Browsed by
Category: Essex

Grey, cold and dismal

Grey, cold and dismal

Comments 1 Comment

We needed to post some Christmas cards today so we thought we'd walk to the postbox the long way round. This would be like going around four sides of a square across the fields. It was snowing a little when we started out and the ground was partly frozen since the temperature dropped a few days ago with night time temperatures going below freezing (26F).

Not long after we started the snow changed to drizzle although there was no discernible change in temperature.

This is what the countryside looked like.

Looks lovely don't it? :???:

We have been threatened with four inches of snow over Thursday night but I'll believe that when I see it.

You’ve heard of ‘Gold Finger’ – What about ‘Goldhanger’?

You’ve heard of ‘Gold Finger’ – What about ‘Goldhanger’?

Comments 2 Comments

Goldhanger is a small village, in Essex, not far from us and this weekend they hold the annual ‘Goldhanger Gala Weekend’ and we paid them a visit yesterday (Saturday) morning.

They have a second-hand book sale in the church, an art show in the village hall, a display of classic cars, Morris Dancing etc. We didn’t see the Morris Dancing because it didn’t take place until the afternoon and we left about midday.

It’s a nice little village as you can see and the pink house on the left has ‘1750’ moulded onto the wall.

There were a number of classic cars crammed into the rather small village and things were, it has to be said, a little chaotic.

The green one in the foreground is a ‘Talbot’ although I don’t know the model or the year of manufacture. The church and pub, The Chequers, can be seen beyond.

We had a look around the book sale where Amanda bought a few books and on our way out through the church porch we heard a little cheeping sound. Looking up near the roof we spotted this.

Three hungry mouths – baby Swallows – waiting to be fed and the parent birds did vist fairly frequently whilst we stood there. It seems unusual for a brood to be produced so late in the year; after all they have to build up enough strength to fly to Africa for the winter. I did ask them to post a trip report on the forum when they get back next summer but you can’t trust these birds so don’t hold your breath. :razz:

After leaving the church we decided to go for a walk along the river wall and went out of the churchyard via this unusual stile.

We made our way down to the river and although the tide was out leaving large areas of mudflats exposed I took a picture simply beacause I liked the colours and the same for the view over the fields.

This is Amanda on the river wall as we make our way back to the village seen in the distance.

We said our goodbyes to Goldhanger and went home. Goldhanger is near enough that we could come back anytime for a walk round and I hear the the pub does very good food.

The Winton Train

The Winton Train

Comments 0 Comment

Today saw us toddle off to our nearest station to watch the Winton Train pass though travelling from Harwich to it's final destination – London.

Winton Train web site

One of the reasons we went was to see 'Tornado', the locomotive pulling the train, because we haven't seen it 'in the flesh' before and because it was built only last year.

Tornado web site

Needless to say the experience lasted only a few seconds at the speed at which it was travelling but we're glad we went. smilies  smilies

Bank Holiday

Bank Holiday

Comments 1 Comment

Today, in Britain, is a Bank Holiday (Public Holiday) and we woke up to a cloudy sky. However by mid-morning the sun had started to break through and by lunch time it was a really beautiful day with blue sky and a few puffy clouds. After lunch we decided that although it was a Bank Holiday and the whole world and his dog will be out and about we should go out for a short walk.

Having driven the few miles to Tollesbury (We last went there with Marie when she was over here) we arrived just as the sun went in behind a large bank of cloud which had appeared from nowhere. In spite of that we started our walk to Shinglehead Point and although it was cloudy it was quite warm. It took us about an hour to get to the point and then walk a short way across the marsh to get on the shingle bank out in the river. The bank is covered at high water but it was about 3 hours after high water and the tide was still going out.

After waiting for about 30 minutes the cloud dissipated and the sun returned.

Here is a picture showing Amanda jostling for space on the beach and trying to work out where the North Sea is. :shock:

There were a few people about but it wasn’t exactly crowded out here. This is a view of the same shingle bank looking up river.

We turned round and walked back along the sea wall eventually passing the Marina with the boats moored in tidy rows.

Along the sea wall by the marshes with the familiar sight of the lightship across the marshes.

Finally here is a shot of Amanda on the sea wall fighting her way through the crowds as we made our way back to the car.

A nice little walk.

Snaking through Epping Forest

Snaking through Epping Forest

Comments 1 Comment

Today was a lovely sunny day so we took ourselves off to Epping Forest. We went to an area known as Almshouse Plain and after a little walking we arrived at Cuckoo Brook which snakes its way along the bottom of its shallow valley. The rather tortuous route is known as meandering and the individual curves as meanders.

If you look carefully you should be able to see two complete U-bends in the picture.

After following the stream for a while we moved off to the Cuckoo Pits. Why ‘Cuckoo Pits’? Gravel was extracted here many, many years ago on a small scale and the pits left by the extraction were near the Cuckoo Brook – so …

Some of the pits are now water filled and have become established ponds. We were walking near one of these when Amanda said “Did you hear that noise – it sounded like a snake going into the water” and then we saw a small Grass Snake swimming away from the bank and into the cover of some reeds. Then, about a hundred yards further on, we came across this:

How’s that for another set of meanders on a fine specimen of a Grass Snake (Natrix natrix) and not at all venemous.

We had an enjoyable day altogether and returned home in the late afternoon.

P.S. After lunch, post snake, we went to another area of the forest known as Mount Pleasant and walked through Little Monk Wood to Court Hill and this old tree rather caught my eye – I think it must have been that root system and I just had to add a picture of it.

We walked back to our car via Bell Ringers Hollow and Great Monk Wood. All these ecclesiastical terms won’t surprise you when you realise that this area of Epping Forest was used as a major route by monks travelling to and from Waltham Abbey.

Six tired legs.

Six tired legs.

Comments 1 Comment

Marie and Lisa’s trip to Great Britain didn’t go according to plan. A short while before departure Lisa contracted an infection but decided she was well enough to go and they both arrived in Colchester on Wednesday 1st April as planned.

On Thursday Amanda and I travelled to Colchester and all four of us walked round Colchester and saw the castle, Timperley’s, the Balkerne Gate and the roman wall, the timber-framed cottages by the river and Castle Park. Our final location was the ruins of St. Botolph’s Priory. I haven’t included photographs of the places that we visited as they can be seen on the web site Colchester pages however just to prove that Marie and Lisa were really there I’ve included this picture.


We arrived in Colchester next morning, Friday, expecting to take them both out for the day only to find that Lisa’s infection had flared up again and she’d had very little sleep. She had decided to go back home the following day, Saturday, and to stay in their rented cottage while we took Marie out. It was such a shame that, having come all that way, she was having to go home because of some rotten ole bacteria.

We took Marie to Finchingfield and Thaxted and tomorrow, Saturday, she was going to London with Lisa and was going to do some shopping before returning to Colchester. We arranged to take Marie to Dedham Vale on Sunday.

We heard that Lisa arrived home without problems and is, apparently, on the mend. The three of us went off to Dedham on Sunday, walked to  Flatford then up to East Bergholt and back to Dedham. As we had some time to spare we decided to explore the nearby villages of Stoke-by-Nayland and Nayland and both turned out to be picturesque little villages with some very interesting old buildings including this one in Stoke-by-Nayland.

After looking around Stoke-by-Nayland we moved on to Nayland.

alt=

That person on the pavement desperately trying to look like a local and failing dismally is, of course, Marie. After leaving Nayland we took Marie back to Colchester and Marie decided that tomorrow she’d like to see Cambridge.

On Monday we collected Marie and drove to one of the Park & Ride sites around Cambridge. They do have a very well organised Park & Ride service in Cambridge with buses leaving the car parks very frequently.

Most of the places we visited are listed on the Cambridge page but one view that isn’t listed is this one:

A spy-in-the-sky view of Marie and I taken by Amanda from the top of the tower of St. Mary’s Church. We were all quite tired by the end of the afternoon and had agreed that Marie would come over from Colchester by bus to our house to do a little local sightseeing on her final day in England.

On her last day, Tuesday, Marie came over to us and we all walked on public footpaths to Layer Marney Tower. On the way we saw a lot of Wood Anemonies in flower and heard a Skylark in the distance. After looking at Layer Marney Tower and exploring the local Tudor church we came back to our house for lunch and then, after lunch, we drove the short distance to Tollesbury.

I’ll leave you with this picture of Amanda and Marie about to be run down by a very large lightship.

That was our last day with Marie, leaving 3 pairs of very tired legs, after which she went back to Colchester on the bus and left for home the next day. She arrived home without problems albeit after a long and tiring journey.