Les away in Dublin with Jamie, Kirstie & Andy &, by all accounts, needing their water-wings just to cross the road!
Rain forecast here for this afternoon which influenced my plans a little: bus from Saffron Walden to Steeple Bumpstead, short walk finished by lunchtime & a bus back to the car from Ashdon
As can be seen from the photos, the sky was even clearer at the end & I spent an excellent afternoon wandering around Saffron Walden in gloriously warm sunshine!
Originally housing the school, it now occupies rather a strange traffic-island!
From one Bumpstead to another!
Took a slightly circuitous but attractive route over the fields to Helions Bumpstead & then along the lane via Wiggens Green & the wonderfully-named Pale Green
One day I'll walk here & Pale Green Cottage will be painted accordingly!
Good to see 'The Three Horseshoes' still thriving - much too early for a pint today but it's provided welcome refreshment on several occasions in the past
First sortie over the border into Cambridgeshire... but only by a few hundred yards! Pinched an apple from a tree hanging over the lane & marched on through Olmstead Green, feeling quite guilty as I passed a man vacuuming his tennis court, but if he'd seen me he didn't let on!
A 'high-point' in the south-east of the County with Castle Camps' All Saints Church in the background & Shudy Camps' water tower just visible on the horizon
Had been talking about rare breeds &, more specifically, ostrich burgers in the pub last night & suddenly I bumped into some of their relatives!
These are rheas from the Oakview Pork & Poultry Farm near Camps End - there were some interesting-looking pigs, too, but they were less inclined to pose!
Arrived in Ashdon with what I thought was excellent timing: bang on midday & 29 minutes until my bus was due to leave.... from right outside the pub!
The 'Rose & Crown' wasn't open & displayed no opening times, though lights were on & dogs were out in the yard
At 12:24 the front door opened & someone emerged, yawning, to visit the shop next door.... my patience is wearing thin
Back in Saffron Walden I tried 'The Cross Keys', advertising food, football & Real Ales & it was quite busy - the only problem was that there was nobody serving!After a couple of minutes standing at a deserted bar I went off in search of anyone who really wanted business....
Ended up here at 'The Kings Arms': bacon & brie baguette, excellent pint of tried & trusted 'Doom Bar' (Beer of the Day & not for the first time) one of 3 ales on draught, friendly & cheerful service.... now it can't really be that difficult!
Lovely to see the town has another side!
Learned about local philanthropists, the Gibson family; bankers & brewers who gifted many fine buildings, gardens & statues to the town including this ornate drinking fountain, erected in 1863 to commemorate the marriage of the Prince of Wales to Princess Alexandra of Denmark
Amazing turf-cut maze! Largest in Europe & a designated Ancient Monument!
Its original date of cutting is unknown but it's first recorded in 1699 when it was recut - a task repeated in 1828, 1841 & 1859 before being laid with bricks in 1911
35 metres in diameter & over 1500 metres in length, it's based on a variation of the medieval labyrinth pattern: one of those occasions when I needed to be young enough to climb a tree to see this at its best!
Half-term week so I waited patiently to catch it as quiet as this - the 2 teenage girls were dancing & skipping around the pattern.... this was their second circuit!
Ruins of Saffron Walden Castle
Built in the mid-12th century by the de Mandevilles, Earls of EssexMet a couple from Norwich here, also doing 'The Town Trail' - they'd seen the same forecast as me & couldn't understand where all the sunshine was coming from!
The ornamental garden is only one of 7 interlinked gardens & to this are added a maze, summer-houses, memorials, playing-fields & goodness only knows what else! Magical afternoon!
Unfortunately closed today, it houses a collection of work by the Great Bardfield artists
A reason to return......
Beyond the small gallery the gardens suddenly open up!
Dutch garden, rose garden, kitchen garden, wilderness area.... if only I'd had the sense to pick up a leaflet at Tourist Information!
This would never have happened on LeJog!
Summer-house & lovely, south-facing, lawned garden..... & not a soul in sight!
Could have been my own back garden!
Memorial Garden to American airmen & local people killed during World War II, right alongside the Anglo-American playing fields where this summer's Maze Festival included spiral dancing & a knitted maze!
Couldn't resist popping into the 15th century 'Eight Bells' for a mid-Trail pint!Actually seduced by the wonderful sign as much as anything!
On the bridge outside 'The Eight Bells' is a memorial to Chief Constable, William Campling, 'shot to death in November 1849... near this spot'
Myddylton Place, built as shop, home & warehouse in the 1490s
The sack-hoist in the roof was added in the early 19th century when the building was converted to maltings
Church of St Mary the Virgin
Largest Parish Church in Essex & built on the wealth of the saffron trade from which the town takes its name
Largely rebuilt in the early 16th century, the spire was added in 1832 making the tower an impressive 193' in height!
My favourite feature of the church? A series of 9 small medieval brasses set into an interior wall
The church guide states that they were once attached to tombs that have 'disappeared'!
Now an antique & second-hand bookshop, a cursory glance suggests the exterior is more valuable than its contents!
Wonderfully decorative pargetting but after strolling around the rest of the town it's easy to become blase!
And to think I only ended up here because I thought it was going to rain!
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