WALK REPORT I was joined on this test walk by my friends Matt and Richard, who are to be congratulated for getting up at the ungodly hour of 7:30 on a Saturday morning. After a smooth ride on the fast train to Colchester North, a slow branch-line connecting train took us into Colchester Town where we caught a somewhat skanky bus out to start of the walk near Colchester Zoo. For future walks, I’m considering ditching the bus portion in favor of a cab to the starting point.

Our route on Saturday followed the Roman River: Colchester Zoo – Cheshunt Field Iron Age & Roman Settlement – Chest Wood – Layer de la Haye (pub) – Abberton Manor – Abberton church – Abberton village (pub) – Haye Farm – Fingringhoe (pub) – Rowhedge (pub). This walk is much improved from the previous week, given the addition of one extra pub at Abberton which breaks up the journey nicely. [walk profile]

Here are some photos from our day out. I know, too much camera-tilt. Will make an effort to avoid excessive use of this effect in future photos, but be forewarned, the next couple of batches suffer from it.

These ruins in the center of Colchester are all that remain of the first Augustinian priory church in England, St Botolph’s. Botolph was an influential Christian missionary of the 7th Century AD whose name was given to many churches and towns throughout the East Anglia region of England. It is theorized that one such town is “Botolph’s Stone” in Lincolnshire. This name was later shortened to Boston, and replicated across the Atlantic as the capital city of the state of Massachusetts.

Red corn poppies (Papaver rhoeas) and other wildflowers on a patch of scrub land near Butcher’s Wood, just outside Colchester.

A vintage 1960s Daimler Sovereign we found parked in a driveway in Layer de la Haye village. This car is an early relative of the Jaguar XJ6.

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Hello readers (both of you!), apologies for the lack of photos lately, but I’ve simply not had the time to post them. Since these trial runs are photo missions too, I’ve taken much longer in the field to do these walks than I normally would. Which means I get home between 9pm and midnight, and have to sleep and start immediately packing for the next walk.

The last three walks (Sat-Mon) have been a success, however. I plan to post the pictures sometime tomorrow. Please be patient.

WALK REPORT Wow. Got home at 11pm, absolutely exhausted. This Bodiam Castle route will be a good one. Found a place that does cream teas, and a really sweet pub in the little village of Salehurst, which used to have a railway station but now is rather cut off from the rest of the world (which probably gives it some of its charm).

Here are some pics from my solo walk today. Did 17km, which is far longer than the route I’ll be taking guests on, but there were some details I had to check. Route today was Robertsbridge – Udiam – Bodiam – Peter’s Green – The Curlew – Salehurst – Robertsbridge. [walk profile]

The Ostrich pub, right next to the train station in Robertsbridge.

If you need supplies for a picnic lunch in Robertsbridge, this is the place to come!

A half-timbered building on the main street in Robertsbridge.

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WALK REPORT Spring has sprung! My guest Anna and I had a great walk in the rain today, visiting Benington Lordship gardens. Our route today was Watton-at-Stone village – Hebing End – Benington, with stops at The Lordship Arms (good bitters here), and The Bell Inn, where we nearly fell asleep after a delicious lunch of stilton and broccoli soup and smoked haddock.

Here are some snaps from today. If you know any of the plant names I’ve left out, please let me know – there are big gaps in my “naturalist knowledge”. [walk profile]

Gravestones beneath an exotic monkey-puzzle tree (Araucaria araucana) at the church of St Andrew and St Mary in Watton-at-Stone village.

Linenfold motif on a door at the church of St Andrew and St Mary, Watton-at-Stone.

A close-up of the old water pump in the middle of Watton-at-Stone village. Lilacs in the background.

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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.

WALK REPORT Here are some highlights of the walk we took near Colchester yesterday. Route was Cheshunt Field – Layer de la Haye – Abberton Reservoir (northeastern corner) – Fingringhoe – Rowhedge [walk profile]

Red campion on the path near Cheshunt Field Iron Age & Roman Settlement

A makeshift swing on the Roman River in Chest Wood

Close-up of a ceanothus plant in Layer de la Haye village

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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!
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WALK REPORT It’s been a full day out in the Hertfordshire countryside and the first outing for English Country Walks has been a success!

Here’s a handful of photos from our trip to see the gardens at Benington Lordship. [walk profile]

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