An over-dressed cycle ride around a Warmer Wicken Fen

After yesterday's cold day (recap due to out of sequence posts - Friday ok, Saturday: wet, cold and windy) I wore leggings a waterproof jacket, vest and cycling shirt. I did not want to suffer as I had yesterday, my only concession to Spring was to wear my cycling sandals, but with waterproof socks and long fingered gloves (not on my feet)!

After a short bit of cycling without a real direction in mind as I was heading out of Cambridge on the High Ditch Road I thought it was actually quite warm and sunny. I stopped to try to let a bit more air in as I cycled and looked back at the Low Fen droveway bridge over the A14 and thought it was both an interesting picture and direction. So I took the picture and turned back to cross over along the by-way. It is quite a construction for by-way - presumably it needs to be able to carry agricultural vehicles.

On the bridge I noticed that they seemed to have lifted all the drain covers, which I assumed was to allow the drains to be cleared. But... if the council was doing this wouldn't they have put up warning notices. Looking more closely there did not seem to be any evidence of cleaning near the drain - I wonder if they have been stolen for scrap metal! All the drain covers on each side of the bridge were missing - I would guess that between 10 and 20 covers had been removed. This picture is taken from the top of the bridge having passed over the A14 before the bridge descends down the other side. There is pretty good tarmac here, beware the road becomes a farm track at the bottom with some large potholes - if you go whizzing down you need you wits about you. I did this once on my MTB and lost a water bottle as I slammed through a pothole, something I didn't notice until I stopped later for a drink...

The route loops back towards Cambridge and joins the Horningsea road between Fen Ditton and Horningsea - the site of a new shared cycle/pedestrian path construction. I visited it last week, they have now built the path, with kerbing and hard-core, it only needs tarmac and paint. It should certainly help those wanting to cycle and walk between the two villages. (Actually Fen Ditton is more a suburb of Cambridge.)

I read an article in the BBC on-line Magazine about "The Tree that Shaped Britain". Oak trees are being attacked by a mysterious blight - Quercus robur. The period from the first signs through to complete death is only about 5 years. Seeing this Oak tree made me wonder if that was what was happening here. When I was a young lad I was always warned to be wary of climbing Oak trees as they were likely to have hidden rot which meant the branches could break easily and unpredictability. Tree-climbing was a bit of a "hobby", I never broke anything falling out of a tree - I did fall into a bed of stinging nettles once collecting conkers (Horse chestnuts). I also fell out of an apple tree when scrumping apples - I landed on my back completely winded but still clutching the apples. I understood that the problem was because Oak trees had not built up a natural immunity to some of the rotting agents. This blight seems far more serious though. The picture is taken at the corner of The Drove Way, near Quy and the same path where it runs back towards Quy parallel to Quy Water.

The track does not seem to have a name on the Sustrans Map of the area viewed at a high zoom level, it might still be called the Drove Way. Although it is a by-way it seems to be mainly used by walkers and dog walkers rather than tractors. So it remains grassed over with a single path worn in it. This view looks back towards the Station Road Quy. (The disused Cambridge to Mildenhall Railway line passes nearby and the old Station is nearby as you might expect on Station Road.)

A quick stop at White Fen, near Lode to record the progress of the leaves on the trees along the banks of Swaffham Bulbeck Lode. I must check to see what species the "unleaved" one to the right is.

For some reason when cycled down Headlake Drove the last time I did not actually check to see how the new Lodes Way bridge over Reach Lode was getting on. I did pass some young people in a car driving along this track, the driver thought it appropriate to shout some sort of abuse at me. I was listening to my MP3 player so did not hear what he actually said - the tone was not pleasant though. I stopped and took a picture of the car - for reference.

As I approached the bridge construction site I was also overtaken by a Range Rover - by the time I stopped to take this picture the car was driving down this track. It looked as if the driver was going to go up the ramp. The car drove around a bit and then went back towards the Upware but instead of driving along the road appeared to take a track - Rand Drove. After taking this picture I went up the track as was just a little concerned that maybe the car driver was perhaps up to no good and I wasn't keen on cycling along a thin road with the car following me. Paranoia aside, the guy was probably a local farmer having a look around the farm.

As you can see the construction is progressing - there are three culverts and a ramp in place - I wonder if they are doing by sides at the same time or first one and then the other. I assume that as the road has been prepared for a heavy crane to drive down the bridge placement will be soon.

After viewing the construction I cycled (left) up towards Upware along what is first a mud track (Straight drove) and then what was once a tarmac road (Harrison's Drove) - but is now deteriorating into a gravel track. From time to time there are bridges from the track crossing over Commissioner's Drain to the adjacent fields. This picture was taken from one of those concrete slab bridges looking back down towards the new bridge construction mid-right of the picture.

Last week this field was being cleared of leeks - it has now been ploughed and tilled and is either ready or has been drilled with the next crop. Farmers can't hang around they need to sweat their assets!

You'll be pleased to know that I wasn't run of the road by either a Range Rover or a blue car as I carried along the road to Upware and then Wicken. I did spot a pair of boots by the side of the road. My guess is that they were removed by one of the gangs of labourers (who work the fields) at the end of a long and tiring day and forgotten. They still look to be ok.

By now I was really over-heating - it was actually a pleasant Spring afternoon. I had seen quite a few cyclists on my ride including two tandems and as I was passing the Methodist Church in Wicken realised that this was the place offering Cream teas to cyclists - and as luck would have it two cyclists came out just as I stopped to take this picture. I hope they had an enjoyable tea. Actually the chap looking in my direction cycled up past me before turning back down along one of the back roads in the village to where he really was heading - he wanted a closer look!

The weather was really pleasant, the only problem is that there are more insects around and I had a close call with one fly that I almost swallowed. I must remember to keep my mouth closed - although that is easier said than done when cycling (for me anyway). My t-shirt was saturated by the time I returned - either I must get better at working out what cycling gear to wear when I set out or at least get better at adjusting it en-route.

Road Works on the Horningsea to Fen Ditton path and on the Lodes Way route

I am still in California, San Jose to be exact. After a day's sight-seeing yesterday with a bit of exercise thrown in to day is a work day. This is not a Bank Holiday (as we call them in the UK) and so, as I have done for several years, this is a work day for me.  I am not complaining - I have a flexible work/life lifestyle and I do seem to have avoided some bad weather over the Holiday Weekend in the UK. Here in California the weather is glorious, almost too hot for walking yesterday. 


I am working through the backlog of draft Posts that I created before flying to the US though.  I am also have a minor IT battle with my laptop - some email problems, but I have a fallback and am downloading the email data from the Corporate Server.  Did I also mention that on Friday, the day before I flew to the US my Land Rover Discovery broke down - the suspension system failed and switched to "no suspension mode" with a maximum speed recommendation of 30mph, I found 10mph rather fast though.  This makes around the 4th or 5th time that I have had quality problems with the car. There was even a safety recall associated with the brakes, although it is quite hard to search for a definitive list of Land Rover Discovery Issues. Perhaps I need to look harder.


Back to the past - the actual cycle ride this post is about.  With all the fine weather I have been cycling where the mood takes me - quite often a short ride, but over byways and tracks in preference to noisy "dangerous" roads. There are some nice routes around Quy/Lode and Horningsea - that I have mentioned before.   On the Sustrans 51 route between Cambridge and Quy you can turn off onto High Ditch Road and then onto a byway called Low Fen Drove Way past Honey Hill.  This loops round onto the Horningsea Road.  Low Fen Drove Way passes over the A14 on a big bridge - from where you can see the Oilseed Rape in what seem like full flower. Here is a "normal" (non HDR picture) view - consisting of two actual photographs stitched together by Photoshop Elements 8.  

Once I reached the Horningsea Road it was great to see that the Fen Ditton/Horningsea share path/cycleway seems to be making great progress. For a cycle path it is not really that wide.  I think that the total width is 2.5m  and am not sure whether they will segregate the cycle and walking sides. (This is done by painting a white line down the middle, it gets ignored by all and sundry it seems to me.) However in the general scheme if things I would use it out of school rush hour and it is wider than some paths (Sustrans 51 between Bottisham and Swaffham Bulbeck springs to mind.) As you can see in this picture chunks of the path have been defined and this bit is just waiting for tarmac.

Not all the path is quite ready for the final surface to be laid yet - but good to see that this is being undertaken in dribs and drabs.

I stuck to the byways when cycling from Horningsea to Lode - but on the way through did pop up a track to look over Stow cum Quy Fen. Which I have taken a picture of below.  In the past I have seen bunches of dogs being walked as part of a dog-walking service - non today though. There were no cows in the field either.  

The last time I was here the gate was a wooden gate, it has been upgraded  in the meantime - the signpost is still the same though. The old gate was in reasonable condition - this one provides better access though.

The track up to the gate towards Quy cum Stow Fen - right down at the bottom is the Harcamlow Way which is the actual track from Horningsea through to Lode.  The photograph makes it look like it is fairly flat - in fact you have to keep your wits about you as there are some pretty big dips on the track.   It is even worse when it gets wet and muddy. The new leaves look fresh.

On the way through past White Fen at Lode I took this picture because of the dandelions and white dead nettles growing on the bank of Swaffham Bulbeck Lode - another sign of Spring - the profusion of different flowers (or weeds when they are in the garden).

I also cycled a little way down the banks of Swaffham Bulbeck Lode to take a picture of the first bridge to be built as part of the Lodes Way route - the bridge over the Lode. A picture taken from the old footbridge a little way down the Lode - looking at the new bridge now - it looks as if it has been there for years - a good thing.

As I was cycling on the road to Upware I also saw a tractor out lifting the "soil-warming" covering. I had thought that they left the covering and that it was biodegradable.  I wonder whether the warm weather has accelerated the plant growth so much that they have had to lift the  covering early?

Whilst out I was intending to visit the site of the latest bridge being built ( the second out of either three or four).  However it looks like Headlake Drove is being re-surfaced and in a big way.  There was no warning that the "road" was to be closed - but given there are only a limited number of people who would use it - it was not really a problem.

As you can see - there were quite a few people and machines and a pile of rubble devoted to sorting out Headlake Drove. I wonder whether they will also relay Spit Drove as well. 


The latest information is that volcanic ash has closed some airspace in Ireland and Scotland - so depending on whether I get home in the next few days or not I will be able to cycle over and check out what has been done.

From here the road looks as if they have filled in the potholes and put a new covering on but it still undulates, which if you think about it is probably the best result for cyclists and horse-riders since it will be ok to cycle on - but  still not encourage high speed driving.