Luckily it was lovely winter day, sunny and slightly mild. So, we knew that it was going to be really crowded there. Even last year and year before, it was busy. We had continuously had rainy day, so, it was only sunny day we had so far till then.
Marcus quickly re-joined national trust( it's cheaper to join on their website) on the morning. He had trouble loading it and I felt it might've been really busy. Anyway, I quickly gathered our snack in my bag, we were off.
Getting on A14 towards Cambridge was no problem at all. Once we got off and drove towards the abbey, yes, there was long queue. actually, it was moving, so, we queued up for about 5-10 mins, parked our car on overflow car park. Loads of people at the lobby!
Queued for toilet, queued for the cafe, queued for the shop..... I really hoped it wasn't too bad for snowdrops.
as soon as we got in to the garden, "Norie!" Oh? who is this person? I didn't recognised this couple who I see quite often in my local town. She was wearing a shades. She was one of our volunteers at the shop.... Never mind.
Considering lots of people were walking, it wasn't too bad. I could take my time to see flowers I wanted to see, we could stand in front of trees we liked, we could smell some early blossom flowers and chat, and I took some photos.
I got so many photos of this abbey, so, I took slightly different photos.
Snowdrops (and me!)
Nature is very clever to produce tree/bushes like this!
Little blossom flower
One of my favo trees
Alice in wonderland!
After our visit to the Abbey, we drove to opposite road to A14. Turn left from the abbey, and just drove for 15mins or so (maybe slightly more). Then we saw sign to: Devil's dyke. Sounds interesting, I wondered what it was. Curious Marcus, quickly turned right into the car park. Mmmmm, there were a few cars parked up, family or dog walkers. Later realised it looked like quite popular spot for walks. Yes, side by side with fens, plenty foot path there.
We put our wellies on, and started walking.
Devil's dyke was a huge, long ditch
Beautiful sky, very flat!
Devil's dyke
Foot path continues to Newmarket, 12km long
A bit about the dyke: "Set in the heart of rural Cambridgeshire, Devil’s Dyke is often described as Britain’s finest Anglo-Saxon earthwork of its kind – and it’s certainly one of the best surviving.
The ancient monument stretches for seven and a half miles, and reaches a daunting 10m (33ft) in height. This archaeological treasure is also a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) as it is a haven for wildflowers, butterflies and a range of grassland insects come spring and summer."
"The dyke walk begins in the village of Reach, which sits between Cambridge and Newmarket. The five-mile trail starts at the Dyke’s End pub, leading along the base of the dyke before climbing to the top, offering far-reaching views across neighbouring Burwell and Swaffam Prior."
" crossing a few stiles, the circular walk crosses farmland towards Swaffam Prior village, which is home to twin churches and two windmills. The walk then trails back to Reach village alongside a young woodland on a clearly marked track, and arrives back at the dyke."
I'd love to explore more next time, would be lovely in summer time with our pic nic!
HOW TO GET THERE
Devil’s Dyke sits in the centre of a triangle created by Cambridge, Newmarket and Ely. From the A14, Quay/Swaffham Road and Burwell Road lead directly to Reach village. Newmarket is the nearest train station, which is a 15-minute drive from Reach.
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