WALK REPORT This was the second trial of my Tiptree cream tea walk. Still needs work to improve the route. Parts of Kelvedon are pretty, but the section from there to Tiptree lacks interest. Also, it’s a real shame that the old church at Inworth is kept locked – most of the country churches I pass on my other walks are open to the public, but not this one. Thanks to Anne and Cristina for help with trailblazing.

1. Here we are just off the train at Kelvedon, crossing the footbridge over the tracks into town.

2. First stop: the chemists in Kelvedon. Cristina needed to pick up some sun cream – it was that nice out!

3. Eternity, by Jesus Christ. Chee-zee! Propaganda outside the Kelvedon United Reformed Church. Underneath, it reads “It’s for you, it’s for me, it’s for everyone!” Oy veh.

4. And here’s the original. Cristina happened to have some on her.

5. Sign outside a shop on the High Street in Kelvedon. ‘MBHI’ means Mr Papworth is a member of the British Horological Institute.

6. More High Street scenes. This florist had an amazing display out front.

7. Leaving town now, crossing the River Blackwater. This is the old flour mill on the edge of Kelvedon.

8. A rusting farm wagon mired in the mud at Ewell Hall.

9. Which way do we go? Contradictory footpath signs on the way to Inworth.

10. One of the morning’s highlights was finding this pile of rubbish. Like I said, I need to fix the route a bit.

11. Cristina feeding a horse near Windmill Hill outside Tiptree.

12. Coming into Tiptree village we had to thread our way through some sand and gravel pits. Lots of unfriendly signs here …

13. … and here.

14. Mercifully, the Tiptree jam factory wasn’t far away. We stopped here for lunch. This was our peppered mackerel dish.

15. Afterwards, we had a cream tea. It consisted of scones and Tiptree jam …

16. … and a pot of tea, of course.

17. Cristina in the cafe at the Tiptree jam factory.

18. Scenes from our afternoon/evening walk. Spotted this pig weather vane on a house near Tiptree.

19. On the path to Tolleshunt D’Arcy.

20. Power lines at dusk, near Little Totham.

21. A dead tree on the path at Chigborough Lakes.

As you can see, things got kind of dark about now. We made it as far as The Old Ship Inn at Heybridge Basin, then called a cab to take us back to the train home at Chelmsford.

For the next attempt, I will try incorporating more time on the Blackwater Estuary. Here are the dates I’ll be running this walk.

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I started in Kelvedon, which you can get to by train easily from London. This is the sign outside The Sun Inn, a pub on the north side of town.

… then headed to the little hamlet of Inworth. You can just make out the tower of the village church through the trees in the middle distance.

Closer to the church now. The footpath cuts uphill through an avenue of lime trees.

And here’s the view from six feet under – the church tower at All Saints, Inworth.

These are called ‘red hot pokers’ – Latin name Kniphofia. Originally from Africa, now lining a roadside in Essex.

Sloe berries galore. Very bitter.

Rose hips on the path to Tiptree.

And here are some blackberries. I estimate I saw about 10 million of these today. They were delicious!

Teasel (Dipsacus) on the path near Perry’s Wood.

A mature acorn on an oak. Again, there were millions of them out. Apparently, if you remove the tannins from the acorn, you can then grind them down to a flour and make acorn pancakes. This I have to try!

A bumblebee on the flower of a Hebe ‘Blue gem’ (Hebe x franciscana). Taken on the garden wall of a house in Tiptree village.

Tiptree jams are made in a factory on the south side of town. This is the jam shop adjacent. There’s a museum, and a restaurant where you can order cream teas.

Inside the Tiptree jam shop. I bought one jar of Apricot & Armangac to take home. Thanks Pam!

After leaving the jam shop I headed south on country lanes towards Maldon. Found this caterpillar trying to cross the road. It’s a pale tussock moth (Dasychira pudibunda) in larval form.

I also found this monster mushroom. Could do with some help identifying it. If you know what it is, please leave a comment below, ta.

I crawled underneath it to try and get a better photo. Macro shot of the gills.

Time for lunch. I stopped at The Swan in Little Totham. This pub won the CAMRA pub of the year award in 2002.

Roast beef and Yorkshire pudding on the bar at The Swan. Done to perfection – excellent potatoes too.

These are some of the local bitters served on tap here.

Back on the path after lunch. These scary-looking things are sweet chestnuts, Latin name Castanea sativa.

Some random farm machinery that caught my eye. Not sure what it does though.

Close-up of a flowering ivy. Taken on the path near Heybridge Basin. Getting close to the Blackwater Estuary, an arm of the North Sea that extends inland to the town of Maldon.

Now we’re on the estuary. This is the decommissioned fast attack vessel, Defender, formerly of the Oman Navy(!) It’s currently moored at Heybridge Basin. I have no idea why it’s here, but I intend to find out.

Sunset on the walk into Maldon. The end of a long day out!

From the research I did today, I will be putting together a new route for English Country Walks. It’s going to take in the jam shop and factory at Tiptree, and a couple of other interesting destinations. I’ll publish a walk profile soon.

In the meantime, click here for a complete list of current walks.

Thanks for reading,

– DW

The route runs from the market town of Maldon on the Blackwater Estuary up into the farmlands of East Anglia, finishing at the Roman settlement of Canonium (now called Kelvedon). We’ll be stopping for lunch on the way at a pub called The Swan in Little Totham village, and later, cream teas in Tiptree, a town famous for its jam. Estimated total cost for this walk, including train fare and lunch, is about £25.

UPDATE at 0749 on Saturday 29 September:
Originally, I was going to do this walk today, but the weather’s not looking so hot for photos, so I’m postponing it until tomorrow.

New meeting time will be 8am on Sunday morning (Sept 30th) at the main ticket counter, Liverpool Street station.

If you’d like to come, please let me know, either by email or by phone:

email david@englishcountrywalks.com
tel 07932 953 174

Thanks!

– DW