A hike from Brookhill Woods Foxhall to the Maybush Pub Waldringfield, Suffolk

 On The Front Line, River Bank, Suffolk, Walking Hiking Navigating  No Responses »
Dec 112011
 

The weather report said ice so I decided to start my walk from my front door. Fortunately I live in the suburbs and less than two minutes away from a Footpath sign. I have walked this path many times but because of its location, beside the largest municipal tip in Europe, I’ve not been encouraged to do more than a couple of miles.

SDC12767a 300x225 A hike from Brookhill Woods Foxhall to the Maybush Pub Waldringfield, Suffolk

Saltmarsh on The Deben

Today I decided to walk past the tip, cross the dual carriageway, and beyond. All the way to Waldringfield where I would stop for lunch and then back along part of the Deben I have not yet walked.

That was the plan and it all worked up to the pub. A couple of miles down the river from the pub a signed warned that anyone continuing on the path would have to return the way they came because land erosion had claimed the path.

As I walked along the small country lanes around the lost river-paths I considered why the paths have suffered from erosion. The Deben moves fast and shifts a lot of sand at its mouth but inland its muddy and tidal. By the time the tide reaches Waldringfield there is little energy and the river flow itself is not fast. It is natural for a river to change course as it seeks the shortest route to sea but as it changes can we not walk around it? Perhaps that’s Naïve.

Suffolk Coast and Heaths are restoring the saltmarsh which will reduce energy from waves and help protect the remaining paths.

Distance: 12 Miles
Elevation Range: 0 to 120 feet
Weather Check: Bucklesham, Suffolk
Map: Click here and once loaded select “Leisure” map
Route Card: Brookhill Woods Foxhall to the Maybush Pub Waldringfield
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Bromeswell to Gobblecock Cottage a Circular Walk Through Rendlesham Forest

 Forest, On The Front Line, Sport, Suffolk, Walking Hiking Navigating  No Responses »
Dec 042011
 

I didn’t see a UFO, or indeed the lighthouse beams from Orford Ness lighthouse, and the only attraction in the forest is Gobblecock Cottage.

gobblecock hall Bromeswell to Gobblecock Cottage a Circular Walk Through Rendlesham Forest

Beyond the name Gobblecock there is little of interest (the cottage owners have chosen not to display the name, but the hall next door fortunately obliges should you be using it for a waypoint).

I would have liked to add this post to the Ancient Woodlands category but the area I walked was plantation all, but for a few scraps along the way. In woodland terms there is little to learn except for any natural event that collides with unnatural which in my case was to step aside to let a Land Rover Discovery pass.

A few vehicles were collecting north of the airfield where preparations for a motorcycle rally had begun. As this is a plantation I whole-heartedly approve and see no reason they do not open the entire forest to free vehicle access. Nothing within its boundaries bares any resemblance to ancient Britain and is a haven for non-indigenous creatures that have already replaced what was once here. Not a red squirrel to be seen. Why preserve something meaningless?

Dog walkers fill this forest, along with dog-shit, which is more damaging than motorbike and off-road vehicle tracks which at least do more to cut disease than spread it.

Other parts of this public area are reserved for activities such as shooting and archery. As these are not fenced off a different set of warning signs are used to scare off would be passers-by, although the chance of being hit by a bullet or arrow are enough to keep me away and I think they should allow them to be fenced.

“Smart Water” is used to protect against theft but theft of what? Wood? Surely hunters and archers take their kills and targets home with them? A Smart Water sign only proves there must be something worth nicking then, and I think I would admire any thief who tries to strip a hunter of his gun!

On one public footpath a “Members Only” sign is displayed but members of what is not clear. I suspect it’s an old sign as following through the path revealed nothing but a path through woods.

I detect an air of greed in plantations. Yes we need wood for practically everything we do (the chair and desk I use to write this for example), but do we need “KEEP OUT” signs, barbed wire and electric fences to protect them? These are tools used to define ownership and a desire for exclusive use. Without these delineations few would venture onto the land anyway, the plantation having destroyed the lands value for ordinary people already.

Rendlesham Forest Gobblecock Cottage3 300x154 Bromeswell to Gobblecock Cottage a Circular Walk Through Rendlesham Forest

Rendlesham Forest Gobblecock Cottage2 300x155 Bromeswell to Gobblecock Cottage a Circular Walk Through Rendlesham Forest

Distance: 14 Miles
Elevation Range: 3 to 100 feet
Weather Check: Rendlesham, Suffolk
Map: Click here and once loaded select “Leisure” map
Route Card: Bromeswell to Gobblecock Cottage a Circular Walk in Rendlesham Forest
Download the Walkers Route Card Template for Word 2010

Roudham Heath to Thorpe Woodlands Circular Walk

 Norfolk, On The Front Line, River Bank, Sport, Suffolk, Walking Hiking Navigating  No Responses »
Nov 272011
 

Ironically to reach the unbeaten track you sometimes need to get close to fast roads. Last week crossing the M25 and Mll over bridges and through tunnels ensured my path was a lonely one. This week the A11 through Bridgham Heath provided a barrier between occasional walkers and ardent hiker. A little patience is needed to get across safely.

The footpath also crosses the railway at Roudham Heath (Or Anfield Road, L4 Liverpool, according to a sign beside the Union Jack). I took extra care after reading a tragic report of yet more life lost. Fortunately there is a good view in both directions so felt little danger as I walked across.

There was some confusion after crossing the bridge at Thorpe Woodlands into Suffolk. I met some people trying to find their way back to their camp site. A sign warning them away from the land between them and the site meant they were going to have to return the way they came. They saw I had a map and asked if it was possible to compare and find out where they had gone wrong. Their map was part of a brochure but did seem clear enough for the walk they were taking.

The land is (at least in part) a nature reserve and access land. This I confirmed with my OS map and I offered to guide them to the footpath back to their campsite as I was going in the same direction. They showed me the sign and I think it might be incorrectly placed. Its grid reference is TL 945 841 beside the stand of trees and after the track.

As the entire area is free access anyone with an OS map can easily negotiate around the area the sign protects however a good path with footpath posts appears just after the sign. If the sign was moved about 5 metres people using the nature reserve map would not have to worry where they walk. Alternatively OS and the nature reserve should adjust their maps accordingly.

Distance: 12 Miles
Elevation Range: 45 to 140 feet
Weather Check: Thetford, Norfolk
Map: Click here and once loaded select “Leisure” map
Route Card: Roudham Heath to Thorpe Woodlands Circular Walk
Download the Walkers Route Card Template for Word 2010

Epping Forest Circular Walk Via Toot Hill & The Moletrap

 Essex, Forest, On The Front Line, Walking Hiking Navigating  1 Response »
Nov 202011
 

I didn’t take my Camera on this walk so these are from my phone. Not Pulitzer material but it was a bright day, bright enough to produce good pictures under the circumstances.

I have wanted to visit Epping for a while and the chance arose without warning or time for proper planning. I want to walk the tunnels and bridges across the M25/M11 motorways. I decided to leave them to the end of the walk knowing it would be dark by the time I arrived. This may seem foolhardy however there are two attractions to the dark. The first is the tunnels will be creepy and secondly the land around motorways offers interesting navigation. If the dark freaks you out and you are considering this walk in the winter then I suggest you do the walk in reverse, and bring torches.

The sun is winter-low but bright enough to keep the air warm enough for me to walk wearing a T-Shirt and shorts (changing to longs before walking through brambles – and for decency’s sake before Lunch in the Moletrap pub).

Distance: 12½ Miles
Elevation Range: 85 to 365 feet
Weather Check: Epping, Essex
Map: Click here and once loaded select “Leisure” map
Route Card: Epping Forest Circular Walk Via Toot Hill & The Moletrap
Download the Walkers Route Card Template for Word 2010

Circular Walk of Culver Down on the Isle of Wight

 Coastal Walks, Isle of Wight, On The Front Line, Sport, Walking Hiking Navigating  No Responses »
Nov 172011
 

A hot sunny day in mid November, a reminder we are closer to the sun in winter and the low angle of the sun the only clue it’s not summer, made this an extraordinary walk.

Trees and plants not fooled continue preparations for cold weather yet gleam in momentary stasis. A red squirrel sat on a bench in the woods eating, carefully I backed away to avoid disturbing it planning to take a photo but alas the boot-up on my camera produces an unnatural *ping* and in the same second the squirrel disappeared.

A short two-hour walk. It begins from the public car park at the top of Culver Down and ends in the Pub next door.

Take care on paths in Whitecliff Bay where land erosion has left them damaged or missing. In one place car tracks fall over the edge but careful examination from a safe position proved these were old and unlikely recent misfortune.

culver down walk 1024x648 Circular Walk of Culver Down on the Isle of Wight

Distance: 5¼ Miles
Elevation Range: 10 to 322 feet
Weather Check: Bembridge, Isle of Wight.
Map: Click here and once loaded select “Leisure” map
Route Card: A Circular Walk of Culver Down on the Isle of Wight
Download the Walkers Route Card Template for Word 2010

A Circular Walk Around Wet and Misty Mistley & Bradfield Essex

 Essex, On The Front Line, Sport, Walking Hiking Navigating  No Responses »
Nov 062011
 

Hundreds of swans and sea birds crowd into Mistley and show little fear for people or vehicles alike. When I drove through a couple of weeks ago traffic halted while three Swans strolled from Lower Park to the river.

A Circular Walk Around Wet and Misty Mistley & Bradfield Essex

A large coppice tree looking like a monster from the Never Ending story sits high on a mound in Furze Hills on the eastern leg of the walk. I have seen pictures of similar aged more than 1,000 years; I like the idea this tree may host memories that date beyond 1066. I like to imagine how people have used the tree to shelter from the sun or rain over the years, the conversations held and the politics of the day. Could the tree hold a grisly history too? Lightening appears to have struck it and due to its size and place may have been involved in punishment. With so many years it is likely to have many interesting stories, perhaps science will find a way to unlock these one day.

A Circular Walk Around Wet and Misty Mistley & Bradfield Essex

Despite the misty wet weather the walk was full of colour, checkout more of the photos here.

mistley bradfield walk A Circular Walk Around Wet and Misty Mistley & Bradfield Essex

Those who enjoy navigating will note there is an aerial and water tower visible from almost anywhere on the walk allowing easy positioning.

Distance: 12 Miles
Elevation Range: 0 to 119 feet
Difficulty: Easy but be ready to backtrack or find alternative routes due to mud.
Weather Check: BBC Weather Mistley, Essex.
Map: Click here and once loaded select “Leisure” map
Route Card: A Circular Walk Around Wet and Misty Mistley & Bradfield Essex
Download the Walkers Route Card Template for Word 2010

Hamford Water from Landermere to Kirby Creek Circular Walk

 Essex, On The Front Line, River Bank, Sport, Walking Hiking Navigating  2 Responses »
Oct 302011
 

Distance: 11.5 Miles
Elevation Range: 0 to 80 feet
Difficulty: Easy
Weather Check: BBC Weather Thorpe-le-Soken.
Map: Click here and once loaded select “Leisure” map
Route Card: Hamford Water from Landermere to Kirby Creek Circular Walk
Suggested Parking: By the Quay or one of the Pubs en route.

Air from the marshes laden with sea scent and a hint of sea-weed gently hovered over the path from Landermere to Peters Point. An incredible day for the time of year once the morning cloud cover burnt away by the sun. The silence was deafening only broken occasionally by the marsh birds or a distant siren.

There are pubs in Kirby that make an ideal lunch time stop or even a good starting point if planning and afternoon walk in summer.

landermere to kirby creek 1024x761 Hamford Water from Landermere to Kirby Creek Circular Walk

Download the Hamford Water from Landermere to Kirby Creek Circular Walk Route Card
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Stoke By Nayland and Polstead Bridge over the River Box

 On The Front Line, Sport, Suffolk, Walking Hiking Navigating  No Responses »
Oct 232011
 

SDC11610a 300x225 Stoke By Nayland and Polstead Bridge over the River BoxDistance: 9 Miles
Elevation Range: 30 to 200 feet
Difficulty: Easy (a few light hills)
Weather Check: BBC Weather Stoke By Nayland.
Map: Click here and once loaded select “Leisure” map
Route Card: Stoke By Nayland and Polstead Bridge over the River Box

Stoke By Nayland is one of those villages you need to pass through to get somewhere else. The snippet you glimpse gives little away.

St Mary’s church dominates the south side of the common and leads to School street where medieval architecture stands as it did in John Constables day, less the cars and tarmac of course.

The population 703 according to wiki which seems light for a church of such size, and sign of the wealth the area has produced over the centuries.

Surrounded by a few small hills the area is unusual to flat Suffolk. Nothing high enough to boast special landscape views but certainly enough interest to add character to a walk.

SDC11702a 150x150 Stoke By Nayland and Polstead Bridge over the River BoxSDC11710a 150x150 Stoke By Nayland and Polstead Bridge over the River BoxSDC11733a 150x150 Stoke By Nayland and Polstead Bridge over the River BoxSDC11691a 150x150 Stoke By Nayland and Polstead Bridge over the River Box
SDC11592a 150x150 Stoke By Nayland and Polstead Bridge over the River BoxSDC11624a 150x150 Stoke By Nayland and Polstead Bridge over the River BoxSDC11626a 150x150 Stoke By Nayland and Polstead Bridge over the River BoxSDC11754a 150x150 Stoke By Nayland and Polstead Bridge over the River Box

Fox Hunting
Wiki mentions Stoke By Nayland has a hunt called the clean boot and their goal is to follow human scent, no perfume, no fox.

I am not “anti hunting” but I don’t like fox-hunting or paper chase or whatever they call it when loads of guys n gals on horses chase around the country in posh clothes and noisy beagles.

There are several reasons I do not like it:

  • The noise
  • The damage
  • The danger to other footpath and bridleway users
  • The attitude toward other country users not part of the hunt
  • Innocent victims*

Innocent Victims
This needs some explaining, it’s probably not what you think. Between age 7 and 15 I lived in Withington, a village in Gloucestershire, the hunt would regularly run around, and sometimes through the village. I had to avoid them several times, once diving for cover as horses jumped hedges beside a footpath.

While frightening; it was exciting too.

As a child I had little compassion for the fox, and my opinion hasn’t changed much now although I err on live and let live.

There were two brothers living in the village, their names Jezebel and Knocker. They had a small cottage in Kings Head lane. Both of them were old, Knocker I think in his early 80′s. Both born and brought up in Withington and both kind-hearted gentleman. Knocker rarely spoke but Jezebel was a minor celebrity as he had won a medal for bravery during WW2 and thus pint-buying tourists and occasional Journalist attracted his attention.

Knocker was often seen walking through the village with his staff, a long walking stick with a V on the end. Apart from that his only passion was his devotion to his cats. He took great care of them and as you walked up the lane they would purr from perched place on their Cotswold stone wall.

That is until the hunt passed through one day and the beagles shredded his cats and left their remains scattered along the wall and his garden.

Distraught and heartbroken Knocker died less than two weeks after the incident.

Download the Stoke By Nayland and Polstead Bridge over the River Box Route Card
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Stour Wood, Wrabness & Bradfield Heath Circular Walk

 Ancient Woodlands, Essex, On The Front Line, Sport, Walking Hiking Navigating  No Responses »
Oct 162011
 

It was another unusual October day, not a blistering heat and no wind, it still had a perceived summer warmth. The trees of Stour Wood were not fooled by the temperature; browns and yellows mixed with the green of the leaves holding on with foolhardy hope.

Acorns and chestnuts cracked as I walked through the wood, an open access area with paths and well-worn routes. Huge coppiced trees that tell of many hundred years of management and suggest a thirty-pig pannage or more although shrunk when declared for taxes.

SDC11424a 1024x768 Stour Wood, Wrabness & Bradfield Heath Circular Walk

Through the tunnel under the railway and toward The Stour a single house with the quintessential British garden before you reach the river shore and then lonely scenery before reaching the posh beach-huts hidden behind land-fall.

SDC11433a 300x225 Stour Wood, Wrabness & Bradfield Heath Circular Walk Onward through the trees and eventually beside the marshes where birds meet to gaze and squawk at the twitchers as they hide in their huts.

Nothing prepares you for the view.

Essex proves hidden treasure not only in Epping or hidden within city boundaries and stood as the boundary to East Anglia since before the time Angles was adopted for the nation. A juxtaposition of industry and natural beauty and composed of just one.

Let Essex be your secret bounty and as you run from drudge and duty; burst through the forest and catch the hues, out of breath yet out of your mind and surprise the view!

More photos.

SDC11479a 1024x768 Stour Wood, Wrabness & Bradfield Heath Circular Walk

Distance: 12¼ Miles
Elevation Range: 2 to 118 feet
Weather Check: BBC Weather Mistley, Essex.
Map: Click here and once loaded select “Leisure” map
Route Card: Stour Wood, Wrabness & Bradfield Heath Circular Walk
Download the Walkers Route Card Template for Word 2010

Autumn In Arger Fen, Suffolk

 Ancient Woodlands, On The Front Line, Sport, Suffolk, Walking Hiking Navigating  No Responses »
Oct 102011
 

I find footpaths through private gardens disconcerting at times. I don’t want to disturb peoples privacy. It’s usually impossible to decide if your route will take you through one beforehand and thus you cannot avoid it if you wish to continue on the planned walk. I’ll take a diversion if practical to avoid disturbing the owner (useful if map reading is wrong!).

This walk has two.

One littered with “beware of the dog” signs and kennels along the path with German Shepherds going crazy as you walk by. If dogs frighten you it maybe enough to abandon the path. Locked in the kennels I safely ignored them. The path continues right through the house owners garden and chances are in summer there will be small children running around as the garden has plastic play pens and slides. A good view of their patio and the rear of the house really gives the impression that you are strolling through their home. Personally I could not live here, if popular with dog walkers the German Shepherds will spend most of the day in fits. I suspect they exist for that very reason.

The second uses a better solution for hikers. The owner has put up clear signs so you are in no doubt where the path is and fast growing Leylandii planted a respectable distance from the path give cover.

SDC11307a 1024x768 Autumn In Arger Fen, Suffolk

The planned route doesn’t spend much time in Arger Fen. I did this on purpose as Ordnance Survey do not show many of the paths, and the ones they do are not shown as public Footpaths, so I entered and exited at different points observing the notices provided by the local trust and conservationists who are protecting the woods and nature within.

arger fen 1024x554 Autumn In Arger Fen, Suffolk

Click here for more photos and pictures.

Distance: 10¼ Miles
Elevation Range: 55 to 220 feet
Weather Check: BBC Weather Bures, Suffolk.
Map: Click here and once loaded select “Leisure” map
Route Card: Autumn In Arger Fen, Suffolk
Download the Walkers Route Card Template for Word 2010

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