Barrington, Cambridgeshire

February 2024

This circular walk of about 5 miles starts and finishes at the excellent Royal Oak pub in Barrington, which makes this a worthwhile stroll.

Described as a Riverside Walk and signposted as such just outside the village, we must have arrived at the worst time of year as the path led through thick mud, dug up by cattle, and several streams that spread across the track. Eventually plodging through that, the next stretch was a narrow corridor of overgrown trees where the track often ran parallel to the river but was constantly crossed by fallen trees. Some of these needed crossing over, some crawling under, so an uninterrupted stroll this was not.

After that the route was on easier tracks and some minor roads through Shepreth (listen out for animal noises as you pass Shepreth Wildlife Park) and eventually back to Barrington. For more detail view Stapleford Strollers walk description.

This is interesting and varied countryside so I recommend it as a summer walk in dry conditions

- but only if a man with a chain saw has been out to clear the fallen trees!

Newport, Essex

 November 2023

Newport is a short trip ride from us so John and I walked straight off the platform at Newport station and on to this very pleasant walk through Essex countryside. Good views, field edges and tracks, orange glowing leaves and a bit muddy but hey, it's November!

The walk we followed was published in The Times of October 21st 2023 and heads east along the Saffron Trail continuing on to Debden Church and Debden Park, briefly on the Harcamlow Way and westwards back to Newport. Here the Coach and Horses is an ideal place to conclude a brisk 6 mile walk through autumn countryside.

The church at Debden Park.

North Elmham

September 2023. North Elmham is a village  north of Dereham, which is west of Norwich in Norfolk. There you will find the King's Head Hotel, where we were made to feel welcome - and it wasn't their fault that there were power cuts on two successive nights!

John and I made our way via a circular 4 mile walk around Brisley starting at The Bell for lunch. This walk was clockwise from the Bell towards Tuttle Farm, up to the edge of Horningtoft eastward to cross the B1146 and on to Harper's Green then south back to Brisley.

 Mark met up with us at The King's Head later. Sadly Tim was laid up with knee problems and missed it all. 

The weather was hot and humid, in the middle of a stretch of six days in which the temperature climbed above 30 degrees C. Not quite Death Valley but hot enough to discourage long walks. Mad dogs and Englishmen and all that ....

With electricity off we relax in semi-darkness and gladly accept the kitchen's offer of a ploughman's meal, which needs no cooking. Together with a couple of pints of Wherry we feel well fed.

Still warm in the morning after 20 degrees overnight, we march out for a circular walk around Elmham, Including St Mary's Church ...

not forgetting Bishop Herbert de Losinga's Chapel (now just a ruin) ...

... and the partly dismantled but still proud Mid Norfolk Railway, where enthusiastic supporters repair and maintain the station at County School. Though the rails and their sleepers have seen better days and no trains run from North Elmham yet, the railway does safely connect Wymondham and Dereham and there are still running days when trains chug up and down (for dates see their website).

Too warm for walking in the afternoon so extended quiet time until evening, when a visit to The Railway Arms on the other side of town (extensive menu, rather too much echo in the dining room but good food) concluded with a walk through the dark brought about by our second power cut. Early beds again ....

And on our final day we took a river walk around Swanton Morley where the churches of All Saints,... 

and in Bylaugh St Mary's, took our fancy. We like box pews.

Altogether good walks abbreviated by the heat but this is a grand yet little known area for pleasant river and field walks. We enjoyed it!

Finchingfield

 August 2023

We started from the delightful and very popular village of Finchingfield and took a circular walk of 4-5 miles along many field boundaries, dry underfoot, returning to The Fox on The Green - an attractive 16th century coaching inn overlooking the village duck pond and the green.

Good menu, limited range of ales, all better when the music was kindly turned down (at our request).

Elsewhere the Guildhall (ancient, renovated, now a library, museum and wedding venue) and the church, St John the Baptist, were both well worth a visit.

In the car park of The Vine at Great Bardfield, we found one of Trotters original three wheeler cars as used in Only Fools and Horses. Oh, how we laughed!

Thaxted

July 2023

Thaxted derives from the Old English thoec or þæc combined with stede, being a "place where thatching materials are got" and indeed even today the town is bristling with thatch and many coloured pargetting.

Wayside Cottage - with infra-red filter

Church Steeple and nearby thatched cottage

John guided us round a pleasant varied and comfortably brief route of 4-5 miles which included passing the remains of the Elsenham and Thaxted Light Railway (opened 1913, closed in 1953 and currently having its remaining loco shed and water tower renovated as a private dwelling.

Loco shed and water tower c1951

 

Loco shed and water tower 2023

We had a very good value lunch at The Swan, which is opposite the impressive church and just up the road from the famous Guildhall.

Houghton Mill and Meadow

 June 2023

The longest day of the year, and one of the warmest so far, found us at Houghton Mill (National Trust) between Huntingdon and St Ives. Several road works and some re-routes meant a slow start and we weren't able to extend our walk of about 4 miles with many possible extensions. Nevertheless we made a very pleasant circuit of Houghton Meadows and looked around the village itself before heading off to Godmanchester to the White Hart for lunch. Very good food (soup or paté, sea bass or steak pie) and beer (Broadside on tap, oh joy!).

Cottage in Houghton

Houghton Mill

Shropshire

 April 2023

We spent three comfortable nights in Shropshire, staying at Bank House in Bishop's Castle, an attractive market town.

Tuesday. On our three hour trip across from Cambridge we took lunch at The Green Dragon at Little Stretton, which we can recommend, followed by a 4 mile stroll around Ragdon, avoiding some of the steeper inclines as three of us were suffering from knees and heels.

In the evening we ate at The Castle Hotel which was excellent.

Wednesday. We parked at the Bury Ditches car park and walked to Clun, with lunch at The White Horse at Clun before completing a 7.5 mile circular walk back to Bury Ditches. 

The weather was very favourable and the pub most congenial. As with several of the pubs we chose hereabouts it was old fashioned, intimate, a little dark and warm. The sort of places you could easily spend lots of time in.

The evening was at The Three Tuns in Bishop's Castle where we were very well looked after by a chirpy waitress and serenaded by a collection of musicians brandishing guitars and suffering from occasional over-amplification.

Thursday. We cut our planned walk short today but made the most of the morning on a circular walk around Cardington, with lunch at The Royal Oak, which was as above, traditional, mature wood everywhere, good lunch and excellent beer.

Exhausted by our exploits we browsed in Church Stretton and returned to Bishop's Castle just as the market was closing.

In the evening to the Powis Arms at Lydbury, where there were excellent steaks and very moderate prices and some good ale.

Friday. Mark escaped early to return home while the rest of us strolled around the fine market town of Ludlow with its remarkable half timbered shop frontages, some castle remains and the splendid church of St Laurence in the perpendicular style. Marvellous misericords and a beautiful ceiling.

A simple sandwich from Tesco and we were home by mid afternoon.

We like Shropshire with its quiet rural lanes and rolling hills.

 

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