Hall. Michaelhouse had existed since
1324.
King’s Hall had been established by Edward II in 1317 and
refounded by Edward III in 1337. Trinity’s flag, flown on
special occasions, has as its design the royal standard of
Edward III.
Taking part in the walk were:

 

Ken Livermore C 386
Dave Ainsworth C 540 and Sandra
Chris Flint C 849
Ron Wallwork C 893 and wife Joan
Kathy Crilley C 933
Sue Clements C 950
Karsten Koehler C 1059
Steve Kemp C 1075 and John
John Borgars C 1167 and wife Ruth
Dave Hoben
Joyce Crawford

2017 The Cuckoo Trail

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A stroll along the Cuckoo Trail, Sussex – from Polegate to Heathfield

25th November 2017

The ‘Cuckoo Trail’ is a 12 mile route, mostly tarmac, following an old railway from Polegate to Heathfield (although there are extensions down to Hampden Park near Eastbourne and north to East Grinstead following the cycle path 21)

The walk was organised and led by Dave Hoben – President Surrey WC and friend of the Centurions.

Report by Kathy Crilley

The plan was to set off from Polegate station at 10:15… however, as we all know, the best laid plans, etc.

It just happened to be the coldest night of the century (according to Southern Rail) and no-one had thought to get the the de-icing spray out. Consequently, a train got stuck between Lewes and Eastbourne..
Dave sent a message to say his train had been diverted to Brighton and he was working his way back to Lewes in the hope of getting to Polegate; Chris Flint sent a message to say he was stuck in Eastbourne and then when I reached Lewes, the train driver announced everything was back to normal… but…. the train would not stop at Polegate..(or Eastbourne)…. just managed to jump off in time….

The station supervisor at Lewes, however, was magnificant. He ordered taxis for the stranded passengers and after a 15 minute wait I was on my way to Polegate. Thank you Seb.  Chris arrived more or less the same time as I did. Steve Kemp, George Beecham along with their friend John arrived by car.  And off we went (albeit 30 minutes late…)

The Cuckoo Trail is conveniently signposted at the station and indeed throughout the whole walk. It was a pleasant walk out of the town and the first 3 miles to Hailsham was taken at a gentle pace which is where Steve, George and John left us to return to Polegate. The late start had scuppered their plans.

Fast traffic coming through…

Despite the cold, we soon warmed up as the pace quickened  – well we were getting quite hungry by now! The 30 minute lunch stop was a really nice cafe in Horam, just off the trail, where we stocked up on carbohydrates, tea and coffee. Only two miles to the finish in Heathfield .. and another cafe and another cup of tea. We had hoped to get the 15:33 bus back to Polegate but it never turned turned up so we did have rather a cold wait at the bus stop for the next one (which fortunately did turn up!)

It was a very pleasant day out and many thanks for Steve, George, John, Chris for making the long journey to Polegate. Also, many thanks to Dave for organisng and leading the walk.

It introduced a part of Sussex not seen by us before and it would make a really great training day out – especially if the extension routes were added on.

 

2016 Colchester

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Camuplodunum Social Walk 23-25 miles

2nd April 2016
Led by Jim Catchpole, supporter of the Centurions, this was the first social walk in 2016.
Local Colchester man, Derek Keeble, is credited with devising the Camuplodunum in 1974 as a long distance training walk.
The route followed the boundary of Camulodunum, the Roman city which we know today as Colchester.
On a warm Spring day, the conditions were ideal for the walk – a mix of off-road riverside and woodland walking. Sights passed en route were the Roman River, fine examples of Essex pargetting on various buildings, the new Colchester FC football ground and a lot of excellent fine countryside.
Steve Kemp, Social Walks Coordinator