Toughness 3/10
Length: 10, 12, or 14.4 miles (16.3, 19.3 or 23.2 km.)
Highlights of this walk include an old mill, medieval abbey buildings, Grange Barn (said to be the oldest timber-framed building in Europe), and the town of Coggeshall. Coggeshall has over 300 listed buildings, many of them medieval, including an ornate 15th C merchants house (Paycockes). The full walk gives the opportunity to visit another old barn at Marks Hall Gardens.
Trains Take the 10:11 Ipswich train from Liverpool Street,(Stratford TFL10:18 ) arriving Kelvedon at 11:02. Return trains at xx:41.
Lunch There are many options in Coggeshall, see the walk notes. Some of the pubs (eg Chapel Inn, Woolpack) are ancient. However, ever-changing Covid restrictions will apply and you might be better bringing your own lunch. If doing the full walk, you can also visit Bouchier’s Barn Café at Marks Hall (01376 563 796). Facilities are open at Marks Hall, with a track-and-trace procedure in place.
Tea
The Sun Inn, Feering Hill (01376 570 442) is the recommended stop. There's also the earlier Bell Inn, in Feering (01376 570 375), and, later, the Railway Tavern in Kelvedon. (01376 570293). You may need to book a table.
Visiting Because of Covid, you can only view Grange Barn and Paycockes from the outside at present. Marks Hall Gardens are open with no need to book. Entry £6. There's a National Trust "Tudor Walk" through Coggeshall that may be of interest (although you will have already passed some of the places by the time you reach Paycockes).
Walk Directions here. This walk can be shortened by cutting out all or part of the Marks Hall loop.
See our Covid Rules (walks page)
Basically break into, and stay in, groups of 6 or less. Exchange contact details. Social distancing.
T=swc.216
7 comments:
This walk sounds excellent . I may go.
Jane
A suggestion to help separation.
On leaving the station, (facing away from it) slow walkers to the left, fast walkers to the right
The fast group (or groups) to leave first. RIGHT AHEAD
The slow stay behind for a few minutes LEFT BEHIND
Remember to share contact details within your group
No need to subdivide the heaving throng of n=6 that turned up on this w=grey-damp-windswept-and-slightly-chilly day. But we soon became 4+2 then 4+1+1 anyway. Paths slightly overgrown at the start but we got through. I and several others found the section where you leave Coggeshall’s streets and head for Robins Brook (on shortcut 1) confusing. Best not to leave the streets. Coggeshall’s main attractions (Paycockes, Grange Barn) were closed, as is Clocktower House but still plenty of old buildings to look at. Most ate in the churchyard and one had coffee in the White Horse (twice).
Nobody went on the Marks Hall loop(s).
There were a couple of traverses of large ploughed fields in the afternoon (thankfully not claggy). Some had tea in the Railway (both this and the Sun were open). This walk would have been better suited to a sunny day - like, for instance, yesterday :(
Sorry Ian but I went on the Marks Hall arboretum extension to re-visit the cafe which is now called the Orchard kitchen but this cannot under any circumstances be called an early lunch stop arriving at 2pm when one is already in Coggeshall at 12,45. Perhaps the walk notes should make this clear because the directions in the text of 2 shortcuts within the main body of the walk is very confusing. My companions did short cut 1 but I ploughed on literally over a number of ploughed fields with no footpath re-in statement leaving my shoes with enough wattle and daub to repair a medieval barn. Coming off the footpath I walked part of the gardens for free. The cafe which is a large medieval barn serves lunches until 2.30pm and I enjoyed delicious fish cakes of salmon and haddock with a runny cheese centre for £9.25. Leaving at 3pm I then proceeded to Coggeshall town centre arriving at 4pm where I caught the handy 4.15bus to Marks Tey railway station outside the Chapel Inn pub. This number 70 bus only runs every two hours 7 days a week. The Clockhouse cafe and secret garden are closed and up for sale sadly. All the National Trust properties are closed for now. I caught the train which runs every 30 mins at 4.36 I believe. Having done the walk 2 weeks ago in extreme heat and humidity this walk is not recommended for late September when the fields have been ploughed and it’s drizzling as it was today.
Sorry Marion
I got the impression you'd stayed to explore Kelvedon but I must have misheard/misunderstood. Glad the meal was alright anyway.
Marion, with all respect, you are unduly harsh on the good old Kelvedon Circ: as the pdf states, "Saturday Walkers’ Club: Take the train closest to 9.30 hours for the full walk, or 10.00 hours for a short walk option."
With Mr M Tiger posting a 10.11 train to take, he abviously aimed at the short option of the walk. If you then walk the full length walk anyway, you will be about 45 minutes behind the assumed arrival time at the Arboretum, even without first nipping into Coggeshall en route to the Arboretum. The route deliberately skirts around Coggleshall initially and goes straight to the Arboretum, so that even then one gets back and through Coggeshall in good time for lunch there.
As for arable field crossings: before lunch, there is a small one within 5 mins of the start, and then there are another 2 between Coggeshall and the Arboretum (and then 2 more in the afternoon, but you didn't walk that part). Not particularly high a number for any walk, especially not in East Anglia, methinks...
With trains hourly at xx11 I was limited to the 10:11 . (In my experience on a Sunday the earlier the time the lower the turnout so no to the 911) I didn’t give a lot of thought to arrival time at Marks Hall but I’ll know for next time. And sounds like they were still serving.
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