Bicknacre Walk

This walk was one I made up and it is a circular walk as most of the ones we do are as we prefer them. The walk starts of at Thrift Wood which is a nature reserve and goes out into the country going round the edge of a few other woods and along a Green Lane which Essex is famous for called Charity Lane.

Details of Walk

• Date of Walk: 11/04/2021

• Distance: 4.9 Miles

• Car Park: No Car Park except one space but coming from Bicknacre there is some places where you can get of the road CM3 4HW

• Refreshments: Pubs in Bicknacre

• Photos Taken on Walk

This walk was not one picked out of one of our books, but I google walks to find one that was near to where Michael lives as we were going over his. I came up with this one which starts of in Thrift Wood where we were lucky to park as there is only one place. There were no directions of this walk just a picture so I was going to use that and also my Viewranger app which has an ordnance survey map which would map where we went and save it as a track.

We booted up and entered the wood we took the path on the left through the wood and then left the nature reserve part of the wood crossing over a footpath and walked alongside a wooded area.

We carried on following the way marker signs till we got to Wickham's Farm where we came to a sign through a small, enclosed field with sheep in it and a gate but it looked as if we could not go through it so we carried on trying to go round it. a group of three people behind us had done the same, eventually we made our way back to the foot path and gate we would have come out of.

From here we carried on the right footpath until we came to a gate with a large trunk on the other side, put there to stop travellers getting on to the field from the road. Here we thought it was good place to have our lunch we had brought with us, and the trunk made an ideal seat for the three of us using the gate to put our feet on. As we were about to leave, I noticed my phone had no charge, so we were left with just using the map.

We turned right at the road and a carried walking down the road there was some people with a dog behind us. They overtook us and I asked them if the next footpath on the right was not far away and one of them got their phone out and it showed we were not far away. In a matter of a couple of minutes there was the sign, and it was a bridleway with a gate into the field which had a lot of sheep in it. So, I kept Rudy on a short lead, and he did not bark but kept pulling to get to them, but they just stood there looking at us and now and again moving to get out our way.

Halfway down the field we see a post with no sign on it and was not sure if we turned here or not so kept on walking to the end of the field to find out yes, we should have turned at the post, not to worry we turned round and returned to the post this led into Charity Lane which was lined with trees and bushes both sides. When we got to the end of the lane with Cank wood on the right there was a way marker straight on or right I thought it was right but a couple of people came along walking there two dogs so we asked them if we turned here would it take us to Emberson's wood, and they said yes but to go past the first path on the left which they were taking.

The map of the walk was good but by just asking people when you see them it just confirms what you think. Just before the wood there was lots of caravans in a field, I reckon this is where people leave their caravans to save parking them outside their house. At the end of the wood, we turned right, and we were now on the Old Salt Road which would take us back to the wood. The meaning Salt Road as you would think and you would be right it is a historical trade route by which essential salt was transported to regions that lacked it.

We soon had the wood insight and i was thinking I know we had done a walk near here and it looked familiar and when I got back home, I checked and yes, we had it was the West Hanningfield Walk but the bit we were walking on was the opposite way round to what we were walking. So, like that you could do the West Hanningfield walk and this one together if you wanted a really long walk about 10 miles. We entered the wood and walked round the other side of the wood and noticed that there was a few Bluebells coming out and we said we would have to go to Chalkney wood which is near to us as that wood is full of bluebells and looks a picture and that is what we done the following Sunday and yes it was coming alive with a floor of blue around the trees.