The Old Dog Inn

The view immediately after leaving the Olde Dog Inn on our latest country side walk. In other locations there has been nearby parking, but not here so we popped in to let the staff know what we were doing. A very chirpy waitress (or was she the manageress?) said everything would be OK. This was the closest walk to home that we have tried. The signs were not good as we set off down a farm track. Shortly afterwards we came back on the road, crossed over and turned left. Passing the Boars Head
View Larger Map and the duck pond, then once we had crossed a road and walked along a hedge the path disappeared. Footpath 45 was no more. We walked down a track, the only way to proceed, but that lead to a gate wrapped in barbed wire. Nothing for it but to return the way we had come. It had to happen eventually.

We returned to the Old Dog Inn, which being a free house serves my favourite beer, and quickly ordered some food. I'm please to say that we had an excellent meal and were served by the same waitress we had seen before, who was also very efficient. That was some consolation fro the lost half of the walk. Never mind, although I will send a question about the footpath to Brentwood Council, we had done enough walking for the day. We had started by verifying the answers to the Treasure Hunt clues we had prepared for the 11-18's group for Friday night. That had taken about an hour, and another hour on the aborted circular walk meant we had earned lunch.

The Bull, Blackmore

We went for a walk centred on 'The Bull' at Blackmore. Blackmore is in rural Essex and is one of the prettiest villages, with a duck pond in the village green. We walked past the church, which has its own claim to fame, and out into the fields around. I must first admit that our guide book is 15 years old. Things change. That's OK, but moving footpaths is not allowed. In one place the path was overrun with nettles, in another it had been ploughed into non-existence. We added over a mile to the planned walk because the locked gate that you are supposed to be able to walk past was firmly planted in the hedge on both sides. Without a machete or bolt croppers, there was no way through. I had brought the sat-nav, so when we did arrive at the road we were able to check that it was the right one. I also had my compass, and the binoculars. Both proved to be essential in finding the path, or at least in linking the posts that mark the path. At one point, use of the binoculars clearly upset the local residents - who began watching us back. The path we were on was not correct, the one we should have been on was in the process of being ploughed. Jo is standing near the point where the 'river' Wid crosses the road. Sometimes it is in flood, but today it was barely a muddy ditch. To the right is the walkway supplied to allow pedestrians to cross the river - when it is a river. We arrived back at The Bull. It being Tuesday, there were only a few people in. There was a guest beer, so I tried that. I've forgotten the name, but that's OK because I wouldn't rush back for another pint. The first pint I was served was decidedly vinegary and was quickly changed. The first main course I ordered was off the menu (all gone). The food was good, and the service was good. Sadly, there was nothing to make me want to go back. On leaving The Bull, we were treated to a starry sky - Blackmore has no street lights. We were fortunate to still have a car to return in, judging by the skid marks on the road just feet behind our car. They were not there when we parked! On the drive home we spotted a deer at the extremity of the headlights, and shortly after a rabbit - much closer. I'm not sure about the fate of the rabbit, but I now know that the anti-lock braking system works a treat.