Group Walk

Southern England / Essex

London

20ml.

09:15

Meet at BEAULIEU PARK Station Railway Station. Greater Anglian train from Liverpool street at 8.36, Stratford 8.43 Shenfield 8.59 arriving 9.12 at Beaulieu Park. Alternatively the 8.02 Elizabeth line from Liverpool Street, Shenfield 8.47 and change to above train.Circular walk around Chelmsford from Beaulieu Park Station

A circular route following the original municipal boundary of Chelmsford via the former Tudor Palace of Beaulieu, Broomfield and Writtle villages, Hylands Park Estate, Galleywood Common and former racecourse, Great Baddow and Sandon villages and finally a stretch of the Chelmer and Blackwater Navigation Canal

This will be a joint walk with the Essex & Herts Group with joint leaders Gill Struthers E & H & Jerome Ripp London. Our walk today starts from the first new railway station to open on the Great Eastern Main Line in over a century. If arriving by train please note that toilets are located before you exit the gate line. Otherwise no public toilets at start unless we negotiate entry to use the station facilities. The Chelmsford Centenary Circle was opened in 1988 to commemorate the centenary of Chelmsford being declared a Borough under the Municipal Corporations Act of 1888. This declaration was met with much celebration as the Town Crier rang in the announcement outside Chelmsford Shire Hall. We will find the route today much changed from the countryside of 1888 and also from 1988 when we first walked this path - yet it still retains its charm and relevance in terms of urban development and countryside preservation. We will point out places of interest along the way. There will be an opportunity to grab a morning coffee and use the facilities at the Cheerful Chai cafeteria at Angel Meadows, Broomfield; further toilet opportunities are at Writtle if required and then we will stop for lunch near the stables at Hylands House where a cafeteria, and toilet facilities are available. An afternoon break can be taken at Sandon ( no shops or facilities) before we follow the waterway back to the station. Anyone needing a comfort stop near the end can pop into Starbucks en route!

Jerome Ripp - 07470 196890