Autumn is around the corner.  Well it’s supposed to be!

Is there anything more contrary than the weather we’ve been having this year?  Here I am, sweltering at home, in September, in what is going to be one of the hottest weeks of the year.  The school holidays are over, and those poor teachers and pupils have gone back to school, wishing they’d had this warm weather in August.  Luckily, I don’t have to go back to work, but I’d also wished for better weather, when I was away on holiday walking Hadrian’s Wall a few weeks ago.  Not that I’d want to be walking in 30°C, but a little bit of sunshine and more blue sky would have been nice.  Full waterproofs were needed all day long on a couple of days!  It is a fabulous walk though, with Sycamore Gap being one of the highlights. I strongly recommend walking from west to east, as it’s much better to have the wind and rain coming from behind you.  The poor souls going in the other direction were definitely getting the worst of it, and often told us that we were having an much easier time.  I laughed and replied, ‘You should have walked it the other way!’.  Officially 84 miles, but I clocked 96 miles!  Par for the course I suppose.  I must admit to rewatching Kevin Costner in his Robin Hood film as soon as I returned home, and yes, I know that Sycamore Gap is nowhere near Sherwood Forest.  

During the summer months, when I was on walking holidays, or out on the green bowling, I sadly missed lots of great social walks.  All very enjoyable walks I’ve heard on the grapevine, with lovely photos to make the rest of us wish we had been there as well!  Thanks so much  to all our leaders for the variety of walks held by E&H, so far this year, with a special thanks to Malcom and Jane, for responding to my walks plea, and taking up the challenge of leading a social walk. It’s much appreciated by us all.  

Whilst we’re having this amazing ‘Indian Summer’, I’ve been busy updating the dates on our social walks calendar, for autumn/winter, and in fact the whole of next year as well, lol.  (Thought I might as well, while I was on the spreadsheet!)  So even though the weather is more tropical, rather than autumnal, please turn your thoughts to crisp, cooler days, crunching through golden leaves, wearing warmer walking gear, defrosting windscreens, and no doubt sloshing through some mud along the way. 

So yes, you knew it was coming!  If my rambling on and on hasn’t put you to sleep already, but instead has inspired you to think of a lovely walk you’d be willing to lead, please pick a free date from the ‘Available Walk Dates’ tab on our website, and send me all the details on a ‘New Walk’ form.   If you can’t download and use the form, please email me the details, in the order shown on the form, as it is so much quicker for me to upload it all onto the website, and it ensures I get all the necessary info in one hit.  For midweek walks, please pick your day and date, and I’ll add it into the spreadsheet.  

At our committee meeting last week, we had a brief discussion about car parking issues and the time needed to recce walks.  Some free car parks don’t open before 9am and walking out a 20 mile walk takes a lot of time.  To help overcome these problems, we came up with a few ideas. In the days before Christmas, when we have shorter daylight hours, perhaps you know of a 12 or 14 mile route, that would be great for a social walk?  Also, a 9am start isn’t set in stone. On a slightly shorter walk, why not start a little later so we could use a free car park, which only opens after 9am.  Talking of mud, we could also do with a few winter walk routes, which are more on the mud free side, rather than a mud swamp!  Do you know of any?  We already have several social walks booked in for December, but I could really do with some more walks for October, November and even January. 

In a few weeks time, I’ll be in the Brecon Beacons, recceing out the shorter walks, for the Monday and Friday of our Away Weekend, at the end of March.  I have 32 people booked on this weekend, which is brilliant.  Thinking ahead to the spring, I was chatting to one of you lovely walkers recently, about the beautiful Bluebell walk we had in Kent this year, but for the life of me, I can’t remember who it was!  This lovely person, said they knew of a fabulous Bluebell walk, perhaps for next year.  If it was you, please contact me and book in a date, I’m sure you all agree, that it is just gorgeous to see nature at its best.  

If you’ve read this far, I thank you for your time and patience, and I look forward to hearing from our fantastic walk leaders very soon, fingers crossed 🤞 Lizzie Bridge, Social Walks Secretary (essexandherts.walks@ldwa.org.uk) 

And this is our walks calendar for the next month or so, starting with  a double header  on 30th September & 1st October, with  a walk from Terling the following weekend and then a walk  with a visit to  a vineyard. Any updates and new walks will be added to our Future Walks List.

SATURDAY 30th September St. Michaels Church Galleywood - Beating the Bounds  15 miles.  9.30am  from St Michaels Church car park, Church Lane, Galleywood  CM2 8TP . Leader Gavin Adlington 07565 888707 gavin.adlington@gmail.com

In celebration of the 150th anniversary of the dedication of St Michaels Church, this walk will follow the parish boundary visiting stones that were placed in 1874 when the boundary was first established.

Lunch will be at The Ship in Stock (set off again at 1pm). Could you please let Gavin know if you want to have lunch at the pub, so that we can forewarn the landlord about numbers. Refreshments are available at the church throughout the day.  A full route description is available - might be useful for those wishing to walk faster: Walking the Boundaries

Sunday 1st October  Seven Wood Social Walk. 17 miles. 9am  Belfairs Wood car park, Eastwood Road North, Eastwood, Leigh on Sea SS9 4LR. Leaders: Mike Wheatley (07455 124631) & Linda Fordham (07773 122276).  

The lunch stop will be at  at South Benfleet where there are three pubs  plus a church in the area.  There will also  be morning and afternoon  breaks at Hadleigh Park Hub.

Sunday 8th October A Terling to  Coggeshall Round.  21 miles. 9am,  meet opposite Terling Village Hall, The Dismals, Terling, Essex CM3 2PS (some show CM3 2PW) Leader: Gill Struthers 075919 71797

The village of Terling is just a short drive from the A12 and easily accessible from Chelmsford and the surrounding area. There is free car parking opposite the Village Hall. This is a circular walk following a large section of the Essex Way. We stop at Cressing Church for our morning break, then resume our journey towards Coggeshall, joining the River Blackwater for the final stretch into the town. Coggeshall offers pubs and tea shops and also a well stocked Cooperative store which sells hot drinks. There is a large park with seating directly opposite the store, ideal for eating your packed lunch. After lunch we again follow the Blackwater and a rural route around Silver End back to Terling.

THURSDAY 26th October:  A walk (c20 miles)  from Thorley to  Standon and Little Hadham, which will  include a visit to  a local vineyard. More details in your next update.

And of course on Sunday 22nd October we have our last challenge event of the year, the Blackwater Marathon.  Read more about the route here and enter at SiEntries - Blackwater Marathon 2023

Good luck to  everyone on the Blackwater marshals' walk  this weekend -  we look forward to  seeing your photos.