Audley Park and Wendens Ambo 7.5 mile circular Walk

Finally, post Christmas and New Year Covid, Gill and I were able to go for a decent walk today. The weather recently has been wet and miserable so it was a treat that it was cold but very sunny today. 

We used this out of date Ordnance Survey Essex Walks Pathfinder guide book (published 2001!) so best to buy a more modern version https://shop.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/essex-pathfinder-walks-guidebook/

It took 53 minutes to drive from East London. You should be able to take the train to Audley End and join the walk there in less than 1 hour 20 but there are weekend maintenance closures at the moment. 

The walk itself starts in the lovely historic market town of Saffron Walden. It soon passes some remarkable medieval  Alms Houses and then Audley End House (see main picture) which was built by spectacular 17th century corruption but now run by English Heritage.  

A lovely walk, not at all difficult apart from some not very well maintained stiles and there was some road noise from the M11 but that might have been since there was no breeze. 

I will post and link other pictures here on Facebook. 

Bowers Marsh Walk & the Battle of Benfleet

Off message but went with Gill on a lovely 5.5 mile walk on Sunday courtesy of the free website EssexWalks.Com.

We started off at the RSPB reserve at Bowers Marsh which has a wonderful sense of "Big Essex Skies" and marsh land solitude despite the distant hum of road traffic.

Follow the Thames Path out of the marsh and under the road bridge and along the mudflats of East Haven creek. The path is a little overgrown approaching a second world war pill box so not suitable for shorts or sandals.

It was very pleasant walking along the creek and checking out the boats moored or those abandoned to rot beside it.

At Benfleet there was a memorial to the battle in 894AD when the Saxons defeated the Vikings in a surprise attack and burnt their long ships. Traces of the burnt ship timbers were apparently found when the railway was built.

After walking through parks, back of houses green lanes and horse paddocks (we had to climb over a gate on a public footpath which had been locked shut with a screw - must remember to report to Essex Council rights of way officer) we stopped at the historic 14th Century St Margaret's Church, which is reputed to be haunted, but nothing spooky occurred and the Church wardens who let us in were very friendly.

At least we think... they were the wardens?

We stopped off at the nearby Gun Pub for a beer to re-hydrate then drove home (about 45 minutes each way). You could take the train and start the circular route at Benfleet station.

I do recommended this walk, there is some traffic/train noise and you walk through a few brownfield sites but it has lots of atmosphere and history as well as being a change from chocolate box "pretty" country side walks. EssexWalks.Com has lots of excellent free walks across the county. 

Bumbles Green Walk

Off message but another great walk from the free Essexwalks.com site. "Bumbles Green" is within spitting distance of London. It is only 30 minutes drive from Newham and like most walks just outside London, incredibly quiet and peaceful.

King Harold (of "1066 and all that") is thought to have had a hunting lodge and a mistress near here

Early on the walk you pass a 19th century "Coal and Wine" post (picture next to pint of beer in collage). The City of London was able to levy taxes on these goods so such posts used to be placed on all access points to London.  I suspect that locals at the time had a similar attitude to modern day Amazon.com to taxes so I am not sure how successful such posts were.?

Check out the photo in the college bottom right, where on the ridge there some spectacular views of London (click on it to enlarge). A great place to have a picnic. There are remains of military bunkers on the ridge which I suspect were anti-aircraft gun platforms to protect London during the second world war.

The walk is only 6.5 miles and while it has some hills there is nothing too severe. Other points of interest on route is a massive market garden nursery, which we finally managed to work out was growing courgettes and a huge mobile caravan park which appears to have been allowed to turn itself into permanent housing.  I note an advert for a two bedroom caravan at the site going for sale at £199,000. If that does not convince you how ridiculous London property prices are what will?

Many years ago Gill and I were walking in this same area and watched scores of travellers racing ponies and carts up the hill. A magnificent sight to us although I understand afterwards that the local landowner may have had a different opinion.

Unfortunately the King Harold Head pub mentioned in the walk description as somewhere to seek refreshment has been turned into a rather snooty restaurant and when we turned up after the walk to see if we could have a drink we were turned away with disdain. Nevermind, I was able to get a lovely golden beer elsewhere (The Plough in Sewardstone). 

Essex Walks: Matching - Sunday 6 August 2017

Off message but Gill and I did a lovely circular 5.3 mile walk today around Matching in Essex (near Harlow). You start at the ancient village church and walk down the road to the most glorious english duck pond ever. You then cross lush meadows surrounded by woods spoilt only slightly by the occasional jet taking off in the distance from Stansted airport and the faint hum of the M11.

You walk away from this into quiet country lanes and across overgrown bridleways. If you don't like getting your legs a little scratched from thorns and nettles then don't wear shorts.

We passed huge fields planted with a crop of peas or beans that appear to have been left to go black and rot for unknown reasons. Then massive field after field of golden wheat just waiting to be harvested.

There were also countless massive dragonflies and fluttering butterflies with the occasional bird of prey up high on patrol for its next meal. Apart from that we saw hardly anyone for the entire walk.

Halfway through the walk, you could leave the route for the Fox pub in Matching Tye for a meal or drink but instead we enjoyed a picnic on the edge of a wood overlooking yet another expansion of wheat.

You finish off along farm tracks and end up again at the start point, the Church of St.Mary the Virgin which is well worth a visit. The guide book that you can buy inside for £2 suggests it was built on the site of a old Saxon Church and has been altered and rebuilt a number of times during the past 1000 years.

I note that the distinguished Welsh scholar and poet, John Morgan, was a vicar here 1728-1732.

30m to the west of the church is the "unique" two story "Wedding Feast Room" built in the late 15th century "for the entertainment of poor people on their wedding day". Amazing.

In the church there is also a memorial to the 197 American airman from 391st Bomb Group who were killed, wounded or missing while based at the Matching airfield from January to October 1944 in support of the D Day Landing.

This was a great walk only 40 minutes drive from East London in a particularly lovely part of Essex.

Hat tip Essex Walks

Upshire Walk & Site of Boadicea End Game?

Off message but went for a great country walk on Sunday around Upshire in Essex.

Check out the free Essex Walks website.

I thought that I knew the area quite well but this 5.5 mile walk was different and apart from the distant buzz of the M25  (and crossing the motorway), it was very quiet and we hardly saw anyone until the end of the walk.

Near the start is "Boadicea obelisk" which you can see in photo on right (in between are deer running away from us). Which is probably just an 18th century folly but local tradition says it marks the site of the suicide of the Iceni Queen Boadicea following the defeat of her army nearby by the Romans.

You can walk over a broken barbed wire fence and visit (trespass?) the obelisk but there is nothing written on it. It is strange place and I found it very atmospheric. Who really knows what happened here?

The rest of the walk was lovely with lots more history and going up and down hills with great views but nothing too strenuous. The final bit, cross country in Epping Forest proper was another highlight. This is a recommended walk only 25 minutes by car from Newham, London.

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