A walk around Thaxted - 7 September 2022

The forecast was uncertain with the possibility of showers, so the new camera was left at home.  Thaxted is right on the edge of our range in the Leaf, so we set out, taking it carefully – no hard acceleration, no hard braking (unless it's REALLY needed) and lower than usual top speeds. I stayed at 60MPH rather than 70MPH on the A12.  The directions were perfect, so we ended up in the free car park where the walk started. We had just enough range for the return journey. We were soon off out of the town, through Walnut Tree Meadow and into the countryside. 

An Oak in Walnut Tree Meadow

Thaxted, along with the rest of rural north Essex, is a lovely area, but I wouldn't want to live there because of the proximity of Stansted Airport. Throughout the walk, as the noise of one plane faded and silence returned, the noise of the next one began.  There was no let up, it was too distracting.  Along the edges of the fields, the blackberries were ripe and large and juicy, not at all like the ones in Billericay.  Maybe they benefitted from watering, and fertilisers put on the crops that were grown and are now harvested.

The walk was well described and for the most part straight forward.  There were only a couple of times that we had to check where we were.  The main confusion was caused by a closed road.  A separate bridge had been built over the river Chelmer for pedestrians.  It was well off the road and at that point I lost my position for a while.  

We returned to town through residential streets, still being distracted by the noise of planes, arriving in the town centre opposite the Swan Hotel.  Perhaps we had walked faster than the guide book expected, or perhaps we had missed a bit of the walk, it was not quite lunchtime yet.  So we had a cup of tea in the hotel and waited patiently (well, sort of!).  On the dot of noon, the barmaid/waitress came to our table and took our order.  I have praised her efficiency elsewhere – it is very unusual for hotel or restaurant staff to be that 'on-the-ball'.

The food we ordered (pub lunch, but slightly better presented) arrived in a reasonable amount of time, it was a nice lunch and very welcome.

After lunch, we took a walk around the church.  

The organ has recently been restored.

While we were wandering round, a heavy shower passed over.  Poor old Sarah Westly is getting wet.  The sound of dripping water led us to her stone.  I hope the church can get its roof repaired.

We then took a walk around John Webb's windmill, which is also requiring some restoration, so an internal visit is not possible.

Back in the car park, I set the Leaf's sat-nav to economy, and we began to follow the route provided down the B184, the B1008 and to the junction with the A120.  Here the sat-nav shows a different junction, so I ended up on the A120 heading east, instead of the B1008 heading south.  Now the available range is a problem.  The new mileage estimate says we will arrive home with maybe 10 miles (ca. 16 km) to spare.  That's less than 10% battery, we know from experience that the instrumentation might shut down before we get home, so a public charger is required.  We find a new EV charging court on the A131, it's only a short diversion.

All types of charging are available

Pulling onto the court and guessing where I need to be, I am approached by a guy drinking coffee, who works there and is directing people and explaining how to use the chargers – brilliant, just what I need.  Thankfully, there is no app required, I plug in, scan my credit card and the car begins to charge.  We go into the Costa for a cup of tea and sit outside drinking it for a few minutes.  When we get back, the car has 50% extra charge, so we're off home and suitably relaxed.  If all charging was like this, I'd go further with my EV.