Circular Walks | 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/

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

Foxhall to the Nacton River Orwell Shoreline Circular Walk

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

Dec 262011

12.9° C by mid morning, if it wasn’t for bare trees it would be difficult to distinguish from an early summer morning. This walk took me from Foxhall to Nacton, directly past my sons old School Orwell Park and to the river bank shoreline in Nacton, a popular place with walkers, runners and twitchers. Nacton shoreline is the River Orwellian equivalent of Piccadilly Circus on bank holidays, not even the mud was keeping people from enjoying the mild weather.

More photos

If you don’t like walking in mud then avoid this walk when wet. Even dry hot sunny days there will be muddy areas around the creeks and streams. Avoid the mud by walking on the high ground. My advice would be if you see the deep holes created by cattle full of water then turn back and use the road for that part of the walk.

Alternatively if you are the kind of person who takes string with you on a walk you will find plenty of old wood to strap to your boots to over the tough parts.

Distance: 12 Miles
Elevation Range: 0 to 120 feet
Weather Check: Bucklesham, Suffolk
Map: Click here and once loaded select “Leisure” map
Route Card: Foxhall to the Nacton River Orwell Shoreline Circular Walk
Download the Walkers Route Card Template for Word 2010

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.

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.

View Larger Map Get Directions View Bird's Eye

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 No Responses »

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

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

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

Foxhall to the Nacton River Orwell Shoreline Circular Walk

Bromeswell to Gobblecock Cottage a Circular Walk Through Rendlesham Forest

Roudham Heath to Thorpe Woodlands Circular Walk

Epping Forest Circular Walk Via Toot Hill & The Moletrap

Pratchett Quotes Download

Pins of Interest

National Trust Walks

Subscribe via Email

Circular Walks In Britain

Martyn Walker for Prime Minister!

Walking Hiking Navigating

Surprise!

Clever Places

Cancer Is Serious Business

Somewhere Else

Categories

Choose a Date?