Walking in April and May

April and May found me out and in Bedfordshire, (tent) camping in the Peak District and walking in Greenwich Park.

Bedford, Bedfordshire

Moot Hall, Elstow

I returned to Bedford by train on a day trip to visit three small museums that were closed when I visited in January. The John Bunyan Museum is a tribute to Bedfordshire's most famous son, housed in the Bunyan Meeting Church. Just outside Bedford is the village of Elstow, where you find the Moot Hall, a wonderful medieval market hall, which has miraculously survived. Elstow also has strong Bunyan connections, he was baptised and worshipped in the Abbey Church and lived in the village. The Panacea Museum in Bedford is dedicated to the Panacea Society, a rather odd religious society that flourished in Bedford in the early twentieth century. It was a wonderfully weird sort of place in the long tradition of English eccentricity.

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Bedfordshire Tour 3: out and about near Bedford, Dunstable and Luton

Sharpenhoe Clappers

Making use of a little car that can go under height barriers, I stopped briefly in Dunstable, unlocked the De Gray Mausoleum, discovered the Stockwood Discovery Centre in Luton, climbed Warden Hill overlooking Luton, enjoyed one of Bedfordshire's finest walks to Sharpenhoe Clappers and visited one Bedfordshire's more remote attactions, the Glenn Miller Museum on an old WW2 airfield. (Not necessarily in that order)

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Sharpenhoe walk

Black Hill, West Yorkshire

Pennine Way

Accompanied by nephew Philip, I went to Crowden CCC site near Glossop to tackle Black Hill, the highest point of West Yorkshire, Kirklees and the former county top of Cheshire. Originally we were to be in the van, but Louis(my van) was holidaying in Brighton so we had to make do with the tent (marquee). Having got soaked climbing the hill (582m/1909ft) on Saturday, we were unable to go very far on Sunday due to lack of suitable footwear. We did a tour of part of the Ladybower reservoir on a gloriously sunny day.

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Greenwich and Blackheath

Greenwich Park

This is a must for anyone living in around London. You can get to Greenwich via river boats from Central London, via the Docklands Light Railway or walk under the Thames. If you want to visit things there's the Cutty Sark, the Painted Hall and chapel in the former Royal Naval College, the National Maritime Museum and the Royal Observatory. Or, you could what my friends and I did on a lovely sunny Saturday, start at the riverside, walk up one side of Greenwich Park, over Blackheath and back down the other side of Greenwich, stopping to enjoy the wonderful view.

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Walking in March 2015

March was another chilly month but I did manage to find some sunshine along with a large amount of mud. Walks this month include London Loop, East London and Bedfordshire

London Loop section 14 -  Moor Park to Hatch End (somewhere in north west London)

Mud!!!

I'm now three-quarters of the way round the Loop and this leg turned out to be the most dramatic since 5, when I fell in the path of an oncoming vehicle. This was a fairly short walk (3.8 mls) between two outposts of the tube. It is also a very green section with very little road walking, taking in a golf course, common land and finally Oxhey Woods. It was also a very muddy section and having managed to stay upright for most of the way, I came to grief in a waterlogged field and emerged plastered in mud from toes to shoulder.
Walk directions
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Touring Bedfordshire 1

Stotfold Mill nature reserve

This tour consisted of some fairly aimless driving around following brown tourist signs to closed attractions, checking out the parking for future walks and enjoying a splendid walk on a day  that felt spring-like once out of the wind. The walk was 6.8 miles near Turvey on good paths in undulating countryside with some fine views. I also had strolls at Marston Vale Millennium Country Park and Stotfold Mill nature reserve.
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Walking in London 2: Mile End to Stratford

My alien friend

Katharina and I spent a Sunday afternoon strolling from Mile End to Stratford, about four miles or so. Points of interest are Mile End Park, Regents Canal, the Arts Pavilion where we were abducted into an exhibition on Spirituality in Modern Art, Victoria Park, the Greenway, tea at the View Tube, finishing up in the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park at sunset.
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Touring Bedfordshire 2

Willington Dovecote (NT)

At the end of March I spent four chilly days touring the villages around Bedford with a very accommodating friend. We did enjoy a very enjoyable walk (4 miles) from Houghton Conquest to Houghton Hall (EH) and back via King's Wood.  Other places we visited were; Willington Dovecote (NT), Stevington Windmill, Bronham Water Mill, good spot for a picnic, Harrold Odell country park, another good picnic spot. If you are a fan of churches don't miss St Margaret of Antioch Church in Knotting and transport yourself back to the seventeenth century.

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Discovering Bedforshire: the Shuttleworth Collection

The Swiss Garden

The Shuttleworth Collection is must for aircraft enthusiasts due to variety of very old aircraft and the fact that most of them still fly. You can also visit the Swiss Garden, recently restored at vast expense. Children get in for free and there is a very large playground that you can access for free.

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Walking in February 2015

February has been quite chilly but I still found a fair bit of blue sky while out walking in Essex mostly.

Turvey, Bedfordshire

14th century wall painting

Turvey may be on the border with Buckinghamshire but it is in the heart of Midsomer. I was half expecting to stumble on a film crew as it is very picturesque village.

Info

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Chipping Ongar, Essex

Log Church, Greensted

Chipping Ongar is a small market town about 20 minutes drive from the Harlow turnoff on the M11. Parking by the library in free at weekends and there are cafes and toilets nearby. The Millennium walk highlights its historic interesting building and the wonderful Log Church at Greensted is about 20 minutes walk along the Essex Way.
Other attractions include the Epping Ongar railway and the Secret Nuclear Bunker.
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Colchester, Essex

Colchester Castle

Colchester is allegedly the oldest town in Britain and home of Essex's most popular tourist attraction (Colchester Castle). Camulodunum was the capital of Roman Britain and the town abounds with Roman remains. The castle keep is the largest in Britain, very well preserved and contains a lot of recycled Roman masonry. This walk links the town and country parks, both excellent in their different ways. Lots of things to see and do, museums, art galleries, old buildings, historic port area and zoo.

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City of London

Photos from a short circular walk from Blackfriars Station on a cold, sunny Sunday afternoon.

Mersea Island, Essex

Beach huts on Mersea Island

Mersea Island is an Essex holiday playground about 10 miles south east of Colchester. It's a rather old fashioned place with beach huts and caravan sites and not a lot to do except enjoy the beach. It's good for walking with a footpath running around the whole coastline. Cudmore Grove Country Park is at the east end of the island, good for picnics, bird watching and beach walks. West Mersea is famous for sea food, you can enjoy oysters at the Company Shed.

Great Bardfield and Finchingfield, Essex

Finchingfield

Great Bardfield and Finchingfield are two delightful villages in North Essex a couple of miles apart. Finchingfield is the best known and featured in last years Tour de France. Both have pubs, restaurants and cafes and make excellent stops for tea and a wander.
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RSPB Sandy, Bedfordshire

The Swiss Chalet, Gatehouse of the Lodge

The Lodge at Sandy in Bedfordshire is the headquarters of the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds. Apparently the house was going cheap in 1961 and they bought it for a song. There are nature trails through heath and woodlands on the Greensand Ridge. The Lodge itself has a fine formal garden and one of the largest Redwood trees in Bedfordshire.

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Walks in January 2015

For 2015 I have several themes and schemes to help me plan walks and camping trips. I'm working my way through Essex walks, one of the excellent Pathfinder series, so most Saturdays you will find me trudging round my home county. 

2015 is also Discover Bedfordshire year (well in Jillworld, it is). It is all part of my cunning plan to conduct a Grand Tour of Britain. Deciding not to wait 2950 days till my retirement, I'm starting at the beginning of the alphabet in tiny little Beds. On my to-do list are walks, historic houses, museums and industrial heritage. I also hope to find some interesting but less well known sites and scenes.

Waltham Abbey, Essex

A pleasant place for picnic, lunch or tea. Abbey gardens, fine old church, King Harold, local museum old pub and teashop. Info

Lee Valley Park - acres of lakes for birdlife, canoeing, wild water rafting, great for walking or cycling, plenty of pubs and cafes. Easily accessible by public transport. The Lee Valley Walk is one of the capitals strategic routes and well worth exploring.
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Epping Forest, Essex

View from the View

Epping Forest stretches from Newham in the south, through Waltham Forest to Epping in Essex. Queen Elizabeth Hunting Lodge where we based our walk is easily accessible by public transport from Chingford.

Info

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Hanningfield Reservoir, near Chelmsford, Essex

Largest reservoir in Essex with nature reserve, visitor centre and cafe

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Pavenham, Bedfordshire

A view across the Great Ouse Valley south towards the Chilterns

A short walk from the Pathfinder book a few miles west of Bedford.
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Bedford, Bedfordshire

View from the Castle Mound

I've just spend two of the chilliest days this or any other year exploring the delights of Bedford, former county town and charter borough since 1166. Day one was spent following the town trail and the second a walk around the southern part of the town from the Pathfinder book. Bedford has a most attractive river front and the Higgins Art Gallery and Museum was more interesting than I expected.

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Barking & Dagenham - Countryside

Eastbrookend Country Park 

My latest walking challenge is to get out and about in Greater London, discovering the countryside and cultural heritage that is on my doorstep. What better place to start with than my home borough of Barking and Dagenham, (henceforward known as LBBD), it's the nearest and the first on the alphabetical list of London Boroughs. You may think that LBBD is not fertile territory for either culture or countryside but read on and you may be surprised.

Countryside
Less than one hundred years ago Dagenham was all farm land, indeed there was a market garden at the end on my street in the sixties. The far north of the borough has some actual farmland but there is little real countryside. What we do have is the Dagenham Corridor, a green strip in the east of borough made up two country parks, two nature reserves, one open space, and three parks. You can walk from the Ford Factory on the A13 to the Peace and Memorial Garden in Central Park crossing just two roads and a railway line, a route of about four miles.

Eastbrookend Country Park has been brought the land back to life since it was created in 1995. The area was used for gravel extraction and then the holes either filled up with water or were filled up with assorted rubbish, including rubble from the Blitz. I remember it from my childhood as a toxic wasteland. I was very sad to discover that the seven Park Rangers are to lose their jobs, a part of the Council's cost cutting measures. The Country Park is something for the borough to be proud of and I hope that all their hard work is not sacrificed on the altar of George Osbourne's fiscal policy.



The Chase

With so much water around The Chase Nature Reserve is a haven for wild fowl. On the day I visited it was mostly swans, but apparently there are skylarks in summer. The Chase is also home to very rare Black Poplar, which looks a bit like a young Whomping Willow. The other nature reserve in the Corridor really is on my doorstep. The local Parish churchyard is no longer used for burials and is now managed for the benefit of nature. Know as God's Little Acre, the meadow will be full of wildflowers in spring, so I must remember to take a look. Rippleside Nature Reserve occupies some derelict land next to an electricity sub-station in Barking Riverside. There is a little wood of Silver Birch that has colonised the area as apparently they don't need much in the way of topsoil.

Thames riverbank

The best kept secret in LBBD is the Thames riverbank. It has taken me years to find out how to get to this remote footpath, a little oasis of green between Dagenham Dock and Creekmouth. How long will it remain remote, secluded and peaceful? There are plans to build many new homes on derelict land nearby. There was another riverside open space at Creekmouth where the Roding joins the Thames, with picnic benches and steps down to the shore.

LBBD is blessed with some very large parks throughout the borough with an assortment of attractions. In my youth it was a real treat to visit Barking Park and ride on the little train (still there) or on the paddle steamer on the lake (not so sure that is still there). London County Council who built the Becontree estate created three large parks, Parsloes, from the old Parsloes Manor estate, Mayesbrook and Central. I doubt whether todays developers would be so generous or thoughtful to the needs of the residents. A BMX track is a recent addition to Old Dagenham park, my local.

Matchstick Island, Mayesbrook Park

Walking in LBBD

Sadly none of the seven strategic routes promoted by WalkLondon pass through LBBD, although one day the Thames Path North East Extention might (it was part of the Olympic plan). This idea was to extend the Thames path from Canary Wharf to Purfleet. May happen one day! The only self-guided route accompanied by a little booklet is the Timberland Trail around Eastbrookend Country park and the Chase. My booklet was about ten years old and most of the waymarks seem to have disappeared. LBBD produced a helpful leaflet on the Dagenham Corridor but it isn't available on pdf.  Eastbrookend, The Chase and the Beam provide us locals with a little bit of countryside to enjoy, it may not be the prettiest bit of open space in London but it'll do.

Click here for more pictures of LBBD

Three Forests Way

Hainault Forest

This winter I completed a 60 (95km) mile circular walk called the Three Forests Way, linking the ancient Essex forests of Epping, Hainault and Hatfield. This walk was devised by ramblers in 1977 to celebrate the Queen's Diamond Jubilee. The official start point is Harlow in the west of Essex. The route then follows the River Stort north to Hatfield Forest and then turns south via the Roding Valley and Hainault Forest to Loughton. From here it goes over the high ground north of Epping, and beside the River Stort back to Harlow.

The route isn't waymarked so I had to rely on the guidebook published in 1986, OS Explorer Maps 174, 175, 183, 194 & 195 and my two GPS's. I abandoned the guidebook after failing to identify 'a group of three trees' in Epping Forest. It wasn't too hard to get round as the route was marked on the Explorer maps. Most of the walking was off-road or on quiet lanes, with only one very short section on a busy road. It was surprising how easy it is to walk for a couple of hours without crossing a road or seeing a soul so close to surburbia.

Epping Forest stretches from the Olympic Borough of Newham to the south west borders of Essex. It's been owned and managed by the Corporation of London on behalf of us citizens since 1876. It is very well-used by walkers (with and without dogs), riders (of bikes and horses), model airplane owners and motor cyclists who congregate at the tea hut near High Beach. It's not a place for quiet comtemplative walking as you are never too far from a busy road. Nethertheless you can still get lost in the denser parts of the forest. Epping was a Royal Forest in Tudor times, Queen Elizabeth's hunting lodge is well worth a visit.

Hainault Forest has been a public open space since 1906. The country park part is the London borough of Redbridge, the Woodland Trust manage the part that lies in Essex and the bit in Havering is a public golf course. All three local authority boundaries meet at Cabin Hill, the highest point in Redbridge, 90m/205ft. The country park recently hosted 3,000+ troops in a Snooze Box Hotel, as part of the Olympic security organisation. This is another well-used open space and one that gives excellent views into London. On a clear day, the Shard, the Gherkin, the Telecom Tower and London Eye are all visible.

Hatfield Forest lies just south of Stansted airport. This was also a former Royal forest acquired by the National Trust in 1923. As it lies under the flight path of London's third airport, noise can sometimes be a problem. On the day I visited the cloud was so low the planes weren't visible. It's an excellent place for walking, with two waymarked trails and plenty of trees to get lost in. The large picnic/parking area is popular for family picnics. Wildlife abounds, deer in forest, duck on the lake and cows in the pasture.

Several other long distance routes share parts of the Three Forest Way; section 19 of the London Loop from Hainault to Chigwall; the Centenary Walk in Epping Forest; The Forest Way - waymarked route linked Epping and Hatfield Forests; The Stort Valley Way - a circular path between Epping and Harlow; The Essex Way and St Peter's Way near Ongar. Apart from the forests and fields, there is a very pleasant riverside section by the river Stort from Roydon to Sawbridgeworth.

I started this walk on a mild sunny day in November and finished on a snowy Saturday in January, covering a total of 65 miles (100km) in nine walks. The longest was 11 miles and the shortest was 4 miles. Mostly I used public transport, sometimes combined with the van so all the walks were linear. I experienced the whole gamut of British winter weather; sunny and cold, sunny and mild, light rain, heavy rain, floods, icy winds and snow. It took about 26 hours to complete the walk.

Highlights: nearly missing a herd of fallow deer that passed directly in front of me as I read the map, one large stag with twenty or so does; the beautiful sunny but cold morning spent walking from Roydon to Sawbridgeworth; the polar bear in Hatfield Broad Oak.

Lowlights: the toilets at Harlow bus station; wading knee deep through a flooded field; mud.

Snowy Essex

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The Thames Path - Hampton Court to Dartford

In 2009 I walked the London section of the Thames Path National Trail from Hampton Court in the west to the official start/finish point at the Thames Floor Barrier. I also did the southern extention to the Darenth Flood barrier in the shadow of the QE2 bridge at Dartford. (We are still waiting for the northern extention to Purfleet to be completed). The Greater London section is about 67 miles (107km) covering both banks of the Thames. I covered the distance over six days which weirdly included the hottest and coldest days in London  that year.

The Thames Path makes for excellent walking; it's flat, it's easy to find and get to, there are plenty of places to eat and drink, but mostly it's the variety of the views, meadows, parks, boats, bridges and the buildings to numerous to mention. As the path is also a cycle route in part, WATCH OUT FOR BIKES!

Walk London produce some excellent leaflets covering the route.

Click here to see photos