Things did not start
well it's fair to say with the terrible electric window plunge in the
car. Whilst comical at the time the repair involved a trip back home,
cooking tongs, screwdrivers, drills, plastic wedges and a lot of
patience and an inoperative passenger window wedged up and shut and a quite complicated manoeuvre required to get out of the car on my part.
Our first high point of the day was to be Boring Field in the old county of Huntingdonshire, this was to be found on the edge of a field. Huntingdonshire has the third lowest high point in England and Wales at the giddying altitude of 81m above sea level. I cannot tell you much about Huntingdonshire other than it is very pleasant and has a favourable loam based soil.
Having had our two hour delay leaving home and an hour hanging around on the M6 time was marching on and despite looking relatively close to each our next target, Haddenham Village (2nd lowest highest point at 39m above sea level) was at least one hour away. Only it wasn't, our journey was subject to delays and diversion throughout, the main issue being the bridge at Earith being shut. Consequently we were driving around Haddenham in the pitch black and driving rain. Haddenham is the highest point in the county of Cambridgeshire Isle of Ely. Luckily for us the high spot though unremarkable is marked by a water tower, which we just about managed to pick out in the gloom.
 |
| Spectacular. |
Our next destination
was to be Beacon Hill on the coast of Norfolk but it was already dark
so we chalked F on that plan and headed to
www.theoldramnorfolk.co.uk.
But not until we'd passed the glittering lights of the sugar beet
works at Bury St Edmunds and smelled the smell of loveliness coming
from Diss.
Luckily for me this
lovely inn had an extensive range of gin and luckily for George it
had an extensive range of red wine. Happy days.
The next morning was sunny and bright so we set off for Beacon Hill just outside West Runton in Norfolk, 103 glorious metres straight out of the sea, no arduous climb here, straight up a sunken lane to the top with a short walk to the summit and a superb view.
There followed a minor detour to Overstrand where I spent a hot sunny fortnight as a child, I genuinely recognised none of it but I did buy a crab for lunch so that was a bonus.
Onwards and downwards as they say to bag numbers 56 and 58, West and East Suffolk. Nailed 56, Great Wood at a height of 128 m above sea level by getting out of the car and wondering around a bit with the altitude apps open on our phones, keen eyed readers will spot the inconsistency of 121m on the photo, vanity prevents me from posting the photo displaying us at 128m. Photo satisfactorily taken we set off for number 58, Wattisham Airfield at 90m above sea level. The only snag with this one was that it appears to be within the perimeter fence of the airfield, so after feeling like spies we had a chat with the armed soldiers guarding the base and left before we were detained under the Official Secrets Act or something.
There was still plenty of daylight so we headed off with the intention of bagging two more before the light disappeared, namely Cambridgeshire and Essex, these two being within a mile of each other or something trifling. Number 54, Great Chishill, highest point in Cambridgeshire at 146m was easily found behind a reservoir in a field, it was uninspiring I'm afraid but there was a beautiful light in the sky so with our usual optimism we set off down the road to Essex, finding this should be a piece of cake or so we thought but we couldn't even find the village we needed let alone the high point which was in a field somewhere, we did however buy quinces from a garden gate so the car smelled lovely for the rest of the trip. As it became pitch black and we acknowledged our lack of preparedness, ie two phone torches and one pair of sturdy shoes between us we decided to chalk F on Essex and try again the following day. Chrishall Common would have to wait and we would have to go and get some fish and chips for tea woohoo!
Another lovely morning and the return journey to Chrishall Common, this time in daylight and with the co-ordinates of the highest spot safely stored in George's phone. Part of me had been a little disappointed that we hadn't gone looking for the high point in the dark the previous evening however with hindsight it had been a wise choice. Bluntly you have to walk out behind the little church, walk along a field edge, spot a white thing in the distance and then head for the dead tree and roam around aimlessly in the little wood for a while before you reach your target. In reality if you did this in the dark you would probably break an ankle in a rabbit hole and lose an eyeball to a blackthorn but more importantly you would miss the genuinely lovely Essex countryside which exceeded our expectations, it was a gorgeous crisp early Autumn morning and the colours were stunning all around. 147m above sea level and as far as the eye could see un-interrupted loveliness. We enjoyed the walk back to the car taking a slightly different route, past the old houses and cricket pitch and looking forward to the bottle of flat Lilt in the boot- always unprepared, that's us.
We headed west, homeward bound but decided to bag one more high spot for good measure. Dunstable Down, highest point in Bedfordshire at 247m and on the edge of the Chiltern escarpment, this isn't a remote spot in the slightest and we found the summit right at the entrance to the country park, no calories were expended at all. We did however almost acquire a child who decided I was a part of his life, luckily its mother arrived to relieve us of our unexpected burden.
So that was it for now, off home but always planning and plotting.
The next morning was sunny and bright so we set off for Beacon Hill just outside West Runton in Norfolk, 103 glorious metres straight out of the sea, no arduous climb here, straight up a sunken lane to the top with a short walk to the summit and a superb view.
There followed a minor detour to Overstrand where I spent a hot sunny fortnight as a child, I genuinely recognised none of it but I did buy a crab for lunch so that was a bonus.
Onwards and downwards as they say to bag numbers 56 and 58, West and East Suffolk. Nailed 56, Great Wood at a height of 128 m above sea level by getting out of the car and wondering around a bit with the altitude apps open on our phones, keen eyed readers will spot the inconsistency of 121m on the photo, vanity prevents me from posting the photo displaying us at 128m. Photo satisfactorily taken we set off for number 58, Wattisham Airfield at 90m above sea level. The only snag with this one was that it appears to be within the perimeter fence of the airfield, so after feeling like spies we had a chat with the armed soldiers guarding the base and left before we were detained under the Official Secrets Act or something.
 |
| As close as we could get. |
There was still plenty of daylight so we headed off with the intention of bagging two more before the light disappeared, namely Cambridgeshire and Essex, these two being within a mile of each other or something trifling. Number 54, Great Chishill, highest point in Cambridgeshire at 146m was easily found behind a reservoir in a field, it was uninspiring I'm afraid but there was a beautiful light in the sky so with our usual optimism we set off down the road to Essex, finding this should be a piece of cake or so we thought but we couldn't even find the village we needed let alone the high point which was in a field somewhere, we did however buy quinces from a garden gate so the car smelled lovely for the rest of the trip. As it became pitch black and we acknowledged our lack of preparedness, ie two phone torches and one pair of sturdy shoes between us we decided to chalk F on Essex and try again the following day. Chrishall Common would have to wait and we would have to go and get some fish and chips for tea woohoo!
So that was it for now, off home but always planning and plotting.
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