The walk from Coates in Cambridgeshire: May 2023

Photographs of elegance by Jonathan Bridgland, rambling and disjointed words of little relevance, by Tony Attwood

Coates is a village in Cambridgeshire of which it has been said that therein lies a shop and a Post Office, all together in one place, but of which we will hear no more.

For this is a tale of wild adventure along the lands that lie beyond, and those that lie beyond those that lie beyond.

Thus it was here that our faithful band ventured forth with all signs of habitation left behind and that is indeed just as well for information on Coates itself is minimal.   Save that Coates has two greens, a north green and a south green.

But of these again we need hear no more for once everyone had gathered and determined which green was which, there was a walk to be had along the river, and the settlements of Eastrea, Bassenhally Farm and Eldernell.    And if you have not ventured to this part of the kingdom, then if I quote from Wiki on the subject of Eastrea to the effect that, “There was once a church in the village,” you will perhaps appreciate in true fulsomeness, this land beyond the land beyond.  It is now the kingdom of the swans and sheep.

But let me also quote from Wiki on Eastrea, to the effect that “Eastrea was formerly the home of two public houses, The Windmill and The Nags Head. The Windmill was demolished in the mid-20th century and it was hoped that the site would be used for a new village hall; such plans never came to fruition.”

And beyond the pub… well,  this is a land of footpaths, tributaries, swans and sheep.

Yet it remains the fact that one or two have ventured forth the opinion that I make up some of the “so-called facts” that illuminate my illustrious commentaries which sit alongside the wonderful photographs with which I am supplied after each perambulation.   But let me illuminate my simple words with a tale from days of yore.  For it seems that in 2010 the owners of The Nag’s Head sought planning approval to convert the pub into houses, citing a significant downturn in business as the main reason for doing so. However, Fenland District Council (of whom it has been said) refused permission, stating that ‘financial loss is no reason to allow the conversion of a pub’, which I guess sums it all up.

What the swans and sheep made of it all is not recorded in the annals of the region but I can but guess.

But I have one other snippet from Eastrea that may help you grasp the pure essence of the locality.  Permission was granted in the 1960s for a hall on the former site of The Windmill pub, but no work was completed before the permission expired. And so time passes.