The Ashdon Meteorite Walk

On 9 March 1923, at about one o’clock in broad daylight, a stone from space fell into a wheat field on Ashdon Hall Farm, just south of the village. It is still the only meteorite ever found in Essex, and one of very few in Britain that was actually seen landing. Today a carved oak post marks the spot – and it makes a wonderful goal for a country walk that starts and finishes at our door.

This 7.1-mile (11.4 km) circular walk takes in Ashdon’s windmill, quiet bridleways and field paths, the edge of Harecroft Grove, the site of the old railway halt and the meteorite marker, before bringing you back along Rock Lane to the Rose & Crown for lunch or a well-earned pint.

Route map & GPS download

The day a meteorite landed in Ashdon

Thatcher Frederick Pratt was working in the corner of a wheat field on Ashdon Hall Farm when he heard a strange “sissing” sound. He looked up, thinking it was an aeroplane – and a second or two later something hit the field about thirty yards away, making the earth “fly up like water”.

Three days later he went back with fellow farm worker Curven and dug down about two feet, where they found a dark, shield-shaped stone. It was taken to the police station in Saffron Walden and then passed to the Reverend Francis W. Berry, vicar of Wendens Ambo, who gave it to the Natural History Museum in London. There it was confirmed as a stony meteorite – a piece of rock that formed with the solar system around 4.5 billion years ago.

• Fell: 9 March 1923, about 1pm, Ashdon Hall Farm
• Type: stony chondrite (L6)
• Weight: about 1.3 kg – roughly 12 × 9 × 6 cm
• See it: the original is in the Natural History Museum’s collection; Saffron Walden Museum displays a plaster cast made in 1926
• The spot today: a carved oak post beside the footpath (farm road) south of Church End, installed for the centenary in 2023 – grid reference TL 5812 4093, about 52.0440° N, 0.3040° E

There’s no crater to see – the stone was only about the size of a fist – but standing in the field where it came down is a quietly remarkable feeling.

Further reading

For the full story, look out for The Ashdon Meteorite: The Story of a Stone That Fell from the Sky by Gerald Lucy and Mike Howgate, published for the centenary in 2023. You can also read about the 1926 cast of the stone in Saffron Walden Museum’s “Object of the Month” feature.

Step-by-step directions

1. 1

   Rose & Crown to Bragg’s Mill 1.4 km

   From the pub, walk down Radwinter Road past the Baptist chapel, turn left into Kate’s Lane and then take the footpath on the left. Cross the stream and climb to a waymark post at a T-junction. Turn right along the field edge for about 275 m and through a gap in the hedge, then keep the hedgerow on your left until you reach a bridleway. Turn left and follow it past a row of cottages to Bragg’s Mill, Ashdon’s windmill.

2. 2

   Bragg’s Mill to Waltons 0.7 km

   Just past the mill, a footpath marked by a concrete fingerpost leaves the track beside a parking area and heads downhill across a field. Cross the stiles into pasture and continue to the road, then go through the wooden gate at Waltons onto a lovely tree-lined path between horse paddocks.

3. 3

   Waltons to the football ground 1.1 km

   Go through the six-bar gate beside the woodland and turn left, keeping to the edge of the wood, with long views on your right across rolling countryside into Cambridgeshire. At the bottom of the wood bear right towards the football pitch and leave through a five-bar gate onto Bartlow Road.

4. 4

   Thickoe Road to Harecroft Grove 2.9 km

   Cross the road and follow the lane opposite, past the sewage works and over the bridge. After the entrance to Lang Meadows, take the signposted bridleway on the left, which follows field edges for about 1.5 km. At Pantiles Barn, take the left-hand path south-east across the fields with a ditch on your left, and after two fields walk along the eastern edge of Harecroft Grove.

5. 5

   Harecroft Grove to Ashdon Halt 1.5 km

   Carry on along the hedged path. At a path junction turn left over a footbridge and through a wooded stretch, down some steps and over a second bridge, then cross a narrow field and turn left along the field edge towards Ashdon Street Farm. Follow the lane south for about 350 m, then take the bridleway signed by a black fingerpost down the hill. Turn left onto the track, with a brick wall on your right, past Halt Cottage – the drive to Springmead follows the old railway line, and the old carriage that marks Ashdon Halt is still in place.

6. 6

   Fallowden Lane to the meteorite marker 1.4 km Meteorite site

   Head east along Fallowden Lane. Just before the bridge over the stream, turn right along a field edge; at the corner a waymark leads through a gap in the hedge and over a footbridge. Follow the next field edge with the hedge on your right, fork right, and after about 200 m you meet Walden Road. Turn left along the verge, cross with care, and take the farm track on the right, with views of All Saints’ Church to your left. Go round a green metal barrier and climb the slope – the track turns to concrete near the top. Just before the track bends, look out for the carved oak post beside the path (pictured above; grid reference TL 5812 4093) – it marks the site of the 1923 meteorite fall and was put up for the centenary.

7. 7

   Meteorite marker to Rock Lane 0.9 km

   Continue along the track and turn left at the end, keeping right towards an oak tree. The path runs between fences and comes out on a lane at Burnt House. Near the bottom of the lane take the path on the left through a wooden gate, across the corner of a field to a bridge. Cross it, turn left and join the bridleway.

8. 8

   Rock Lane to the Village Museum 0.9 km

   Turn left past Moor Pasture Cottage and follow the bridleway north for about 750 m, until it crosses the stream and comes out on the road beside Ashdon Village Museum.

9. 9

   Back to the Rose & Crown 0.4 km

   Turn right and follow the road back up to the Rose & Crown. Boots off, pint on – you’ve earned it.

Before you set off

• Take OS Explorer 209 (Cambridge) or load the GPX file into your walking app.
• Wear walking boots: there are stiles, steps and footbridges, and field-edge paths can be muddy after rain.
• Some sections follow lanes and road verges – take care, especially crossing Bartlow Road and Walden Road.
• Follow the Countryside Code: keep dogs under close control, especially near livestock, and leave gates as you find them.
• The GPS route follows public footpaths and bridleways as mapped on OpenStreetMap. Paths can change, so always follow the signs and waymarks on the ground.
• Planning to finish with lunch? Check our opening hours and book a table. Walking as a group? Call us on 01799 610949 and we’ll get a table ready.

Route adapted from Simon Taylor’s walk “Ashdon village and Harecroft Grove” for Essex Life. Meteorite history from the Essex Field Club, Gerald Lucy and Mike Howgate’s The Ashdon Meteorite and Saffron Walden Museum. Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors.