We have a substantial breakfast at The Black Bull Inn then head out to the village shop to buy lunch. The sandwiches seem a bit desultory and there is nothing vegetarian, so we buy some snacks only and leave. The reason for the paucity of lunch items in the shop is soon explained when we enter the takeaway cafe next door. They have a huge range of made to order sandwiches and cakes and, unsurprisingly, there is a queue. We stock up greedily for the long day ahead.
We rejoin the Icknield Way and soon leave it again to take a more direct route - we need to minimise the distance as much as possible today. We cross an old Roman Road to pick up the Icknield Way again. Here, it is also the Harcamlow Way (Harlow to Cambridge) which is part of the E2, a 3010 mile route from France's Mediterranean coast that will eventually reach Galway in Ireland (though the Irish section is not open yet).
We then climb a hill up to a water tower, which Rich informs me is probably a trig point (triangulation station or trigonometrical point). Rich 'collects' primary trig points, but is interested in all of them. We also catch sight of a hare in the field on the way up.
We pass the tower and then take a direct line, off the way again, to enter the chocolate boxy village of Linton, with its thatched roofs and timber-framed buildings. We leave it crossing the River Grants then the busy A1307 into Cambridge and pass the Linton Zoological Gardens to arrive at the border with Essex.
We continue along the county border and up a hill to 114m, our highest point so far, but not the highest we will reach today. We take a slight detour to visit another trig point. Hopefully, this makes up for the one we couldn't find on the fictional byway on the Shadwell Estate. That one was most likely hidden in a hedge (they often are) or destroyed. Rich takes a picture and we head off again, soon stopping for our mid-morning break.
We descend to the village of Great Chesterford, crossing another River Granta, also known as the Cam before reaching a level crossing that we circumvent via a tunnel as a train is approaching. We then climb up to cross the M11 on a spectacular footbridge over the junction.
We continue our climb up the hill on the other side, passing through a tree lined tunnel festooned with cobwebs. We descend through a huge field of wheat teeming with skylarks and stop by a country road for lunch.
We then have a route choice: Rich suggests that we leave the Icknield Way and take a road route to reduce the distance. This looks dull to me and may make a long day feel even longer. I clinch the argument by pointing out a trig point that we would miss on the road and Rich is hooked. This, and the fact Rich's phone is running out of charge, mean that I am navigating this section (!) and the route is intricate.
We reach the tiny village of Strethall and then climb up a hill to reach a track. We continue along a tree-lined route with a field on one side and a copse on the other. We hear loud rustling sounds and Rich thinks he must be dragging something but the sound is coming from the field. Suddenly, a group of fallow deer, comprising adults and fawns, steps into the path in front of us then dissolves into the woodland.
We reach Elmdon, modifying the line again, and then Chrishall, climbing out of the village towards Heydon and our highest point at 134m. Needless to say, this necessitates a further diversion to the trig point.
We walk through the village then drop steeply down to the Bran Ditch, also known as Heydon Ditch. This is an Anglo-Saxon bank and ditch earthwork which evidently includes a burial ground, a section of medieval lynchet (a field system or ledge) and an Iron Age enclosure. In reality, it was an unremarkable green path across a field with a maximum height of under two feet.
The ancient ditch ended at a track where we had a brief break and then turned towards our destination. This section is a confirmed part of the original Icknield Way and did feel quite historic. It's oddly humbling knowing that you are following where humans walked over 3000 years ago.
The way now heads up to the A505, a modern road using an ancient footpath. The trunk road has no pavement though, so we move into a field that runs alongside. Eventually, the A505 goes northwards to bypass the town and we join the road into the centre. We are now in Hertfordshire, our fifth county in five days. It took us almost as many weeks to reach our fifth county on the HoCWalk. Northern counties are much larger than the more populous southern ones.
Royston is a pretty town and very historic. It became established in Roman times at the crossroads of the Ermine Way (now the A10) and the Icknield Way. It takes its name from a cross erected at the crossroads sometime before the 14th century. James 1 lived here when hunting and we pass a quite unprepossessing house which has a blue plaque commemorating that it was his palace.
We walk through the town, passing the station, and arrive at the Welcome Home apartment, our stop for today. And very welcome it is too after such a long day.
Total distance: 95 miles