On The Front Line | Martyn Walker | Software Architect

A circular walk around Sutton Hoo, Suffolk, Burial Ground for the King of the Angles

National Trust, On The Front Line, River Bank, Suffolk, Walking Hiking Navigating No Responses »

Feb 182012

Wikipedia describes the burial grounds at Sutton Hoo as north of Tranmer House, at a point where the ridge of the Deben valley veers westwards to form a promontory. So you could say we have our own Valley of the Kings, right here in Suffolk.

As a keen reader of Bernard Cornwell and in particular his Saxon Series and born in Ipswich, it’s remarkable that I have not visited before. It’s only 10 miles from where I live today.

Cornwell describes the making of a sword from twisted rods in his books so it was interesting to see the raw materials as well as many of the accessories owned by the warriors of the time.

Along this walk a tree had snapped in half and speared the ground. The centre of the tree had decayed, possibly brought on by an attack by pests or invertebrates. The last straw may have been a storm or the effect of gravity on the weakened trunk. The result is spectacular but it would have been dangerous when it happened.

Half the tree is standing with a semi decayed inner trunk and the other half stabbed into the ground like a fallen rocket and leaning against a neighbouring tree.

Photo’s taken lee of the wind and ready to run!

Distance: 8½ Miles
Elevation Range: 0 to 100 feet
Weather Check: Woodbridge, Suffolk
Map: Click here and once loaded select “Leisure” map
Route Card: A circular walk around Sutton Hoo, Suffolk
Download: Walkers Route Card Template for Word 2010
Wikipedia: Raedwald Sutton Hoo
Local Website: National Trust Sutton Hoo
Twitter: NT Sutton Hoo
Facebook Page: Sutton Hoo Organisation

Orford to Butley Ferry Circular Walk

Coastal Walks, On The Front Line, River Bank, Suffolk, Walking Hiking Navigating No Responses »

Feb 042012

Last summer I planned to walk from Shingle Street to Orford via the Butley River ferry. Unfortunately I chose a day the ferry didn’t run so did not reach Orford as planned. The Butley Ferry website has details including contact numbers so I have only myself to blame.

Another Orford ferry is to The Ness which has an interesting military history and a peculiar array of radio masts, and now owned by the National Trust. The Ness is too “Wild and Wooly” according to @OrfordNessNNR and will open to the public in Easter.

SDC13728a 300x225 Orford to Butley Ferry Circular Walk

The Jolly Sailor

I nearly missed this walk because no public footpath is shown on the OS map but after some research I found Griffmonster Walks and in particular Griff had documented his walk along the licensed path to and from Butley Ferry. So thanks to Griff I was able to walk the southern banks of Orford as planned.

Griff also spoke about the welcome fire-place in the Jolly Sailor which I confirm without any hesitation. A hot hearth and warm welcome guaranteed. Lunches start at noon.

Last time I walked near Orford I spoke with a fellow hiker who told me Orfordness used to be a military base. He was just a lad but remembers hearing explosions and a commotion on the island in 1952 (long before the masts appeared). He said when “area 52″ comes up on the telly it reminds him. Perhaps some creepy secret military adventure took place?

Distance: 6½ Miles
Elevation Range: 0 to 60 feet
Weather Check: Orford, Suffolk
Map: Click here and once loaded select “Leisure” map
Route Card: Orford to Butley Ferry Circular Walk
Download: Walkers Route Card Template for Word 2010
Wikipedia: Orford Ness
Local Website: www.nationaltrust.org.uk/orford-ness/
Twitter: @OrfordNessNNR
Facebook Page: www.facebook.com/OrfordNess

Covehithe to Kessingland via Benacre Broad Circular Walk

Broads, Coastal Walks, On The Front Line, Suffolk, Walking Hiking Navigating No Responses »

Jan 282012

Gun shots rang out in the distance every few minutes. It’s common for landowners to protect coppice woods from Deer. Muntjac and Fallow will eat new shoots and stop re-growth. A high fence works but they cost money, it’s more profitable to sell shooting licenses instead.

Looking over a small plain, woods to the left and right, and about two miles apart. I was standing a mile from both with a clear view of the horizon, perhaps two miles away. Then something truly amazing happened.

As I looked over the Panorama I heard the crack from a gun and looked toward the sound. On the horizon I could see a Deer running. It was a long way from me but I could see it was travelling at speed. So fast that I feared it would risk its life if it fell.

It covered the first field in just a few seconds and jumped the hedge to the second. A few seconds later it disappeared as it travelled through a dip in the landscape but I forced my eyes to follow where it was travelling so I could pick it up at the edge when it came back into view.

Then he was straight ahead of me and roughly half way between the two woods and I could swear he was picking up speed!

I began to count, 100, 200, 300 …

I continued to watch and count as he entered the woods to my left. I checked the map and estimate he travelled three kilometres, a little under two miles, roughly half of which he did in two minutes, which means he could have been averaging thirty miles an hour over 4 minutes!

Distance: 12 Miles
Elevation Range: 0 to 66 feet
Weather Check: Kessingland, Suffolk
Map: Click here and once loaded select “Leisure” map
Route Card: Covehithe to Kessingland via Benacre Broad Circular Walk
Download: Walkers Route Card Template for Word 2010
Local Website: Natural England – Benacre NNR

Mersea Island, Essex, Circular Walk

Coastal Walks, Essex, On The Front Line, Sailing, Walking Hiking Navigating No Responses »

Jan 212012

Fifteen years ago I regularly visited Mersea Island with my eldest son while taking the RYA Yachmaster course. Our teacher was Jim McNaughton of the Mersea Island Yacht Club. I don’t think Jim liked us. He passed us grudgingly, certainly making us work harder than his Mersea Island chums in class.

I think my Master Mariner qualifications were testing for him. The “rights of way” subject was a tricky discussion! But I liked him and I still hold fond memories of his anecdotes.

My father lived on Mersea Island for a short time during WW2. His mother worked in a Colchester department store and cycled each day. That’s an impressive 20 mile round trip and with a full days work in-between. It must have been a trek, especially in the winter setting off in the dark and not getting home before dark too. With no lights avoiding ditches and the Strood itself must have been tricky. Still, I remember my Granny always had a smile and was a plucky woman who never complained.

This is a 12 mile walk that can get muddy in parts, especially along the bank of the Strood, therefore take care if it has rained. Ample pubs, clubs and cafés so no need to pack a lunch.

I changed route avoiding the busy roads by turning right instead of left on the B1025 (at the end of the Strood section) and then using the public footpaths to cut through to Blue Row.

mersea route 1024x460 Mersea Island, Essex, Circular Walk

Mersea Island Route

Distance: 12 Miles
Elevation Range: 0 to 70 feet
Weather Check: Colchester, Essex
Map: Click here and once loaded select “Leisure” map
Route Card: Mersea Island, Essex, Circular Walk
Download the Walkers Route Card Template for Word 2010
Local Website: www.mersea-island.com

Southwold Reydon Sandlings Walk Figure-of-Eight Circular Walk

Coastal Walks, I can't think of a category, On The Front Line, Sport, Suffolk, Walking Hiking Navigating No Responses »

Jan 152012

Southwold Pier has a performing water-clock, a café, tourist shops, slot machines and a room full of peculiar machinery such as a rent-a-dog walking machine.

From the Pier I walked south and turned into Ferry Road and along and unmade road beside the Blyth where you can get boat trips, fish and chips, and shell-fish.

The countryside is not thrilling and still slippery and muddy from the rain a few days ago. The town and seaside make up for it and there are plenty of pubs and café’s around, each a convenient stumbling distance from each other.

Southwold reminds me of Fowey in Cornwall. Anyone who has visited both will wonder how I come to that conclusion. Fowey is on a steep hill and Southwold, apart from a mini cliff is flat, Fowey has no beaches (apart from Readymoney cove but that doesn’t count) and Southwold has them everywhere, Fowey’s nearest lighthouse, Gribben Head, is several miles away and Southwold has one parked in the heart of the town, the differences go on.

The similarity is the atmosphere. Friendly people, the sound of gulls and the smell of fish. They are both insular too, the only people who visit them come because they want to, and that’s why I think they are similar.

Distance: 8½ Miles
Elevation Range: 0 to 50 feet
Weather Check: Southwold, Suffolk
Map: Click here and once loaded select “Leisure” map
Route Card: Southwold Reydon Sandlings Walk Figure-of-Eight Circular Walk Route Card
Download the Walkers Route Card Template for Word 2010
Local Website: http://www.southwoldpier.co.uk/

The difference between walking north easterly and a south westerly wind

On The Front Line, Walking Hiking Navigating No Responses »

Jan 082012

This picture shows a confusing environment. I was walking North Easterly with the sun on my back when to the right of me I saw these trees. My mind played tricks as I considered the wind that caused them to lean.

The sun reveals the true direction, yet a group of trees leaning in the same direction suggests they point north-east.

I lost touch with reality as I considered south-westerly wind and walking north-easterly. How could they possibly be referring to the same direction?

Then it occurred to me direction the trees leaned was irrelevant and probably the result of a local anomaly. You can see to the left a small bank, part of a disused railway, perhaps that causes the wind to switch direction.

English language and Grammar
I realised I was confusing an adjective with a noun. I was walking in a north-easterly direction and south-westerly wind blows from the south-west.

The confusion caused by the English language, not navigation. Now all I have to do is figure out where to use capitals.

Circular walk from Stoke-by-Clare, Clare Castle, through Ovington and Boyton End

On The Front Line, Sport, Suffolk, Walking Hiking Navigating No Responses »

Jan 072012

Clare is a small Suffolk town that continues to support local shops which makes it a practical visit as well as pleasant. Parking was free on my visit but suspect this may change as the tourist season begins and for this reason being a walker or hiker will stand you in good stead as there is plenty of free out-of-town parking within easy walking distance.

Having been wet recently mud was a regular feature and as a result a stick was useful for testing depth and sharing weight along muddy banks. Coppice trees and loose sticks along the route provide the necessary equipment so do not worry if you do not own professional equipment (I do not carry a stick, I carry enough extra weight already).

As you can see from the map if you park in Stoke By Clare you can easily split this walk in two. If 12 miles is too much then just do half. I parked outside the Lion Pub which made a good place for lunch.

Distance: 12½ Miles
Elevation Range: 138 to 278 feet
Weather Check: Clare, Suffolk
Map: Click here and once loaded select “Leisure” map
Route Card: Circular walk from Stoke-by-Clare, Clare Castle, through Ovington and Boyton End
Local Website: www.clare-uk.com
Download the Walkers Route Card Template for Word 2010

A circular walk around Eye Castle to Yaxley, Thornham Parva and Occold, Suffolk

On The Front Line, Suffolk, Walking Hiking Navigating No Responses »

Jan 022012

I would not like to have been in Eye Castle during a siege. Better to be the besiegers than the besieged. If they refused to surrender a fire built around the base would soon persuade the inhabitants to open the gates. Not a 13th century planning success, although emptying the bins couldn’t be easier.

If you are a chicken or bantam fancier then enjoy this short video as it shows a few clips of chickens (I can’t believe I am writing this). The first a handful of “Kentucky Fried”, the next a bunch of bantams hanging out with a goose and finally a fun parade of vulpine entertainment.

Get the Flash Player to see this content.

Distance: 10½ Miles
Elevation Range: 85 to 182 feet
Weather Check: Eye, Suffolk
Map: Click here and once loaded select “Leisure” map
Route Card: Eye Castle to Yaxley, Thornham Parva and Occold, Suffolk Circular Walk
Download the Walkers Route Card Template for Word 2010

Raydon Railway Great Woodlands Circular Walk

On The Front Line, Sport, Suffolk, Walking Hiking Navigating No Responses »

Dec 282011

There is a small free car park beside Station Farm at the beginning of the walk. The disused railway makes firm footing in the wet but if you follow this route when wet be ready for log-hopping along the way. The northern part of the walk is the most likely to bog down but at least at that point in the walk there is easy access to alternative routes on roads.

Distance: 7½ Miles
Elevation Range: 60 to 120 feet
Weather Check: Hadleigh, Suffolk
Map: Click here and once loaded select “Leisure” map
Route Card: Raydon Railway Great Woodlands Circular Walk
Download the Walkers Route Card Template for Word 2010

Search and replace words and text throughout your entire WordPress blog

MySQL, On The Front Line, Programming, Tech No Responses »

Dec 282011

I recently changed the layout and the column resize effected the display of images and Picasa galleries. To overcome these issues I used the MySQL REPLACE command which made changing embedded HTML a breeze.

If you do not know how to run SQL statements against your database it is probably better that you do not try this as it may lead to serious damage to your blog, it may even destroy all your work so take care.

Start by taking a full backup of your database. Then take a copy of the wp_posts table so should disaster happen recovery will be simple and fast.

UPDATE wp_posts
SET post_content =
REPLACE(
	post_content,
	'width="800" height="533"',	
	'width="650" height="432"'
)

In the above example I wanted to replace all entries with a width of 800, height of 533 with 650 and 432 respectively. The entire database updates when this SQL statement runs. As a precaution consider making another copy of the table to test the SQL statement first.

Older Entries

Martyn Walker | Software Architect | Hiker And Hacker

A circular walk around Sutton Hoo, Suffolk, Burial Ground for the King of the Angles

Orford to Butley Ferry Circular Walk

Covehithe to Kessingland via Benacre Broad Circular Walk

Mersea Island, Essex, Circular Walk

Southwold Reydon Sandlings Walk Figure-of-Eight Circular Walk

The difference between walking north easterly and a south westerly wind

Circular walk from Stoke-by-Clare, Clare Castle, through Ovington and Boyton End

A circular walk around Eye Castle to Yaxley, Thornham Parva and Occold, Suffolk

Raydon Railway Great Woodlands Circular Walk

Search and replace words and text throughout your entire WordPress blog

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