Length: 23.2 km (14.4 mi) [much shorter options available]
Ascent/Descent: 154m
Net Walking Time: 5 hours
Toughness: 4/10
Take the 09.36 Colchester train from Liverpool Street (09.43
Stratford), arrives Kelvedon 10.25.
Return trains: xx.24 and xx.54.
This walk is centred on the gentle landscape of the Blackwater Valley,
close to Constable Country, and includes some very tranquil and scenic
stretches along the river itself, interspersed with long stretches along
country lanes, green lanes or field boundaries with wide and extensive views
across the rolling Essex countryside of fields and woods.
A pre-lunch north westerly loop explores the valley cut by Robin’s Brook,
leading to Marks Hall Gardens and Arboretum, with its atmospheric early lunch
stop in a converted barn.
There are a several other recommended lunch stops in Coggeshall itself.
Coggeshall is one of Britain’s most historic market towns. It has 300 listed
buildings, amongst the ones passed on the walk are Britain’s oldest barn and
one its finest medieval buildings, built on the remnants of a 12th century
abbey, an impressive carved timber-framed Wool Merchant’s house as well as a
couple of photogenic watermills and an outsized church.
Walk Options:
A frequent bus service running through the lunch location of
Coggeshall gets you to Chelmsford station (closer to London than Kelvedon and
on the same line).
Two shortcuts - cutting out all or parts of an outer loop just before
lunch - reduce the length of the walk by 6.9 km and 84m ascent/descent or by
3.9 km and 49m ascent/descent respectively. They are rated 2/10 and 3/10
respectively.
A scenic extension in Coggeshall leads west from Grange Barn along the
Essex Way, across the Blackwater over the listed Nunn’s Bridge and back along
the wooded valley, closely following the river. This adds 2.5 km/1.6 mi.
Lunch: Orchard
Kitchen Café Bouchier's Barn, Marks Hall (11.1 km (6.9 mi) into the
walk in a beautifully restored 15th Century barn, which was moved to
its current spot timber by timber from a site close by. Cooked food served 12.00-14.30.
Plus plenty of options in Coggeshall (see webpage or pdf).
Tea: The Bell Inn,
The Sun Inn, The Tavern Kelvedon, or Kelvedon
King Fish Bar.
For summary, map, height profile, photos, walk
directions and gpx/kml files click here. t=swc.216
1 comment:
N=8 set off at a cracking pace on a w=cold-dry-mostly-sunny day. Firm underfoot in the morning, but, then, the ground was frozen.
Mr Tiger’s pace was not as cracking as the others’ and he was soon on his own. He was doing the shorter walk. He did catch up with two, along the Blackwater who had slowed to photograph trees, but lost them again in Coggeshall. He never saw the others again.
Mr Tiger dropped in to the Woolpack, as ancient inside as it is outside. Some of of their mates are probably Tudors.
The way out of Coggeshal is currently a narrow, fenced in corridor between vast housing developments. Just saying.
Further on, at this time of year, walkers would do well to stay on Old Road and avoid the bridleway leading off it. It is heavily churned by horses and, near the end, a stretch is underwater. (Yes, it does say - one of the perils of just using gps). Not only is it underwater, it is fringed by impenetrable blackthorn. Mr Tiger has the scratches and cold wet socks to prove it.
One more thing. After visiting Paycockes, it would be simpler to redirect any doing the short walk back into town and along Church St. For them, the Robins Brook diversion seems a bit pointless. Confusing, even.
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