Backup Only

This Week's Walks - Archive

Please see the Saturday Walker's Club This Week's Walks page.

This is an archive of walks done by the Saturday Walker's Club. You should only need to use this page if the SWC website is down.

Sunday 7 May 2017

Sunday walk: Constable Country

Manningtree Circular
Book 1 walk 39
Length: 17.3 km. 10.7 miles
Difficulty:  4/10

Last winter
During the winter, most of Essex was out of reach of the Sunday walks. It was one big bus replacement with “Essex” on the front.
But the curfew is over and what better way to celebrate than a walk through Dedham Vale Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty on the Essex/Suffolk border.
As well as re-visiting the settings for some of Constable’s paintings, we pass some interesting churches.
Like the one in East Bergholt, where plans to add a tower faltered after Cardinal Wolsey died. Five centuries later, the bells are still rung in a "temporary" cage in the churchyard.
And check out the gothic flint lettering round the church in Stratford St Mary ...... mental!
Trains: 9:30 Norwich train from Liverpool St., arriving Manningtree at 10:33.
Return trains at xx:19 and x:53.
Lunch: the Sun Inn, Dedham 01206 323351 serving lunch from 12-3. It's probably a good idea to phone ahead.
Or the Dedham Craft Centre cafe 01206 322677. Large groups should phone to book.
Or, also in Dedham, the Essex Rose tea room 01206 323301.
Tea: the National Trust tearooms at Flatford Bridge, open till 5:30.
Directions: here.

T=1.39 

13 comments:

Anonymous said...

Is anyone planning on doing this walk? It's a lovely area, especially now that Essex is no longer out of bounds!

Anonymous said...

Hi,
I would be very interested in doing the Sunday walk - Constable Country. Who else will be going on this walk?
I have not done a walk with Saturday walking group before so would really like to get an idea of who/how many will be attending.
Thanks everso,
lily
07741 493832

Mr M Tiger said...

Lily, Hi.
That is difficult to say with any certainty. Our walkers do not usually confirm they are coming beforehand. But, if you’re lucky, you might get some reassuring messages.
If you want to be sure of a large crowd, you can be more confident of numbers on the Saturday walks when 20 or even 30 might show up.
Sunday walkers tend to be a more select band, rarely reaching 10. Looking at the most recent Sundays, the reported numbers were 9,30, 4, 14, 2 (The 30 was a special to Wales, the lows were probably due to the weather). Currently light cloud (no rain) is predicted for Manningtree.
Over the last 20 outings the Manningtree walk attracted an average of 11 people (though this would include Saturdays)

Summer said...

Hi - I'd like to do this walk too, but I too have never walked without a leader before and also am not sure how to access the walk instructions, so if a seasoned walker is going and would perhaps be happy to show Lily and me the ropes (so to speak), please post on here. Thanks

Mr M Tiger said...

There are at least 2 ways to find the directions. In the text above, where it says "Directions: here" click on the word "here". Or you can click on the blue square that says "1.39" They both take you to the walk page. Then click on the blue "Download Walk" button to download a pdf or click on the "Walk Directions" button for an online version.

Anonymous said...

Hi, Mr M Tiger
You have been most helpful, thank you so much. Well,like Summer I would not feel comfortable doing the walk without a leader so to speak. Hopefully, others may join the conversation before Sunday and if that is the case then certainly I will go. This walk sounds lovely. Meanwhile, I'll take a look at the Saturday walks and will be in touch again, Friday or Saturday - fingers crossed we'll have more confirmations.
Thanks :-)

Anonymous said...

Hi there. I will be doing the walk. I've got a map (although I'm not great at map reading!), a GPS, plus will have the directions on my iPad. And if all that fails, it's only Essex - I'm sure we won't get stranded!!
Hope to see you on Sunday.
Sue

Anonymous said...

I plan on going, and I am sure there will be others.

Anonymous said...

Hi,
just an update, I will have to drop out of this walk I'm afraid I need to finish off a form that I thought was for the following week! Hope you all have a lovely day out and catch up again, hopefully.
Take care
lily

Christel said...

I'm going too! But, I'll need help, if you follow me we can get to Scotland!!!

Ian T said...

N=15 including one late riser and two who dropped out early. W=cloudy-cool-am-sunny-warm-pm The gizmo gang raced ahead but Mr Tiger, stolidly plodding along with written directions, had to put them right once or twice. 7 visited the Sun which was accommodating and friendly. Food was good as was the beer. In a rare moment of extravagance, Mr Tiger himself ordered some food. Jaws dropped, as did one or two forks. Good idea to get there 12-ish before the Sunday rush. Tea was had at Flatford Mill which closes at 5. Our group just caught the 17:53. Faster walkers would have got an earlier one. I put money in the box at East Bergholt’s church every time I visit but they still haven’t put the bells on top.

Ian T said...

Forget to mention the stunning display on the water meadow next to Dedham Lock. Buttercups and other stuff.

Bill S said...

Two of us who set of at what seemed to be a comfortable pace soon lost sight of the following pack and only saw them again once more in the distance. We decided against stopping at the Sun Inn (too early both in the day and the walk), only to discover that the Black Horse pub in Stratford St Mary was not serving food. As my fellow walker had sandwiches anyway, we stopped off at the farm shop just before St Mary's church for additional supplies and then retired to the churchyard where we had a pleasant alfresco lunch in the sun. (It's worth noting that the farm shop also has a café, which might be worth flagging up as a possible alternative late lunch stop). We followed this up later in the walk with tea and cake at Flatford Mill before continuing on to Manningtree in time for the 15.57 train. Alas it benefitted us not, as a broken down train ahead of us meant that we got back to Liverpool Street over an hour late. It was an enjoyable walk though, and as Ian says, the buttercups were stunning.