A Saucerful Of Secrets

LETJOG PEAKS Nos 12 & 13: Chrishall Common, Essex (147 metres), and Great Chishill, Cambridgeshire (146 metres)

Walk Date: Tuesday 25 April 2023

Up in the north-western extremity of Essex, just past the place where a remote footpath exits the corner of a ploughed field, the county reaches its summit; not on open downland but in a hidden copse where bluebells and nettles flourish beneath mixed woodland whilst spotted woodpeckers tap out their staccato springtime rhythm. I grew up and spent most of my first 35 years in the south-west of this county but have never before set foot within ten miles of this enchanting place, less so discovered its hidden gems.

The high point of Cambridgeshire is somewhat less isolated, being very near to the eastern edge of Great Chishill village, close to Hall Farm, and many folk will come and go each day without appreciating their ascent of the shire’s County Top. The summits of the two counties are just a couple of miles apart, separated by a shallow dip in the rolling landscape of arable fields and copses, and given their proximity I decided to combine this pair of LETJOG Peaks into one 11-mile ramble. And what a super spring day awaited me, of fine walking weather, spectacular skies, playful hares, bluebells aplenty, and pleasant small-scale scenery that all made for a most memorable walk.

As ever it is the photographs that best tell the story of my day’s walk:

So ended a wonderful few hours of meander and exploration in the unseen corners of north-west Essex and south Cambridgeshire, an easy ramble where I was a able to explore a little and immerse myself in glorious springtime. I am sure that not all of my LETJOG Peaks walks will prove as leisurely and serendipitous as this fine day!

‘A Saucerful Of Secrets’; what a wonderful title for a song, for an album, and, come to that, for a Blog heading! The number was penned by three of the original members of progressive rock band Pink Floyd, namely Roger Waters, Nick Mason and Richard Wright, along with new member, guitarist and vocalist David Gilmour. The latter had recently joined the band as replacement for the fourth founder, Syd Barrett, who was in the process of departing the group due to his deteriorating mental health. Gilmour hails from Cambridge and studied at Cambridge Tech with Barrett, whilst Waters was also raised in the city. The song itself appears as the title track on the group’s second album, released in June 1968, and is a four-part, 12-minute long instrumental composition that has been described as ‘ethereal’. Maybe the music promotes allusions of the surprises in today’s landscape that I have mentioned, and certainly these thoughts are what influenced my choice of heading.

Just as a postscript, I can’t have a playlist without an Essex artist, so to represent the county of my youth I will be including a track from Dr Feelgood – perhaps ‘Watch Your Step’ from their second album ‘Malpractice’ (1975) that features the percussive guitar work of the inimitable (and recently-deceased) Wilco Johnson – would be appropriate.