Stansted Mountfitchet Walk

This Walk started in the car park next to Stansted Mountfitchet Norman Castle and grounds and goes out of the town to Ugley Green and back a different way. We needed to do a walk before all the Trees had lost their leaves and no leaves to kick while walking along.

Details of Walk

• Date of Walk: 18/11/2018

• Distance: 4.33 Miles

• Car Park: Meadow Centre (Free on Sundays) CM24 8SP

• Refreshments: Tea rooms and Pubs in town

• Photos Taken on Walk

There was just ourselves and the dogs no Michael we started the walk from the car park next to the castle which is the only Norman motte and bailey castle in the world that has been reconstructed on it's original site. From the car park we headed to town and right in to Lower Street where we met our town Pheasant just walking along the pavement which don't see all the time, I know we used to have one in Braintree I used to see at the Bus Park but I believe it isn't with us anymore. We turned right through the Traffic lights and up Grove Hill until we came to a concrete footpath sign near a house called Hawthorns.

From here in we followed to path which led to Gall End where there is a few houses and here is where we missed the sign in the hedges and walked down the hill. A little way down we came to two sign posts we took the one taking us to the right but was not really sure if it was right or not.

As we were walking a couple came up behind us and we asked them, they were not to sure so we carried on walking with them chatting on the way until we came to a road with Alsa Business park on the right. We new what we had done as this was on the map and we were walking round the wrong way to the map, so for the rest of the walk we had to read the instructions round the wrong way, a bit confusing but we managed to do it.

We turned right and walked along the road for awhile till we see a sign footpath sign on the left the other couple said they were going to carry on down the road so we said goodbye and said we might catch up with them later. Now we were we could relax a bit more knowing we were on the right route but in reverse. We kept looking at the book and when we came to a footpath sign we just read the book and where it said left or right we would do the opposite. Our next decision was after we went through a hedge in to a meadowed field and had to decide if we had to walk diagonally across to a small kissing gate over the far side. There was a lady walking two dogs so to play save we asked her and got chatting like we do and the field actually belonged to her.

We went through the kissing gate and on to the chase which led down to a road which we crossed into the field and then into a small wood and shortly coming to a way maker where we turned right to re-enter the same field. Not much longer and a turn right at the next waymarker we were entering Ogley Green right onto the green it self. We found a bench on the green which was in the sunshine and decided to have are sandwiches and drink sitting in the sun, it was pleasant apart from the constance noise of the M11 in the distance.

After having our snack we headed of across the green towards the bus stop shelter and a old fashioned telephone box which I am glad there are still some about the new ones just don't look the same. Inside the bus stop shelter they had books which you often see, the idea is that you take one and leave one which is a nice idea. We headed down Dellows Lane till we got to Lavender Cottage and this is where we turned left leaving the quiet country lane behind us. A bit further we had a wood in front of us and a waymarker, we turned right here with a wired fence to our right and the edge of the wood to our left, we followed the edge of the wood. There was a couple walking along the wood path and we said hello and got chatting while walking until we came out to a lane called Alsa Wood Lane. To the right was a small car park where the couple had left there car but we turned left and walked just a little way along the lane then had to turn right on to a wide grassed field edge alongside Aubrey Buxton Wildlife reserve, while writing this I thinking we should have just had a wander in there but hey to late now.

At the end of the nature reserve we had to cross a well walked path across a large open area until we got to Brickyard Plantation and there is a fenced of path through it and this very old dilapidated building. Coming out of the plantation it was a diagonal walk across a field, the first half had not been ploughed but the second half had, we could have walked straight across it as we do have the right to but decided to detour round the edge of it.

We came to another waymarker pointing right to a path to bring us out at Gall End again. This is where we could of gone a different way back but decided to walk the same way back to Grove Hill and back into town to the car park and waiting there was a group of pheasants.