Bardfield Saling Walk

This walk is from the spring section of the book and as we are not quite into spring the weather certainly was with clear blue skies and temperatures into the twenties. This is the second walk where we have started off in Stebbing High Street near the White Hart, this one was a circular walk Stebbing to the hamlet of Bardfield Saling and the other walk was around Stebbing.

Details of Walk

• Date of Walk: 16/03/2014

• Distance: 6.54 Miles

• Level of Difficulty: A Easy Walk

• Car Park: Road side parking in High Street near the White Hart CM6 3SQ

• Refreshments: The White Hart

• Photos Taken on Walk

There was a couple of times we walked along the same route but not for long. We again had our walking buddy Michael along with us for company. The High St in Stebbing has a wonderful selection of Tudor and Georgian houses provides the kind of scene that typifies the image of a English village. We started walking along the High St towards the church but soon I realized that we were heading in the wrong direction. We turned round and came back to carry on down to the church and through the churchyard with bells ringing. we next went passed the Red Lion Pub well used to be it is now a house and up for sale and but it still has the pub sign up.

We were soon leaving the town behind us and heading out into the countryside where we like to be, while I think of it we did not have to climb over one or go through any kissing gates which seemed quite strange as we normally have to over and through some like the week before there was so many kissing gates my lips were getting sore. It was as well we done this walk at this time of year as a lot of times you were walking across fields or down green lanes and byways where even now the green lanes and byways where muddy in places and puddles where farm vehicles had made ruts.

Most of the walk you could see and hear light aircraft in the sky or taking off from Andrewsfield Airfield which was built during the war, it opened in 1943 and the American's flew their B-17F Fortresses from here. The book said you go down a closely hedged track almost like walking through a tunnel well we did walk down a track with a hedge both sides and I thought it would get narrower but no tunnel as we had gone wrong way or should I say I went wrong a few extra miles but as usual we managed to pick up the walk at Gentleman's farm mind you I would have like to have gone the right way to have gone through the tunnel of trees, but I did say to Christine that we could one day drive back to the farm and just walk that part of the walk and back. we reached St Peter and St Paul's church in Bardfield Saling.and this church is a bit different from other churches in Essex as it has a round tower and compared to Norfolk with 126 and Suffolk with 42 Essex only has 6.

The graveyard round the church was covered in primroses just coming out, give it a week or to and it will look lovely, just had a thought perhaps we might go back in a couple of weeks and do the walk down Rogue's Green and have another look at the church if so I will add it on to this article. Just by the church door there was a bench and facing the sun and this seemed an ideal spot to have a break.

Pressing on we left the church and Bardfield Saling behind us and continued the walk which was heading in back in the Stebbing direction. The next interesting part of the walk was when we reached Stebbing Park and here is where the The Mount can be found its a mount of a Norman castle and a moat which at this time of year it is covered in Daffodils and what a lovely scene with the yellow colour of the Daffodils and the water glistening from the sun. We were now getting very close to the end of the walk and the last bit took you round the cricket pitch which had been recently mowed and rolled ready for the cricket season. We went past a converted chapel with the graves in the garden and then past the Bowls club which looked like a giant snooker table with the grass short and flat. Well that is about it for this article and if we go back to the tunnel and church I will add those pictures below so keep a eye out.