A short Cambridge meander

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mostlyharmless

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Trail stats

Distance: 2.02 mi
Elevation gain: 23 ft
Technical difficulty: Easy
Elevation loss: 23 ft
Max elevation: 92 ft
TrailRank: 42
Min elevation: 38 ft
Trail type: One Way

Moving time: 33 minutes
Time: 59 minutes
Coordinates: 549
Uploaded: May 2, 2022
Recorded: May 2022

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near Cambridge, England (United Kingdom)

Viewed 97 times, downloaded 2 times

Trail photos

Itinerary description

A short walk through the western curve of the River Cam, starting near the Botanic Gardens, following the Vicar's Brook initially and joining the River Cam at Hodson's Folly. We turn northwards along Sheep's Green and Coe Fen to Laundress Green, before turning eastwards and heading into Cambridge City. We traverse the city, ending at New Square Park.

Waypoints

Cambridge Botanic gardens

Trumpington Road

Vicar's Brook

Chalk streams are internationally rare habitats. About 85% of the world’s chalk streams are in the UK, mostly in the south and the southeast of England. They provide habitats for many significant species, including brown trout and water vole. In Cambridge, Bin Brook, Cherry Hinton Brook, Coldham’s Brook, Hobson’s Brook and Vicar’s Brook are all chalk streams. The chalk aquifer they emerge from, to the southeast of the city, is a main source of water for residents and businesses. (Cambridge City Council)

Photo ofBridge leading to Hodson's Folly

Bridge leading to Hodson's Folly

This is a summerhouse built in 1887 by John Hodson, butler at Pembroke College, in order to keep an eye on his daughter as she swam in the river. Gwen Raverat notes in Period Piece p.34 that the bathing places at Sheep’s Green and Coe Fen were on the upper river so that the bathers didn’t have to swim in the raw sewage from the city.

Bridge

Coe Fen

Sheeps’s Green and Coe Fen are situated in the West of the city and were both traditional grazing sites for obviously sheep and also cows (Coe Fen). Being seasonally flooded ground this historic landscape is constantly changing. Patterns of the ancient meandering streams can still be seen on Sheep’s Green during wet periods. This riparian site is a perfect habitat for Herons, King Fishers and even Egrets which have all been spotted here, amazing on a site so close to the city centre. Water voles have been successfully increasing in numbers along the banks in both Sheep’s Green and Coe Fen. The site is also home to some of the most spectacular veteran willow trees in Cambridge which are definitely worth a visit. Charles Darwin is reputed to have conducted many beetle surveys on the site.