Oakington, Rampton and Longstanton
A largely rural walk through three villages near Cambridge with interesting churches. One section passes an old airfield being developed as the new town of Northstowe.
Technical sheet No. 4502318
Calculated time: 4h10[?] 
Distance : 14.65 km
Vertical gain : 7 m
Vertical drop : 9 m
Highest point : 19 m
Lowest point : 5 m 
Difficulty : Moderate
Back to starting point : Yes
Walking
Location : Oakington and Westwick
Starting point : N 52.260083° / E 0.064243° 
Today's forecast :
Description
Start : Opposite the White Horse pub, Oakington, CB24 3AB
(D/A) Walk along Coles Lane to a T-junction where you turn left along High Street. Follow the path through the churchyard, past the martyrs' graves (information board) and out to the main road. Turn left.
(1) Crossing the guided busway and brook, turn right and follow the bridleway to the far right corner of the field. Through the gate, turn left and take the track beside the field boundary and eventually next to the road until it reaches the junction at Lambs Cross.
(2) Go along the opposite lane, Rampton Drift, for about a mile. At a fork go right and continue beside the lode to the main road.
(3) Cross here and turn left along the pavement to reach an entrance to Giant's Hill. Visit this and then follow the paths which go clockwise round the site and bring you back to the road and Rampton Bridge. Take Lovers Walk above the lode until it bends right towards distant Cottenham church. Here you turn left across a footbridge and then right.
Keep straight on a path through the wood which crosses another footbridge, then turns left and eventually emerges from the trees in a broad ride. Left briefly then through a kissing gate into a long, narrow field. An indistinct footpath bends round the corner of the wood to a sighting of Rampton church. Continue to the bottom of the field, cross a lane through two kissing gates and, keeping to the right, dive into the churchyard and follow the path out to the road and Rampton Green. Take the route signed 'No Road' from here to Cuckoo Lane. Turn left to reach Reynolds' Drove then right.
(4) The route is fairly straight for 1.4 miles with a varying surface. It crosses the busway, becomes Rampton Road with the spire of All Saints', Longstanton, appearing in the distance. You pass Northstowe HQ and soon reach a crossing bridleway by a mushroom-shaped pillbox.
(5) Turn left along Long Lane which has a right turn and, with a wiggle, leads ahead along a road to St Michael’s church. (If Long Lane is excessively muddy, carry straight on from (5) along Rampton Road to All Saints' church where you turn left along Woodside to St Michael's.)
(6) Pass in front of the church and take the road on the left, open to invalid carriages, which leads you back to the start of the walk. (D/A)
Waypoints :
D/A : km 0 - alt. 12 m - Coles Lane
1 : km 1.33 - alt. 12 m - Busway crossing and stop
2 : km 3.21 - alt. 9 m - Lamb's Cross
3 : km 6.24 - alt. 5 m - Rampton Bridge and Lovers Walk
4 : km 9.66 - alt. 6 m - Reynolds' Drove
5 : km 11.86 - alt. 11 m - Mushroom pillbox
6 : km 13.05 - alt. 19 m - St Michael's church
D/A : km 14.65 - alt. 10 m - Back at start
Useful Information
Start : Opposite the White Horse pub, Oakington, CB24 3AB
Parking : Parking nearby White Horse pub, Oakington, CB24 3AB
Note : Possible shortcuts along roads are from (1) to (2) or from (3) to(4) Take care crossing the busway where buses pass quickly and fairly frequently. Also, be aware of contractors working on the site of Northstowe.
Public transports : Access is practicable by bus. Either walk the circuit from the guided bus stop (1), on the route between Cambridge and St Ives, or take the Citi 6 from Cambridge to just before the traffic lights in Oakington and walk ahead to (D).
Visorando and this author cannot be held responsible in the case of accidents or problems occuring on this walk.
During the walk or to do/see around
- Adjacent to Oakington churchyard are the 'martyrs graves'. These are the burial places of three clergymen who suffered for their Puritan faith in 1662 by being ejected from their parishes and imprisoned.
- The churches passed at Rampton and Longstanton have thatched naves and St Michael's, Longstanton has a holy well in the churchyard.
Opinions and comments
Average
Global average : 4.67/5
Number of opinions : 1
Clarity of route description : 5/5
Clarity of route map : 4/5
Walk interest : 5/5
Walker
Global average : 4.67 / 5
Date of walk
: 25/09/22
Clarity of route description
: Very good
Clarity of route map
: Good
Walk interest
: Very good
good walk. excellent descriptions! Thanks much.
The first part of the walk is excellent. The second part is slightly busy.
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