Wimpole Hall

Circular route, 14 miles

Grading: Moderate

Leaders: Tobias and Ruth

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Meeting time: 09:05 at Cambridge Railway Station, for train departing at 09:27

If travelling from Cambridge, please arrive early at the station to leave promptly at the advertised meeting time. GroupSave discounts may be available when buying rail tickets.

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Starting at: Meldreth Railway Station, Station Road, Meldreth SG8 6JP

Start time: 09:50

 

This walk is of moderate length but mostly flat, passing through three villages and the National Trust-owned Wimpole Estate. From the station at Meldreth we head to Whaddon, then take a bridleway alongside fields to meet the formal grand avenue that leads to Wimpole Hall, the largest house in Cambridgeshire and a Grade 1 listed building. We’ll then explore parts of the North Park, landscaped by Capability Brown and including small lakes, woods, gentle hills and a Gothic folly. After our picnic lunch we return south through Orwell and climb Toot Hill, now a nature reserve but formerly a quarry for chalk or ‘clunch’. Finally we pass along footpaths, lanes and by the river Mel back to our start point (perhaps calling in at a pub on the way!).

 

Public Transport: Train from Cambridge to Meldreth

Cost of transport: £3.20

Parking: Meldreth Railway Station, Station Road, Meldreth SG8 6JP. Parking costs £1.50