Colchester - Clapboarding, creek-crossing and catcalls

We'd been in Essex once before, when we did the Great Chesterford walk back in August 2013, but Colchester is very much at the heart of Essex, a historical town that was one of the main Celtic population centres and the first real capital of Britain.

So it was with no small amount of excitement that we boarded our train at Liverpool Street station and set off with the Friday evening commuters into the wilds of a county which, despite being so close to London, manages to feel distant and even a little bit exotic for London-dwellers like ourselves.

Lodgings and victuals

Arriving in Colchester station on a cold and dark Friday evening in February is quite bewildering, but we eventually negotiated our way around the concrete pedestrian overpasses and, in no time at all, found ourselves in the welcoming warmth of the North Hill hotel.  The North Hill hotel was a lovely place to stay and they gave us a nice little cottage at the back of the main building. We had dinner, bed and breakfast, so it was a very welcome start to our Colchester trip.

Colchester Town Hall

Lion mosaic

Colchester to Brightlingsea (87 bus)

Having checked out the map, we decided to start our walk at Brightlingsea, on the coast, walking back towards Colchester and our connections home.  There are surprisingly few public rights of way in this part of Essex and hardly any way-marked trails, so the path along the River Colne was our only real option.

Beach huts at Brightlingsea

Brightlingsea to Alresford Creek (3.2 miles/5.1 kilometres)

Brightlingsea is a pleasant seaside resort with beach huts and an attractive camping site. We started our walk at Victoria Place, following Station Road past the outdoor swimming pool and onto the seafront.  Being February, it was pretty cold, but we were lucky enough to start with cloudy but dry weather and fantastic views across to Point Clear and Mersea Island.

View of Point Clear on the Essex coast

There's a really impressive folly at Brightlingsea, called Bateman's Tower, built by a local landowner for his sick daughter. The path from Bateman's Tower, follows the estuary of the River Colne (which gave Colchester its name) through a nature reserve which was teeming with bird life. The landscape along this path was fantastic, a combination of salt marshes, mud flats and shingle.

Bateman's Tower at Brightlingsea

Path through the Colne Estuary nature reserve

It was fairly easy walking along this 3-mile stretch to Alresford Creek and, despite the cold weather, there were quite a few families and dog walkers out and about, enjoying the bracing sea air!

BAM (Best Aussie Mate) at the Colne Estuary

Alresford Creek via Mill Dam (2.5 miles/4 kilometres)

According to the map, we could cross Alresford Creek on a public bridleway, but that's obviously in low tide and, by the time we arrived at the Creek it was very much high tide and the only way of crossing the creek would have been by boat!  We don't generally have to think about tidal times, so it came as a bit of s surprise to see our path disappearing under, what was effectively, a river.

Alresford Creek at high tide

Our only option was to go upstream around the creek to the crossing point at Mill Dam. Unfortunately, the path along the south side of the creek went through private land, which made us feel a bit uncomfortable, but we felt we had no other choice but to follow this path.  It's quite a peaceful part of the world and, as we made our way along the creek to Mill Dam, the sombre facade of Brightlingsea Allsaints Church, kept a close watch on our every move.

Private path to Thorrington Tide Mill

Getting off the private path involved a lot of climbing over ditches and scrambling through trees, until we emerged into a private garden leading to the Mill Dam.  Thorrington Tide Mill is an impressive, weatherboard building and one of Britain's few remaining tide mill structures.  There's something about the landscape of Essex and East Anglia that's reminiscent of neighbouring lands, such as Holland and Zeeland, on the other side of the North Sea.

Thorrington Tide Mill

As we sat on a log beside the mill pond, munching chocolate and watching the ducks feeding on pond plants, we contemplated the very Dutch-like architecture of Thorrington Tide Mill and the historic links between East Anglia and the Netherlands.

Alresford Creek at Thorrington Tidal Mill

We were able to follow a public path along a beautiful stretch of land on the north side of the creek, until we reached the landing stage on the opposite shore of the creek from where we'd stood about an hour before.

Public footpath on the north side of Alresford Creek

A rare Essex waymarker

Parking at high tide

Ever since our trip to Rochester, Kent in January 2011, we've been a bit obsessed by weatherboarding (also known as clapboarding).  It seems to be pretty prevalent in the east and south east of England, although I noticed an unusual form of weatherboarding in this part of Essex, where one half of the building is painted white and the other half is painted black.

Black and white weatherboarding at Alresford

Alresford Creek to Wivenhoe (2 miles/3.25 kilometres)

It was quite muddy as we made our way through the thicket of trees at Alresford Grange and along the Colne river to the pretty riverside port of Wivenhoe.  We were very enamoured by Wivenhoe and the riverside developments in the village reminded us a lot of places in London like Limehouse basin. Wivenhoe seems to be the place where anyone from Colchester with a bit of money moves to.  There was certainly a lovely feeling in the village and it left us wanting to know more and perhaps revisit Wivenhoe at a future date.

Wivenhoe

Wivenhoe to Hythe (2.7 miles/4.3 kilometres)

On the opposite side of the river from Wivenhoe, we could see another pretty-looking village called Rowhedge and an attractive riverside pub called The Anchor.  Rowhedge and Wivenhoe used to be linked by ferry, but I'm not sure if that's still the case.

Rowhedge

From Wivenhoe we followed an amenable cycle path between the river and the railway track.  The landscape north of Wivenhoe is dominated by the student residences and other buildings belonging to the University of Essex.  The university, which was founded in the 1960's had quite a reputation as a hotbed of radical politics, but these days it's better known for its social sciences and high intake of overseas students.

Student residence buildings at the University of Essex

Hythe to Colchester Castle (1.4 miles/2.2 kilometres)

After our lovely day in the country, it was quite a shock to be back in the 'big city' again and Hythe, an outlying suburb of Colchester, looked a bit run-down compared to the prettier villages we'd seen earlier in the day.  We don't often get jeered at on our Chester walks, but something about our walking gear, sticks and ruddy faces excited the people of Colchester, so we had a few catcalls on our way into the town and one group of teenage boys even offered to point us in the direction of the nearest mountain (for non-UK readers, there are no mountains in Essex!).

Derelict building in Hythe

My abiding memories of Colchester were a police appeal on a poster for a young man who'd been murdered and a thicket of trees where a group of homeless people seemed to have set up camp.  As we reached Colchester town centre, the rain came on and Colchester castle looked squat and sullen at our arrival.

Colchester castle

Luckily we found a nice brasserie on North Hill, where we changed into clean clothes and celebrated our walk with a well-earned steak and glass of red wine.

Access for Wheelchair users

Path into Wivenhoe

The path from Brightlingsea through the Colne Estuary nature reserve was pretty accessible, although one-way only, so a good walk would be to go as far as Alresford Creek and then return to Brightlingsea.  

The footpaths around Alresford creek were completely inaccessible, however, the cycle path from Wivenhoe to Colchester was also pretty accessible for wheelchair users. 

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All photos were taken by me - please feel free to reuse them under the following Creative Commons license:

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Great Chesterford - Pink houses, Pargeting and Kebapche at the Plough

Little did we know, as we were doing the Brancaster walk in Norfolk at the end of May, that we would be in for such a glorious summer in the south of England.  In stark contrast to last year, with all its rain and flooding (see the account of our Irchester walk in July 2012), this summer's walking has been incredibly easy-going, with our main concerns being our supply of water and sun-cream! 

So, it was with no small amount of excitement, that we found ourselves on a bright Friday evening, trundling along the West Anglia main line, which runs from London's Liverpool Street station, all the way to Cambridge.  We seem to be on a bit of a roll this summer, as far as East Anglia is concerned, and this was our second walk in the East, although our first Chester walk in the counties of Essex and Cambridgeshire.

Second walk in East Anglia

If Great Chesterford is really in Essex, then it's most certainly in the posh part of Essex and a million miles away from Essex's more famous metropolises, like Basildon, Tilbury and Harlow.  Great Chesterford is a pretty village but has the feeling of being a commuter or 'sleeper' town - there isn't much in the village in the way of shops and I doubt that a lot happens in Great Chesterford, although it does have a couple of nice pubs.

The Crown House Hotel, Great Chesterford

We stayed at the Crown House Hotel, which was quite pleasant and a lot quieter than in erstwhile years, when it was a major drinking den for those involved in the Newmarket races - apparently, previous crowds at the Crown House in Great Chesterford were so rowdy that a law was brought in to stop Sunday drinking at the Newmarket races.  We were much better behaved and had a very quiet and uneventful stay.

Germaine Greer lives in Great Chesterford, which is a bit of a coincidence - not only because I have mentioned her in a previous Chester blog, but also because I wanted to see her at Latitude Festival in Suffolk, only a week before, but missed her because she was delayed in traffic.  Seems like we're fated to keep missing each other!

Essex Village signs

Great Chesterford village sign

We really loved the village signs in Great Chesterford and Hadstock, which was later on our route.  It's the first time we've really noticed village signs on our Chester walks and, apparently, the tradition originated in Norfolk and then became popular all over the country - especially when the Daily Mail ran a competition for the 'best village sign' in 1920 and the winning designs were exhibited in Australia House in London! 

The signs depict elements of local life and are very beautiful to look at.  There is a Village Sign society which has its own website.   We'll certainly keep an eye out for more of these on future Chester walks!

Great Chesterton to Burtonwood Farm (1.75 miles/2.8 kilometres)

Still being in 'London' mode when we left for the walk, I'd assumed that I would be able to pick up essential supplies, including bottled water, in the village shop in Great Chesterford.  Unfortunately, there was nowhere to buy water, so I found myself setting out on, possibly the hottest walk we've done so far, rather poorly equipped to deal with the rising temperatures!  Luckily BAM (Best Aussie Mate) is much more organised than I am and had an extra bottle of water that she could lend me, until we got to a more shopper-friendly place!

Pink cottage, Great Chesterford

Leaving the hotel, we walked down Church Street, past All Saints church, then followed South Street onto the High Street until it met with the B184 road. Another interesting thing we've noticed in East Anglia is that many of the houses are 'whitewashed' in pink - it's a tradition which originates in Suffolk and, originally, pig's blood was mixed with the lime whitewash, to give houses in East Anglia their lovely pink colour.  We saw quite a few pink buildings on our Great Chesterford walk.

Click on the following link to read an interesting article about a woman in Suffolk who was forced to 'pinkwash' her house!

Once we'd crossed the main road, we followed Cow Lane, past Little Paddocks Kennels and Cattery, then turned right on the lane which runs past Burton Wood towards Burtonwood Farm.

Burtonwood Farm to Hadstock (2.4 miles/3.9 kilometres)

Countryside Essex/Cambridgeshire border

The path we followed on this walk is called the Icknield Way and forms part of the longer Ridgeway that runs across England, from Exeter (where we have also been, as part of our Chester walks) to the Wash, where it joins the coastal path we walked on in Norfolk! 

It's believed to be the oldest path in England and was of strategic importance, as a walking and transport route, when the Romans arrived in Britain, in the first century of our Common Era (CE).  It's also the reason why Great Chesterford was founded, as a staging post on this route and an important Roman town. 

Path through Paddock Wood

At Burtonwood Farm, the Icknield Way divides in two sections, which we decided we would do as a loop - eventually returning to the farm and back to Great Chesterford, where we started.  We walked the loop anti-clockwise, which meant that we would soon pass through the village of Hadstock, hoping to top up our dwindling water supply.  The countryside is pleasant in this part of England, but unremarkable and we marvelled, yet again, at how quiet and empty East Anglia seems to be, in contrast to other parts of England that we have walked in. 

Hadstock to Linton (1.6 miles/2.6 kilometres)



Hadstock Village sign

Our hopes of finding a shop in Hadstock were quickly dashed, but luckily the kind owner of The King's Head let us fill up our water bottles in his pub.  We had a rest on a well-placed bench on Back Hill and talked about the relationship between humans and dogs, as we watched some dog-owners arriving in their cars for a meet-up on the village green.  It was a very pleasant walk along Bartlow Road and Chalky Road, which is just a track really, leading us across the Essex/Cambridgeshire border to the nearby village of Linton. 

Linton to Burtonwood Farm (2.9 miles/4.6 kilometres)

Linton is another pretty little village, although this time well-supplied with shops, restaurants and other facilities.  We noticed lots of interesting designs on the buildings in Linton - a kind of etching or relief-decoration in the plasterwork, which is known as pargeting.  Again, this seems to be an East Anglian tradition and, with the pink houses and village signs, added to a very educational day in terms of architectural traditions in this part of England!



Pargeting on a building in Linton, Cambs

We stocked up on water again and made our way down to St Mary's Church, where we had a rest and some lunch in the churchyard.  Unfortunately, on opening my walking pack, I realised that an open bar of chocolate had melted all over the interior, leaving quite a sticky, yummy mess that BAM did her best to clean off, with hand wipes and pieces of tissue!  Once we'd recovered from 'Chocolategate', we set off again, crossing the River Granta on Horn Lane. 

We then walked along the High Street and crossed the main Cambridge road, before leaving the village along a small lane, interestingly named, The Grip.  For such a small place, we were surprised to find out that Linton has its own Zoo, run by the Simmons family from Hertfordshire!

Not long after the Zoo, the Icknield Way heads off through the countryside again, a rather pleasant walk along hedgerows and the edge of wheatfields, until you find yourself back at Burtonwood Farm. 

Burtonwood Farm to Great Chesterton (1.75 miles/2.8 kilometres)

Icknield Way, oldest path in England

We don't often retrace our steps on these Chester walks, so it was interesting to see how different the path from Burtonwood Farm to Great Chesterton looked like, with a reverse view and at a different time of day.  We were very lucky to stumble upon The Plough public house, where we had a really tasty evening meal, before catching our train back to London.  We highly recommend their Bulgarian kyufte and kebapche!



Access for Wheelchair Users



Relatively traffic-free Bartlow Road

Unfortunately, this walk is only partly accessible for wheelchair users.  It's fully accessible from Great Chesterford to Burtonwood Farm (but not beyond that).  I would also recommend the accessible part from Hadstock to Linton, perhaps doing a loop and returning along the Linton Road, although this might be fairly busy with traffic.  Certainly the Bartlow Road and Chalky Road sections are fairly quiet.  All three villages are relatively accessible and interesting to explore, because of the range of architectural features mentioned above. 

Image credits:  All photos were taken by me - please feel free to reuse them under the following Creative Commons license:

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