Tumbling and rumbling through the Bewilderness

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[thebewilderness]

Community Forest Path in the Forest of Avon

The Community Forest Path is a 45 mile circular route of Bristol that includes a Marilyn (East Dundry Hill) and a unitary authority top (Dundry Down) along the way. On a crisp cold morning, the path is picked up at the northern end of the Clifton suspension bridge where it wends its way across the parkland of Long Ashton. Then the difficulty starts. The authorities are building a new road which has obliterated the course of the path. As it was the holidays, I walked through an abandoned building site and the trick is to continue down the empty road until you see the stile in the field on the right. Climb over the obstacles and regain the path. The Forest Path then climbs the ridge above Bristol in North Somerset where you get views of the city. This continues for some miles as you walk from village to village. Signage is poor and care must be taken to follow the correct footpath until you reach the River Chew. The Three Peaks path doubles up with the Community Forest Path for some time and then the Two Rivers Path merges as a pleasant river walk develops. The River Chew flows through a small valley with farms clustering along the road above the flood plain. The fields are well-drained and the path is well trodden as it is a favourite of local dog walkers. Before you know it, suburbia beckons with parks, houses and roads. Keynsham marks the southern half of the circular as the Chew flows into the Avon.

[thebewilderness]

The Severn Way Bristol Link

The Severn Way Bristol Link is an appendage to the Severn Way that runs from Severn Beach to the centre of Bristol. I took the path from sea to source. This is a reverse to the official route. This also formed an extension of the coastal path along the north side of the River Avon, allowing me to walk parallel to the Somerset Coastal Path that I completed in 2014. The path follows the Avon out of Bristol along the Portway: a busy road that runs under the sides of the gorge. An urban river path and busy A road are compensated by the views of the suspension bridge and gorge itself. After a few miles, the path turns off the road and becomes more accommodating up to the M5. This may be the most pleasant part of my day. Afterwards, the Link turns inland through the nondescript suburb of Avonmouth and, with an interlude of woodland, winds by houses, across motorways and round an industrial estate. No wide vistas here until you get to the end of the warehouses, walk along a railway line and turn north to start following the Severn. Only after passing Seabank power station, does the track veer to the coast with a view of the Severn Bridge, Chepstow and Wales. A mile of this view brings the hiker to Severn Beach, a small village nestling at the end of the railway line. If you are staying in Bristol like I was, transport options run out and you return on the small branch line. Suburban, industrial and road: one for winter.

[thebewilderness]

Essex Coastal: Southend to Rochford

The weather yesterday was a chilling and unforgiving fog that blanketed every step of the way. The walk may have started along the promenade at Southend and continues along the road to Thorpe Bay and Shoeburyness. The entertainment is replaced by mudflats, Shingle and beach huts before the path diverts through a park, formerly an MOD range. Then, one meanders through parks and housing estates until finally turning off at Great Wakering. A public footpath provides the classic Essex walking motif of field edge and enclosed track before meeting the dominant feature of the Essex coast, the sea wall. The same sea wall that flows east to Haven Point allowing a faint view through the mist of Foulness, Rushley and Bottom islands. Twisting and doubling back on itself, the sea wall bounces off Little Wakering (don't stop, no shop) and marches north then west to follow the Estuary of the River Roach. Halfway along the Estuary, the path turns inland along farm tracks and a busy road before finally stopping at Rochford where it bisects with the Roach Valley Path. This section measures 26 miles and becomes an eerie procession of hidden empty marsh where boats and people may stumble out of the gloom, especially at the Wakering boatyard. This leaves the paths of Foulness to be undertaken as a separate walk, perhaps on a quiet summer day.

[thebewilderness]

Telegraph and Timeball trail

The final section of this trail runs south of Selling station and meanders across the Kent Downs south of Canterbury. This is some of the most beautiful countryside in Kent. The path includes short stretches of the Stour Valley Way, Elham Valley Way and the North Downs Way. Memories were triggered. However, the written instructions differ from the GPS route on occasion. Such confusion is especially problematic in towns. Even more difficult is the doglegs as the trail heads south and east, crossing back and forwards across two OS maps. I had to head back a few times after overshooting. This also applies to the distances recorded. My reckoning was about eight miles longer than stated. Certainly, this would be over a hundred miles. Despite the length, this was the best section: tramping across the Kent Downs in Summer. There are no shops or pubs on the route. Get it wrong and you end up without lunch so carry packed food. The Timeball, itself, is a museum commemorating a series of stations at Deal designed to send messages warning of invasion. First as semaphore, then as telegraphy! Above the building crouches a cross upon which the ball traverses up and down. Arrive late in the day and the ball can be photographed against the sun!

[thebewilderness]

Orange Way: Abingdon to Newbury

To reach the rural station of Culham from Gatwick is a long journey with one change. The choice of station is dictated by the point at which the Prince of Orange met the academics of Oxford and enlisted their support before travelling down the Thames. In reverse, Abingdon is where the path branches away from the Thames and crosses the Downs to Newbury. There is a plaque in the market town celebrating where the future king stayed for the night. One approaches the path from the road, linking up with the Thames Path on the bridge, crossing over and tracking back along the other side of the River towards Didcot. Near Oxford, the River Valley is a flat landscape of fields and roads. For a good five miles, countryside is interspersed by farms, warehouses, the village as suburb and new housing developments; reminiscent of London. Then, the path angles south via Steventon and East Hendred before entering the Downs and crossing the Ridgeway. This is the most beautiful part of the walk. Rolling dips and troughs, punctuated by the small villages of West Ilsley and Chieveley prove most pleasant with historic tracks minimising the potential for mud underfoot. Of historical interest are the Churches for each village: dating back centuries, the epitome of a village identity. The final stretch is a swing down to the Lambourne Valley in which Newbury nestles. The Downs give way to woodland and the built up parkland round Speen. Coming at Newbury from the north, a pleasant rural character is maintained right up to the town centre. I had anticipated that this would be a pleasant walk and was rewarded. At 29.68 miles, this proves that the Orange Way gets better the further from London that it runs. Of note, the Orange Way follows the Lambourne Valley Way on its final journey to Newbury.

[thebewilderness]

Run-up to Brexeunt

Cameron is meeting Hollande. After the initial press release, our friends in Whitehall have rowed back. A fig leaf proves anathema to the Tory grassroots and, what little has been achieved, proves too much for France and Eastern Europe. Safeguards on the City and British exceptionalism are now difficult to achieve under EU law. In that sense, integration has gone too far. No longer will the belaboured regulation allow for difference. Even a desirable wish to avoid a Eurozone bloc vote has proved too unpopular, though this is the least of the achievements that we should ask for at this time. For those who once espoused scepticism until denied government largesse, their unprincipled turn should excuse them from any further role in politics if we win!

[thebewilderness]

The John Bunyan Trail

My second section of this trail through South Bedfordshire was undertaken yesterday. Unlike the first, a suburban trek out of Luton, this hops across the Greensand Ridge, and begins a gentle incline along ancient farmland. The landscape is reminiscent of further east: large fields and grass verges. Yet, these are divided by good tracks and quiet roads. Despite the rain and the mud, an ideal winter walk! The trail turns north out of Flitwick, a northern extension of Luton and bends west to Ampthill. If later, I would have taken lunch here but I passed through before savouring the first charm of the walk: the memorial park above the town with its views over the county. These continue along the way as you traverse east and then north along the ridge running parallel to the Bletchley railway line through Ridgmont, Cranfield and Wood End. Once over the incline, you descend (with views) towards Kempston and Bedford nestling in the River Valley of the Great Ouse. Here, I departed the trail as it continued north and worked my way to the County town, having enjoyed its gentle, rolling hills and villages. A county steeped in moderation and prudence.

[thebewilderness]

The Sir Peter Scott Walk

A criterion for following a coastal path is that any river Estuary forms part of the way until the first crossing accessible to pedestrians. Thus, the pedestrian ferry between Kings Lynn and West Lynn is the coastal path over the Ouse. The Walk starts at the entrance to the ferry and enters the fields alongside the sea bank defending against floods from the Ouse. This sets the scene for the entire path as it follows the Ouse, takes the coast along the Wash and the turns south again at the Nene. There is a strong pleasure in walking away from the towns and villages of England to a flat vista of sky, sea and marsh, interspersed with farmland to the horizon. Much of this landscape came into effect in the last two hundred years. As one walks along the sea defence, earlier banks dating from the First World War remain only one field over. Such lonely and joyful scenes last for many miles, only marred by sight and smell from a large sewage works. Both the Ouse and the Nene are artificial cuts linking ports to the sea. Strong, straight channels maintained by sluices and pumps. After the sea bank, the Peter Scott Walk ends and one takes the Nene Way down to the Cross Keys Bridge, the first bridge across the Nene at Sutton Bridge. I had my lunch in Lincolnshire here. To complete the circular, one has to go via roads back to West Lynn. This is longer and less interesting. One sees little of the villages of Terrington St Clement or Clenchwarton, but the roads get busier as you near the Ouse. Since all of the land reclamation is so recent, there are no public footpaths. However, traffic is light and there are pavements. Moreover, you get to see a rural council estate on the fens. Incongruous!

[thebewilderness]

Shakespeare's Way

You can walk this path two ways: from Stratford upon Avon to the Globe or vice versa. Given my location, I follow in the Bard's footsteps on the return journey. It was also an echo from a previous week's walk when I followed the Slough Arm of the Grand Union Canal. At a distance of 19 miles, the path starts in the suburbs and, for the first half, reflects the manmade landscape that surrounds London, in that rural/urban twilight that forms a dissonant zone. You find yourself walking through high streets, over or under motorways, crossing busy roads and enjoying stretches of park. Then, there is an abrupt change as you enter the country. Suddenly, the path acquires gradients and enters rolling beech woods as a precursor to the Chilterns. This is, by far, the most beautiful section of the walk. Although I was becoming quite tired towards the end; this stretch from Iver to Cookham was gratifying. The walk ceased when it doubled up with the Thames Path. My next starting point will be Marlow.

[thebewilderness]

This is the year when a trillion photos of one man and his dog will be stored online. These articles always assume that once saved, always stored. Yet, there are inbuilt rates of obsolescence and degradation that eat into this estimate. All data is eroded by change.

[thebewilderness]

Winter Tanners

The Winter Tanners is an LDWA challenge starting in Leatherhead with two options: twenty or thirty miles. I opt for the latter as this is the soak up the Mince pies and sacrifice Xmas excess to mud. With the weather, I chose boots over my running trainers. Not that it made all that much difference. The self enclosed footpath in Effingham was flooded: you were going to get wet and muddy whatever path you took. So, we all ended up ploughing on through the ankle high sludge. The route runs from Leatherhead leisure centre, by country paths down towards Horsley. Then, it snakes south round Albury and heads back up along the North Downs Way before closing the circle. As this was a new route, that avoided Tanners and Steer field entirely, I can identify this as an encouraging start to a year of challenges. Roll on the Punchbowl!

[thebewilderness]

Orange is not the new canal walk

Up to Abingdon, the Orange Way follows the Grand Union Canal and the Thames Path: two trails that I have already traversed. Today was filler before I undertake the Winter Tanners challenge tomorrow. The walk was about 12 miles as I tagged on some extra distance by starting in Hayes. Yet, the canals round London follow a dreary pattern in Winter of muddy paths and business parks on either side obscured by trees and High fences. You certainly feel that you are tracking through suburbia. After a few miles from West Drayton, the Slough Arm of the Grand Canal ends in a small basin with two houseboats next to a diy centre. Then, one walks through Slough in Betjeman horror! Thankfully, this does not last more than a mile. Once, you walk under the M4, you turn aside to follow the Thames flood defence and enter the playing fields of Eton. Back to picturesque wealth and a High Street shaped by the public school (outfitters and a Cake shop), one arrives back at the Thames and crosses to Windsor. There is a notion of establishment in this place: the castle on the hill and the school on the other, interlinked and interlocking.

[thebewilderness]

Biotech bubbles under

Noteworthy that biotech does not provide the same rich crop of predictions as other tech sectors. Despite the rich promise of Crispr, genomics, personalised medicine and enriched scanning technologies, no commentator can draw the threads together. Predictions focus on stocks and potential targets for pharma companies in drugs. Is the area of Medicine too diverse to create an optimistic vision akin to the tech sector? Or does the presence of a state customer reduce the incentives for creating a rich and individualistic vision of the future with the promise of self-improvement? This occurs in private sectors but the promise of biotechnology remains hidden for now

[thebewilderness]

A realistic article that does not hype VR or the "internet of things". The author identifies, correctly to my mind, the demand for an autonomous digital valet/avatar/PA that cuts across all devices. This does not sit well with the developed walled gardens that companies promote. The second element identified is an acceleration of mass customisation, breaking markets down to smaller communities. And as these develop, the platforms for advertising these wares will become more complex and customer focused: the return of EBay?

[thebewilderness]

Roach Valley Path

The Roach Valley Path is a circular path that runs from Rochford north of Southend and covers the peninsula between the Roach and the Crouch. It is a path of two halves. Starting east of Rochford, the path finds the Roach and then crosses the land bypassing Wallasea Island to commence a westward trek along the Crouch. The terrain is familiar to those who walk the Thames Estuary: sea walls, marshes, mudflats and a biting wind as you navigate slowly round the coast. These coastal walks are always fractal: inlets and creeks elongating distance and time. Then, the path turns inland up fields to Canewden. The river is occasionally glimpsed but Essex in Winter takes hold. Muddy fields with clay soils that make love to your boots. Hockley Woods where poor signage adds to the misery of forest navigation. A further detraction is a long period of road walking without pavement but timely reminders that you are not too far from Southend. To sum up, I enjoyed the first ten miles of coastal marshland and found the suburban countryside of Essex (like northern Kent) an overly familiar landscape of farms, hedgerow rubbish and "green bits" between the towns. Yet such walks have their own charms: weird house names, crap ornaments and Xmas lights!

[thebewilderness]

I quickly sought one article on the pundit predictions for 2016. One of my interests is looking forward. These articles provide occasional nuggets on developments that have remained below the radar. The Grauniad article cited two matters that were news to me: that Xi Jinping, the Chinese President, will face a deepening political and social crisis; and, that Cyprus may move toward reunification.

[thebewilderness]

A Ridge to Nowhere

After a belt of rain spoilt the views from Ivinghoe Beacon (that popular extension of the Dunstable Downs), one drops down to the fields of west Herts. The Two Ridges link runs northward to the Grand Union Canal and follows the waterway to Leighton Buzzard. The pretty landscape is familiar: a set of fields and trackways with the occasional road or lane. At Leighton Buzzard, the Greensand Ridge commences and turns away from the canal to enter an area of woodland that divides Hertfordshire from Buckinghamshire. This is interspersed by some farmland and extends all the way to Woburn, that famous Georgian town. One of the more scenic trackways heading north....