Route 16
The Flitch Way is a linear country park passing through fifteen
miles of countryside along the former Bishop’s Stortford to
Braintree railway, you could travel between Braintree and
Bishop’s Stortford in around 45 minutes. The passenger
service was closed in 1952, but steam, and later diesel locos
continued with goods traffic until the line finally closed in
1969.
Open to walkers, cyclists and horse riders, the Flitch Way is flat
and mostly traffic free. This will take you through wildlife-rich
railway cuttings, Victorian stations and bridges, with views across
impressive farmland, nearby villages and woods. There are many
public footpaths exploring the countryside just off the
route.
The route name comes from the Flitch Trial, a folk custom still
surviving today which originated in Little Dunmow, in 1104. The
custom was mentioned in Chaucer’s Wife of Bath’s Tale.
Every four years a married couple stands before a mock court - if
they can prove to the satisfaction of the judge and jury that they
have, for a year and a day, ‘not wished’ themselves
unwed, they are awarded half a pig known as a ‘flitch' (side)
of bacon.
Just beside the Rayne Station Centre, is a "Rowe Type" Milepost
(designed by Welsh artist Andrew Rowe) giving distances to places
along the route and a circular disc. This is part of something
called the "Millennium Time Trail" - a complex series of puzzles
that you can solve by taking 'rubbings' from different
mileposts.
You are looking for a 450 ml. lock top box. Stealth is required
in locating and replacing this cache.