Well, this blog has been quiet for a few years, hasn’t it?

In preparation for the next big English Country Walks trip — The Western Front Expedition — I went out to grab a new pair of boots.

I’ve had luck with this brand before, so I decided to try the Meindl Bhutan MFS this time:

Thanks to Marco and the staff at Cotswold Covent Garden for your help!

Links:
Cotswold Outdoor
Meindl

About a month ago, The Times newspapers approached me for help with running a special series of guided country walks for their readers.

So far we’ve been out four times, to four very different destinations all over the country: the Chiltern Hills, Hampstead Heath, Loch Ordie in Scotland, and most recently the Mendip Hills near Bristol.

Here’s some coverage of last weekend’s walk. Clicking the screenshot below will take you to the Times article.

You can see photos from this day out on my Flickr stream here.

At the moment, there are still two more Times Walks open to sign up for:

a) Sunday July 12th: an expedition to Pistyll Rhaeadr, the highest waterfall in Wales, with myself and Paul Sanders, the Times Picture Editor, and
b) Saturday July 25th: a walk near Aylesford Priory in Kent, with myself and Times correspondent Ruth Gledhill

If you’re interested, visit the sign-up page for Times Walks.

More updates to follow soon. Please keep in touch –

David

I’m doing a test run of a walk to Tiptree and Maldon in Essex this weekend. All readers invited!

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

I’ve made a decision to stick with the five current walks for the remainder of the summer.

This will allow me to focus on promoting the business without the added pressure of having to constantly research new routes. If things go well this summer, though, I will be adding to the schedule in the autumn.

The good news is that you’ll now be able to plan your English Country Walks up to two months ahead! The last walks on the current summer schedule fall around the first week of September.

Check the individual walk descriptions for details on dates of operation.

… will be on Sunday. At this point, 12 people are signed up to come on the next Leeds Castle walk. Thank you to everyone who will be participating!

June 25th UPDATE
The photo stream for this walk is now online.

–DW

It’s now 7:15am. Which means I’ve got just 30 minutes to pack and be out of the house. Today I’m doing the gardens walk and must meet Anna (my guest for the day) at Moorgate station at 8:30.

Unfortunately, last Friday’s Bodiam Castle walk didn’t happen. I have about 6 other side jobs I’m doing to make ends meet while I try to build up English Country Walks, and one of them got in the way. I realized I wasn’t going when I looked up from the spreadsheet I was working on and saw that it was 3:30 in the morning. It’s not good to do a 10 mile walk on three hours of sleep.

This time around things are looking up. This week all five walks on the schedule are happening, so if you want to come along on the first full week of trial walks, get in touch. [walk profile]

I’m doing another trial run of a walk tomorrow – this time the destination is Bodiam Castle.

I’ll be at London Bridge station tomorrow morning at 7:30am in time to catch the 7:47am train to Robertsbridge. Should be back in London about 5pm. Normally I’d run this walk a bit later but evening appointments mean an early start this time.

Drop me a line at david@englishcountrywalks.com if you want to come along, and I’ll send you all the details. Rain jacket required, for sure.

Brooding Fortress – Bodiam Castle from the North East

Originally uploaded by Skink74.

Sitting here at the kitchen table at 10 minutes to midnight with the Ordnance Survey map of Colchester laid out in front of me. I’ve had to change the route of tomorrow’s walk a bit because the Wivenhoe ferry only operates within two hours or so of high tide. I was counting on using it to get across the River Colne at Rowhedge, but since that’s not an option, we’ll just have to take the bus back into town at the end of the route. Oh well …

On the plus side, it looks to be a cracking day tomorrow. Sun is in the forecast and this time we have quite a crowd coming. Meeting up at London Liverpool Street station at 9am by the ticket counter, then catching the 9:30 train to Colchester. Anybody else who wants to join this trial run is welcome to come – just email me at david@englishcountrywalks.com to arrange.

Highlights of tomorrow’s walk should include the Roman remains on the outskirts of Colchester, a pub lunch in Layer de la Haye, and Abberton Reservoir (for birdwatching). Check back soon for more photos!
[walk profile]

Today have been updating walk descriptions for Bodiam Castle and the River Towns of Essex. Stay tuned for more.