Hatfield Heath, Essex Walk (& The Great British Bake Off )

For various reasons I haven't posted any walks lately. I know some say they enjoy my posts on walking more than the ones on politics or trade unions! To me, my walking or running (very slowly) in the countryside is my "hinterland". 

This walk last month was a delight. A bit overcast but quiet and peaceful. Started off with a coffee in local village cafe and a pint in a local pub at end.

I found this 5.9 mile circular walk in the Ordinance Survey website (subscription) and it was provided by Country Walking magazine (which also a subscription but is free for certain walks if you subscribe to OS but you only get very limited details - see below).

Description

Gently sloping fields, streamside paths and small woods make up the quintessentially English landscapes around Down Hall, the hotel where this year's The Great British Bake Off was filmed. The cross-country Stort Valley Way and Forest Way meet to form a circuit that passes Down Hall (where you could have a fancy tea on the terrace) and runs through the pretty village of Hatfield Heath with its bakery, pubs and cafés. By Phoebe Taplin ROUTE Start/parking: Holy Trinity church, Hatfield Heath/roadside parking, grid ref TL523150, CM22 7EU Is it for me? Easy country paths and tracks, but mud all year. Seriously muddy in winter. Steps can be slippy. Some road walking Stiles: 3 PLANNING Nearest town: Sawbridgeworth Refreshments: Two pubs, several cafés, takeaways, good bakery and shops in Hatfield Heath, including Tea on the Heath. Down Hall serves afternoon tea (01279 731441) Public toilets: In Marriage Feast Hall, Matching Public transport: Buses 5 from Bishops Stortford to Stansted Airport and 59 Harlow-Chelmsford stop hourly near start/end Maps: OS Explorer 183; Landranger 167

Denis Healey: the Labour Giant who did the dirty work for socialism

I was at home today recovering still from this weeks Labour Party conference, when I saw on the news that Denis Healey had died this morning in his sleep aged 98.

Which is a good age by any standards, so some of the reporting I have seen that his death is a "grave loss to Labour" is a little misplaced. Instead we should be celebrating his long life of public service to the Party and to our Country.

He was a brave soldier who saw active front line service in North Africa and Italy in the Second War and a brave politician who did what he thought was right regardless (or in spite?) of opposition or abuse.

Our Labour leader, Jeremy Corbyn, has described the former Chancellor, Defence Secretary, Shadow Foreign Secretary and Party deputy leader as a "Labour Giant".

I heard our current Shadow Chancellor, John McDonnell, say he had "towering intellectual" and although they disagreed politically, he was the "kindest" (that word again) of people privately and completely loyal to the Labour Party in its time of need. 

I only ever saw Denis in person once at the "Stand Up for Labour" event at the Labour Party conference in Brighton 2013. He read out his limericks to the audience. He looked a little frail but he went down very well with the audience who sang "Happy Birthday" to him (it was 30 August).

Bearing in mind the current fuss and bother over Jeremy Corbyn's remarks that if he ever became Prime Minister, he would never authorise the use of British Nuclear weapons. The BBC reminded me that Denis, the archetypal multilateralist cold war warrior, had said in an interview that he would have done the same. 

The BBC obituary claims that Denis prided himself on doing "the dirty work for socialism". Which if true (and I can't find any other source for this so far) is a fair reflection of the man who stood up to a hostile Labour Party conference and spoke what he thought to be uncomfortable truths. As far as I am aware Denis was very loyal publicly to Labour leader, Michael Foot, while he was his deputy. I have no doubt that he spoke his mind to him. I hope (and frankly have no doubts) that our current deputy leader, Tom Watson, will do the same to Jeremy.

Denis was famous (and wise) for having a "hinterland" away from politics - photography, music, poetry. At a Memorial Poetry Reading in  2005 he read out this marvellous verse about a Royal Navy Fleet Arm pilot which I assume he related to his own war time service.

"Fleet Fighter

Olivia Fitzroy

"Good show !" he said, leaned his head back and laughed. 
"They're wizard types !' he said, and held his beer 
Steadily, looked at it and gulped it down 
Out of its jamjar, took a cigarette 
And blew a neat smoke-ring into the air. 
"After this morning's prang I've got the twitch; 
"I thought I'd had it in that teased-out kite." 
His eyes were blue and older than his face, 
His single stripe had known a lonely war, 
But all his talk and movements showed his age, 
His jargon was of aircraft and of beer. 
"And what will you do afterwards ?' I said. 
Then saw his puzzled face and caught my breath. 
There was no afterwards for him but death".

Rest In Peace Denis.

London Loop Walk: Section 1 - Erith to Bexley

Off message but today Ms Grayee and I started on a long distance walk around London. The "London Outer Orbital Path" (better known as London Loop) is a 240 Km (150 mile) mostly sign posted route around outer London. It is divided into 24 linear sections which vary between 6.1 and 16.8 km accessible by public transport within London (tfl) Zone 6.

We are going to try and complete all the sections within the next year. The first section was 8.5 miles long from Erith to Bexley.  It took about an hour from Forest Gate (East London) to get there. This part of the walk involved walking along the River Thames which was the best bit by far. The water, salt marshes, the light and "big skies" was marvellous. But this is also in an industrialised part of London with more than its fair share of road noise, litter, scrap yards and rubbish tips.

We met up in Crayford with a group of young people who were nearly finishing the loop after 2 years of weekend walking and they said this was by far the worse section, which they had left till last. They were a cheerful bunch who admitted that they had already enjoyed the hospitality of a number of pubs on route and were looking forward to their next pit-stop. My type of people!

We agreed that the instructions on the official "Transport for London" route here are pretty rubbish (shame on you Boris).  So tonight I have ordered "Capital Ring' by Colin Saunders and "The London Loop" (Recreational Path Guides) by David Sharp. The youngsters were the only obvious ramblers we saw all day. 

We started about 11.15 and finished at 3pm. It took a while to get back to Forest Gate but had Sunday newspapers to read. 

I am looking forward to the next section which is Old Bexley village to Petts Woods and only 7 miles long.  I will make further posts and even create a London Loop Facebook page. I will be busy, busy in the run up to the general election in May but will hopefully be able to snatch a few days to retreat to my hinterland. 

Update: London Loop 2015 FaceBook page