Felixstowe and King's Fleet

Summary

We often visit Felixstowe, probably because it is so easy to get to, being A14 virtually all the way. Our general routine is to walk to Felixstowe Ferry for a pint at the Ferryboat Inn before returning to the Fludyer's Hotel for a bite to eat (and another pint, of course). This time we made the walk a little more substantial, leaving Felixstowe to the surrounding countryside before making our way along side King's Fleet and the River Deben to Felixstowe Ferry and then back to Felixstowe proper via the coastal route.

Statistics

Start: Fludyer's Hotel Felixstowe IP11 7LU

Map: OS Explorer OL197 Ipswich, Felixstowe & Harwich

Parking: Free parking outside the Fludyer's

Distance: 14.2km (about 8.8 miles)

Refreshments: Fludyer's Hotel, Felixstowe and The Ferryboat Inn, Felixstowe Ferry

The Walk

The walk starts (and ends) at the Fludyer's Hotel, which is situated at the northern end of Felixstowe's promenade. Turn left as you leave the Fludyer's and left again into Brook Lane. There follows a bit of walking through town as you head up Brook Lane and turn right and then left into Picketts Lane. This then becomes Rosemary Avenue and you carry on until you get to the end, turning right into Links Avenue and then left into Hyem's Lane. You are finally in some countryside! 

With the sports field on your left, walk along the lane for a couple of hundred metres and then turn left through the trees. Keep on walking through the woodland and a you'll get to a "T" junction. Make a right here and another couple of hundred metres or so through the trees brings you out into a field. Follow this round until you get to the road. This is Gulpher Road. It's not too busy but take care as you turn left and walk for around 500 metres. The road will bear left but you need the track that takes off straight on. Walk for about 100 metres and then turn right; the track straight ahead is private. Walk down the track, passing some houses on the right, and then take a left. The path goes right after 100 metres; make sure you keep the hedgerow on your left! There's a footbridge over a stream and then you're in another field. This is where we went wrong, walking diagonally across the field into a herd of curious cows with no escape! A friendly farmer helped us on our way, though. What we should have done is kept to the edge of the field after crossing the footbridge with the hedgerow on our left. The path then runs across the field to a gate and into a wooded area where it runs straight for a couple of hundred metres with water on your right.You'll reach an open track where you'll turn right into an open field.

The "official" footpath is straight ahead over the field although when we were there it was not at all clear as the field had recently been ploughed.  We therefore followed the field boundary to the left and then right, climbing gradually uphill. At the end of the field you could carry on but we elected to turn right to see if we could find the "official" footpath. Sure enough there is a sign on the left after some 50 metres and this time the path was obvious. Whichever route you take you'll end up on Back Lane, where you need to make a right. Keep on this road, which sees little traffic, and pass the farm buildings and wonderfully named Honeypot Cottage on your right. Soon the track is bordered by open fields on either side and you need to keep walking, finding a waterway on your right, known as King's Fleet. Carry on walking until the water way ends and you climb some steps up a bank. You are then treated to a view of the River Deben estuary. Turn right at the top of this bank and continue walking more or less straight on until you reach the hamlet of Felixstowe Ferry, all the while keeping the river to your left. Eventually you'll reach the sea where you'll have no choice but to turn right.

You'll pass the golf club, a number of colourful beach huts and two Martello towers as you head back to Felixstowe. The path is mostly along concrete promenades, although there is a small section where you need to walk up some steps and head along the road if the tide is too high to allow beach access. Eventually you'll be back in Felixstowe and the Fludyer's Hotel will be on your right.

Notes and musings

Felixstowe, situated on the east coast of England, has existed as a settlement since pre-Norman conquest days, albeit under the name of Walton and is listed in the Domesday Book as such. It took its modern name in the 13^th Century and may have been named after St Felix, who lived in East Anglia in the 7^th Century, although other sources suggest the name comes from Fylthestow, which means a place where trees or meadowgrass was harvested. In 1667 the town was the site of an invasion when Dutch forces landed close to where the Fludyer’s Hotel now stands and marched toward Languard Fort at the mouth of the River Orwell. The invaders were defeated by troops from the fort and hostilities ended soon after with the signing of the Treaty of Breda. Felixstowe is probably best known for its container port and its 29 gantry cranes, some over 50 metres in height, are visible from some distance away. The port handles more than 4 million TEUs (Twenty-foot Equivalent Units) and welcomes approximately 3,000 ships each year, including the largest container vessels afloat today.

A feature of the east coast of England are Martello Towers which are small defensive forts that were built throughout the British Empire in the 19th Century. The majority of the towers in England were built between 1804 and 1812 as a defence against possible attack from Napoleonic forces. Although never tested in war they did provide a useful deterrent against smugglers. Eight towers were built around Felixstowe of which five remain. Tower P forms part of the National Coastwatch Institution; Tower R was incorporated into the fabric of the former Bartlet Hospital, which has been converted into new housing; Towers Q and U have been converted into private dwellings and Tower T remains unused and exposed on Felixstowe Ferry golf course.

Despite its name, Felixstowe Ferry is quite distinct from Felixstowe itself. It is a small hamlet at the mouth of the River Deben and consists of several houses, The Ferryboat Inn and a collection of houseboats and other moored vessels. In the summer it is possible to catch a ferry across the Deben to Bawdsey Manor which played a large part in the development of radar in World War 2. The River Deben is  not a long river, flowing around 54km into the North Sea.The salt marsh and intertidal mud-flats that occupy most of the estuary have the widest range of salt marsh flora in Suffolk. The King's Fleet waterway once flowed into the Deben and played a vital role in the 100 Years War against France, being the place Edward III assembled his fleet of ships in 1338. 

The Seven Sisters and Friston Forest

 

Summary

We'd never visited the South Downs and this walk was a good introduction, taking in several different landscapes: the chalky coastal cliffs of the Seven Sisters, the wide estuary of the Cuckmere River and the woodlands of Friston Forest. The coastal section is very popular and was quite busy on our visit. This was quite a contrast to the relative seclusion of the forest on the journey back to Birling Gap.

Statistics

Start: Birling Gap, Eastbourne BN20 0AB

Map: OS Explorer OL25 Eastbourne & Beachy Head

Parking: Pay & Display at Birling Gap

Distance: 14.4km (about 8.9 miles)

Refreshments: Birling Gap 

The Walk

Birling Gap is owned by the National Trust and there is ample car parking, toilet facilities and refreshments available. When ready, you take the track to the west with the buildings to your left, gradually going uphill. The track bears right but you need the path in the hedgerow on your left. Before long you will be in the open with wonderful views all around. The walk continues along the clifftops on well trodden paths for around 3.5km but don't be fooled; it's like a roller coaster as you walk the up, down, up, down of the Seven Sisters! 

You will eventually reach the estuary of the Cuckmere River where you turn right and descend gradually, walking along good paths with the river on your left and the Seven Sisters Country Park on your right. Cross the road (the A259) and take the path that bears right up the hill and into the trees. After a bit of descent you'll emerge into the open and onto a tarmacked road. Turn right here (ignore the "South Downs Way" sign) and bear left with the road. Pass some cottages to your left and continue walking into Friston Forest. It's pretty much a straight track now for the next 2.5 km. You'll emerge from the forest at a crossroad where you need to take a left turn. 

After about 150 metres take the path to the right. There's a footpath sign on the right after another 250 metres but be careful; it's easily missed!  This footpath takes you diagonally across the field with Friston Place to your right. Go through the tree line and across another field, emerging at a crossroad. Cross the A259 into Crowlink Lane and head down here for roughly 500 metres, passing some houses on the right. At the cattle grid take the path to the left and cross the field, through a gap in the hedgerow and through another field. Pass a stone barn on your left and continue downhill. Soon, you'll get to the track where you bore left near the start of the walk. Head back down the track, observing the Beachy Head cliffs in the distance, to return to Birling Gap.

Notes and Musings

The Seven Sisters are a series of chalk cliffs, remnants of dry valleys that are part of the South Downs National Park. Each peak and trough is individually named (eg Rough Brow and Rough Bottom) and an eighth peak is gradually being formed through sea erosion. Quite why they are called the Seven Sisters is a mystery, although it's possible returning sailors, who loved to give things female names, first came up with it as a reference to the Seven Sisters stars of the Pleiades cluster. Interestingly, the Seven Sisters often "double" as the White Cliffs of Dover in films as the latter are considered not white enough.

 

Stoke Bruerne and Shutlanger

 

Summary

Stoke Bruerne brings back memories of school outings, dull coach journeys and equally dull worksheets to complete. But that was all some time ago and it is now one of our favourite walks. Quite short in length, it has quite a bit to offer from canal side strolls, open fields and, of course, the eerie Blisworth Tunnel. Combined with lunch at The Navigation, it makes a good afternoon out.

Statistics

Start: The Canal Museum, Chapel Lane NN12 7SE

Map: OS Explorer OL207: Newport Pagnell and Northampton South

Parking:The Canal Museum or The Navigation car parks

Distance: 5.6km (about 3.5 miles)

Refreshments: The Navigation or The Boat Inn 

The Walk

Start by walking left from the museum to the bridge over the canal. Cross this and there's a footpath sign to the left leading to a track running alongside a field. This gradually veers to the right and the old brick pit, now a nature reserve, is on your left. Soon you take a slight right through the hedgerows and in front of you is what looks like a short avenue of trees through a field of grazing sheep. Walk between these trees towards the farm buildings, passing these to your left and onto a metal gate. Through this gate and over the farm track to the stile leading to the next field.

The footpath now goes straight across the field although its visibility varies depending on the time of the year. Most of the time the route is quite obvious and well marked by previous walkers but at other times, particularly after the field has been ploughed, the path is nowhere to be seen. There is a clump of trees to your right and a spinney to your left and you need to keep midway between these heading towards a bridge over a stream at the far end of the field. Cross this and continue on the track to a stile. Climb over this and turn right.

For the next kilometre or so the walk continues along the field boundary with the hedgerow and, for part of the way, a stream on your right. The path meets a farm track coming from the left and just before this is a footbridge and gate leading to a field on your right. Take this and walk ahead past the remnants of an old tree, heading to the far corner of the field. A clear path lays ahead,  appropriately named Water Lane as it is often muddy in wet weather. Take this and head uphill into the village of Shutlanger.

At the T junction, turn right and head up the road, crossing to the other side and continuing for about 200 metres to a footpath sign on the left. Take this and turn right, crossing the field diagonally with the houses on your right. You'll get to a gap in the hedge and into another field. Cross this to a stile and small footbridge into another field. Now walk along the field boundary with the hedgerow on your right. You'll reach a road that you need to cross towards some farm buildings. Keep these on your right and take the obvious path ahead. This actually crosses the Grand Union Canal running through the Blisworth Tunnel below your feet. Through some trees and you'll meet a lane with a disused railway bridge on your left. You, however, need to turn right. Walk along this track, through the trees and gradually descend to the towpath beside the canal. At the towpath you could take a short detour to your right, past the blacksmith, to the mouth of the Blisworth Tunnel and peer into the darkness and whatever lays within....!

Head back along the towpath towards Stoke Bruerne, passing a number of moored canal boats, some of which appear to be permanent lived in. Soon you will be back in Stoke Bruerne itself.

Notes and Musings

Stoke Bruerne is mentioned in the Domesday Book as Stoche which means "an outlying farmstead or hamlet". There were 43 households assessed to taxes in 1301 and the village remained fairly static in size until the building of the Grand Union Canal in the late 18th Century. Nowadays it is popular with tourists and its canal museum provides a fascinating glimpse into early canal life, although I confess as a youngster on a school trip back in the 70s I found it anything but interesting. The ignorance of youth!

The Grand Union Canal is actually an amalgamation of several waterways although the name "Grand Union" is generally taken to be the stretch of water from the Thames at Brentford to the junction with the Digbeth Branch in Birmingham. This section runs for around 220km through 158 locks. The section at Stoke Bruerne emerges from the 2.8km long Blisworth Tunnel, passes through the village and then descends through seven locks as it makes its way towards Cosgrove.The tunnel itself opened in 1805 and, at 2,812 metres, is the third longest navigable canal tunnel in the UK. About fifty people died in its construction and day trippers have told stories of strange lights and crying babies at the place where, tragically, two boats collided in 1861, killing several passengers.  It was closed for several years in the 1980s as structural repairs were required to the tunnel lining. Going back to school trips, I remember navigating the tunnel's entire length on a canal boat. It's a dark, dank, creepy place with water pouring down from the drainage shafts in the roof. I feel for those whose job it was to "leg" boats through the tunnel to meet the horses on the other side.