Second attempt at today's walk: set out yesterday when, after a damp start, it was much sunnier but I was thwarted by traffic & had difficulty even getting out of Braintree!
Walking way out in the north-west of the county where public transport is very limited & a shortage of footpaths makes even a circular difficult
The 9.20 from Clavering is the only bus to link with a train for the 5 minute journey from Audley End to Great Chesterford; this was the only arrangement that would allow me to complete the walk, or any similar walk, in daylight!
Yesterday morning it took almost an hour & a half to drive to Clavering & I missed the bus - today I was there in 45 minutes!
Clambered aboard the No 59 to be greeted with, 'You get about a bit, don't you? Saw you the other day in Ashdon!' The same driver who had taken me back to Saffron Walden last Saturday!
Took the 'Icknield Way' out of Great Chesterford, the only footpath crossing of the motorway for many a mile & entered that strangely remote & isolated area of Essex bordered by the M11, the A120 Bishop's Stortford bypass & the Hertfordshire border
One from the archives!
Last walked this with Les & Kirstie on 20th February 2005 & here's a chilly-looking photo from that outing!
Apples for breakfast again before arriving at Strethall's Church of St Mary the Virgin which, with parts of the building traceable to 1010, has just celebrated its own millennium
Lovely memorial to a much-decorated & courageous nurse
'She cared for the hungry, sick, wounded & dying of all creeds & colour in the many trouble spots of the world'
Highlight of the Day: A Tale of 3 pubs... or possibly more!
100 years ago there were 6 inns or ale-houses in the small village of Elmdon - on my last visit there were none.... though this has now been redressed!
'The Carrier' stood just 2 doors away from the current village pub but is still recognizable from its fine old sign & the large Greene King plaque on the front of this now private & attractive thatched cottage
Apparently very popular in the 1960s when it had a 'new-fangled' jukebox installed, the appeal faded & the pub closed for the last time in 1972
Pub Number 2 was 'The King's Head', where we paused on a few jaunts out to the remoter parts of our adopted county, until the mid-1990s when it appeared to suddenly close & I read that it was to become 'rented accommodation'! I've walked through Elmdon on several occasions since... but always en route to Chrishall whose pub has always seemed a little more reliable
Today? Not quite midday so I thought I'd kill a little time!
Elmdon's Church of St Nicholas & the pub story are inextricably linked!
St. Dunstan's hadn't been used since 1928 but was only partially demolished & its ruin can still be seen at Lofts Hall
Between 1997 & 2005 villagers campaigned ceaselessly for the restoration of their pub, even setting up 'The King's Headless' on special occasions in the bus shelter opposite the old pub!
In 2006 'The Elmdon Dial' opened, its name taken from Oliver's glass-painting... it would be nice to finish with '.... and they all lived happily ever after!'
Formerly 'The King's Head', now restored as 'The Elmdon Dial'! Worth a visit!
Beer of the Day: Yes, they do Real Ales as well! 3 to choose from & I opted for 'Oscar Wilde' from Maldon's Mighty Oak Brewery - a gentle dark mild with a bit of a bitter bite!
"Work is the curse of the drinking classes"
Good beer!
Highest village in Essex at a dizzying 482' above sea level!
Most significantly on my walk it marked the point at which I stopped heading westwards, the northern border of Essex conquered, & turned to head south; more motorways, Greater London & the Thames lay ahead!
A staging post on many walks over the last 30 years or so &, whilst I was delighted to be able to visit 'The Elmdon Dial', this is where I had lunchJacket potato topped with an excellent chilli
A ramshackle barn alongside the pub is Chrishall's oldest building, apart from the church; it dates from the 16th century
Holy Trinity Church, ChrishallThis has been a site of worship for over a thousand years
Another one from the archives, taken 5 days after the earlier photo &, I think, the day before Jamie flew out to China
Approaching Chiswick Hall & that's Chrishall Church on the hill in the background
Might look like any other old wood but this is the exact summit of Essex!
Its name?
High Wood!
Have popped in at 'The Bull' here on a few occasions; it's still trading but was closed today
Startled a herd of deer led by a fine stag but my photos are either blurred or sun-dazzled.... pity!
In the 19th century there were 3 mills working on the hill above Clavering; the 2 that remain are residentialOn the left is 'South Mill' whose sails were removed in 1919
'North Mill', to the right, had its sails removed at the same time but continued, engine-driven into the late 1930s
It wasn't really as sunny as this when I finally reached Clavering in the late afternoon - I cheated & took this before I set off this morning!Done enough exploring so thought I'd leave the church until my next visit but I've already discovered this is a pretty sinister place!
Local woman, Sarah Chesham, was hanged for the murder of her husband in the middle of the 19th century after an earlier trial had acquitted her on an identical charge involving her 2 sons! She became known as 'Sally Arsenic' & her crime led to a change in the law regarding the sale of poison!
'The Fox & Hounds', Clavering - one of the village's 2 pubs & an excellent place to end the dayThe other is 'The Cricketers', run by Jamie Oliver's Mum & Dad, & it's a while since I've been there.... probably because it's not in the main part of quite a 'scattered' village
Chatted to a gent called Steve who lives in one of Clavering's 'scattered' bits - Starling's Green & who seems to be bothered by walkers who aren't sure where the footpaths go!
If I hadn't been strong I'd be drinking there yet.....!
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