Comberton Rogation Walks
Rogation Traditions
There has been a long tradition of parishes holding communal walks on Rogation Sunday.
This was usually to 'Beat the bounds' of the parish to instil in the parishioners a knowledge of the parish extents, and to ask for blessings on the land and people.
'Rogation' comes from the Latin 'rogare', 'to ask'.
Unfortunately, Comberton these days is chronically short of public rights of way compared with neighbouring villages, and has lost almost all of its paths that once followed the parish boundaries.
This became very noticeable during Covid lockdowns when the few paths that still exist were heavily used.
I have created a web page of 'Path Ideas' to prompt discussion of how our path network could be improved.
Comberton Rogation Walks
So, beating the bounds by walking along the parish boundaries is not currently possible. However, prompted by the Friends of St Mary's (FoSM),
Brian McCabe and I have drafted two 'Rogation Walks' starting from the church,
with accompanying walk route leaflets and maps. The plan by FoSM is for these to be walked on Rogation Sunday (22 May 2022), as the start of a revived tradition,
which in future years could cover more of the parish.
-
The longer walk of 3.6 miles heads West to the parish boundary with Toft, and returns through the village.
-
The shorter walk of 2.4 miles heads East to the Herringfield Drift then explores more of the core of the village.
In the table below, click on an item to open it. The booklet is the most useful - print it out on A4 double-sided (NOTE: flip on short edge), and fold in half to make a convenient size.
The A5 walk description and the A4 map are alternatives which could be useful to people trying to follow the walk using their phone or tablet. The Word .docx master files are also supplied 'just in case'.
Caveat
Note: The authors live in the village, walked these routes in March/April 2022 and provide these descriptions and maps as a best-efforts contribution to the community in our free time.
We cannot accept responsibility for any inaccuracies. Please notify any such to paul@paulhardy.net.
When following the walks, you are entirely responsible for your own safety and that of any accompanying children and/or pets. Always exercise common sense, judgement and caution.
Go up to Hardy home page
