Route: Houghton Mill, St Ives and the Hemingfords
Area: Cambridgeshire
Date of walk: 13th March 2025
Walkers: Andrew and Gilly
Distance: 6.0 miles
Ascent: 0 feet
Weather: Mostly sunny
Today’s walk was a complete contrast to my last walk up Great Gable. On that occasion it took us around 5 hours to walk 6 miles, and involved an ascent of 2,300 feet. This walk, although the same distance, took only 2 hours and involved no ascent whatsoever. We parked in the National Trust car park at Houghton Mill. The mill is located by the Great Ouse in the village of Houghton and is an 18th century working water mill and Grade II Listed Building. As I pressed the shutter button on the camera to take the first photo of the walk I discovered that the battery was flat. Curses ensued. The photos which describe the walk were taken with my iphone
We passed through the walkway in the mill and followed the path around to Houghton Lock, where a canal barge happened to be passing through. We then walked across Hemingford Meadow, crossing Black Bridge to enter the attractive village of Hemingford Abbots. The village boasts many ancient houses and barns, some of them having been built before 1600. At the end of Hemingford Abbots we followed a path beside the Great Ouse to enter in the sister village of Hemingford Grey. This is another picture postcard place, full of beautiful old houses, including The Manor, one of the oldest continuously inhabited houses in Britain. We followed a sign ‘to St Ives only’ and entered onto another section of Hemingford Meadow. As we approached St Ives, a drainage channel made the ground very wet and boggy and, in order to avoid crossing the channel and getting our feet wet, we headed directly towards a gate at the Dolphin Hotel (anyone following this route should check the route on the OS Map at this point)
St Ives is an historic market town. We crossed over St Ives Bridge, one of its most important features. The bridge is one of only four in England which incorporates a chapel. It dates back to the 15th century and the small chapel has had many uses over the centuries, including a private house, a doctor’s surgery and a pub, called Little Hell. The pub had a reputation for rowdy behaviour and it is believed the landlord kept pigs in the basement. After crossing St Ives Bridge we turned left and walked along The Broadway. We passed through the grounds of All Saints Church and a little further on joined Thicket Path, which we followed all the way back to Houghton Mill to end a lovely walk – our first in Cambridgeshire
Click on the icon below for the route map (subscribers to OS Maps can view detailed maps of the route, visualise it in aerial 3D, and download the GPX file. Non-subscribers will see a base map)
Scroll down – or click on any photo to enlarge it and you can then view as a slideshow
The start of the walk from Houghton Mill on the edge of Houghton village. This is a working mill and guided tours can be booked. Freshly milled stoneground wholemeal flour can be bought in the tearoom
We walk through to the other side of the mill
Houghton Mill Weir and the Mill Pond beyond as we walk to the nearby Great Ouse
We cross over Houghton Lock
A narrow boat sails up to the lock...
...and passes through it
After a short stroll across Hemingford Meadow we cross Black Bridge, here looking along the Great Ouse
We enter Hemingford Abbots. Notice the chimney on the left - thatchers often add an animal made out of straw on the ridge, in this case a cat
We walk through the unspoilt and picturesque village
We pass by the Church of St Margaret of Antioch which dates from 1190, although the spire was added later
We leave Hemingford Abbots beyond this thatched house and join a path which leads to the riverside
We follow a path beside the Great Ouse for a short distance...
Looking back to St Margaret's, Hemingford Abbots
We pass by The Manor, built in Norman times - 900 years ago. It is one of the oldest inhabited buildings in the country and remains structurally unaltered ever since
We continue through the quiet village
We pass by St James' Church
We walk across Hemingford Meadow towards St Ives. The route initially follows the course of a stream on the right, but on the approach to St Ives it's necessary to walk away from it in order to avoid a very boggy area
We cross St Ives Bridge. The former chapel (also house, surgery and pub) is on the left and is built into the centre of the bridge
St Ives and the Great Ouse from the bridge
Looking the other way towards All Saints' Parish Church, which we'll walk past shortly
After walking along the streets of St Ives we arrive at All Saints' Parish Church
The path takes us through the church grounds...
As we set off along The Thicket, we make a short diversion to the banks of the Great Ouse...
Looking back to St Ives
We follow the path along St Ives Thicket, part of the long distance Ouse Valley Way, and this takes us back into Houghton
We arrive back at Houghton Mill, and the end of a very enjoyable walk
