The best gravel rides around Great Wilbraham

Small village really worth visiting on a bike tour with several nice houses.

The Windmill at Fulbourn stands on an outlier of the Gog Magog Hills 4 miles east of the City of Cambridge. Low chalk hills run to the south of it; northwards the Windmill overlooks the Fens which are at most only a few feet above sea level. The cap of the Windmill rises to 160 feet above sea-level and from it there is an uninterrupted view of the roofs and towers of Ely Cathedral. It has long been an outstanding landmark in the south Cambridgeshire countryside. It was the enclosure of the parish for the improvement of cultivation that led to the building of the present Windmill. Much of the land in the north of the parish was low-lying and waterlogged and needed draining to convert it into profitable arable land. Fulbourn Fen was a peat fen only 20 feet above sea level over which the Great Wilbraham River spread its waters in times of flood. The Act of Enclosure for Fulbourn was passed in 1806 and the Commissioners completed their work two years later. The drainage of the parish reduced the level of water in the upper reaches of the Great Wilbraham River on which the manorial watermill was situated. The loss of power brought to an end the life of a mill which had first been recorded in Domesday Book. In 1808 the machinery of the watermill was put up for sale. A new mill was therefore needed and the Enclosure Commissioners allotted one acre on Mill Hill, on which to build a mill and miller’s cottage, to John Chaplin, a considerable landowner and farmer. He used copies of Old Moore’s Almanack as a diary, entering personal events and business notes in the margins of the calendar. In 1808 he recorded against 11 July, ‘I laid the first brick of my mill’; 22 November, ‘Mill sails put up’; 15 December, ‘Began grinding’. It is a large octagonal smock mill with a brick base and wooden superstructure. Its outline is squat with a shallow conical cap. The fantail, as usual in Cambridgeshire mills, is close against the cap. The mill holds three stones, one of French burr and two of Derbyshire stone. With floors 24 feet in diameter, there is exceptional space for working the mill. (https://fulbournwindmill.org.uk/history.html)

P.S. The land owner/farmer has obviously had problems with unauthorised vehicles using this track, because there are now large hay bales installed either side of the ford and in front of nearby farm gates. Access across the stream via the adjacent footbridge is still possible, but don't be disappointed if you wanted to take a run through the ford. P.P.S. The hay bales have now been removed from the ford!

Great double-track circumventing Hauxton High St, incl. underpass of M1, leading all the way to Great Shelford

Fantastic views over Cambridgeshire

nice sections of fast gravel on either side of the ford. great section from Babraham to Stapleford

Haslingfield is a charming, thriving village in South Cambridgeshire. It has two beautiful churches, a number of quaint properties, and a pleasant, serene village ambience. The village easily dates back to mediaeval times, and even Queen Elizabeth I stayed here back in 1564.

Huge chalk and lime quarry