®Amblers 7 March 2010: West Stow

There was a chill wind when 13 Amblers left the car park at Forest Lodge but as we emerged from the trees and headed north the sun gladdened us if it did not warm us entirely. Our swift pace kept the temperature up and we headed east along the edge of Nut Covert  where a solitary deer grazed unconcerned in front of us. The path was littered with ‘ropes’ of dried creepers but it was too cold to delay and see if they would support Tarzan like activity! At Wordwell Hall we crossed the road just above the church and continued east below Blake’s Spinney. There are substantial piggeries here and the field well stocked with straw farrowing sheds. The animals shining white in the bright sun were more concerned with the daily rootle than us or the cold. We stopped for the photo opportunity and dried fruit and headed south, passing a small group of 4 or 5 deer, to Brockley Corner where we were joined at the road by a group of polite, noisy and muddy off roaders on motorbikes. Following the road west for a short stretch we turned off to head for Cullford School and passed a large water tower. A quick calculation by our resident engineer of the volume and weight of the water it had contained in the past convinced us of the need for such a substantial structure. At the school we crossed a rugby field. Your correspondent was surprised that a certain aficionado of the game resisted an easy touch down beneath the undefended posts. The route led east past the lake and we eventually reached the road by West Stow church. It was getting late and the route of about 7 kilometres was enough on such a cold but very pleasant day. We returned by road and track to the parking place and headed home. A rough outline of the walk is available at the Ordnance Survey Explore site  (opens in a new window).

Thanks to Eleanor and Jan for planning a replacement walk at short notice. It was clearly much drier than the one originally envisaged. Jim MurrayNext Walk :- Cockfield   - on  Sunday 4 April,  2010 Meeting Time: 14:00 hrsMeeting on the roadside near the Tithe Barn, Bardwell.