"A circular walk taking in bluebells, ancient woodlands and Alton Water Reservoir with spectacular views of the Orwell bridge and Orwell Estuary", was how it was described. That sounded good, although we were clearly not going to find any bluebells in late July!
This was our route....
We set off up the hill to Wherstead Church, but it was rather early in our walk to stop there.
Soon we came to a field being irrigated... and the spray was landing on our path at times. We were already feeling the heat and Joyce and Nicky enjoyed a run through the spray to cool down.
As promised, we had some shady paths to walk along.
Just before we entered the woods of Holbrook Park, we caught our first glimpse of the Royal Hospital School Bell Tower.
The woods were pleasantly cooler, but, of course, there were no bluebells
As we approached Alton Water we saw these rather splendid bulrushes.
Alton Water looked very inviting...
...but, alas, there were warnings not to enter the water due to an infestation of blue-green algae. We were able to have our lunch break at the water's edge, though.
We walked along the shore of Alton Water until we reached the dam.
Water levels had fallen dramatically in the last week or so. On the other side of the reservoir, we saw the forlorn sight of the abandoned Aqua Park - closed due to the algae problem.
We turned to head back north. We saw some lovely landscapes of fields with bales of hay.
No. Don't push any more, ladies. It might just roll down the hill!
From a distance we thought these trees might be yacht masts, but it didn't seem the right direction for a marina. But they were just trees.
Eventually we returned through the ancient Freston Wood to the banks of the Orwell.
Our final stretch back to the Food Hall was a bit odd - the farmer had planted potatoes all along the footpath!
Phew it was hot. We were glad of a drink at the end.
A great walk in spite of the 30deg+ heat. Thanks Joyce! You can see details of our route here and a more of my photos on Flickr.
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