Anglesey Abbey Walk

This was the invite from Joyce....

"Monday 9th September will be a walk starting from Anglesey Abbey at 12.30pm. I'll be looking around the Dahlia Festival at 10am with my aunt and then enjoying a cuppa in the cafe before the walk. Feel free to arrive anytime and join us for refreshments. I'll be leading a figure of 8 walk so those that want to only walk 5 miles can be back at the cars after 90 mins and those that want a longer walk can join me for a different second loop. I think you'll enjoy exploring a different area."
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Well I collected Anna from Skyline Sports Centre at 10:45 and we were there for 11:30 so I had some time to view the dahlias and have some carrot and coriander soup as we gathered in the restaurant before the walk. It was a bit drizzly but warm enough for our two-part walk. It was great to be walking with Nicky again, now nearly recovered her injury and for me to do a longer walk again after having to rest my feet while my blisters from the Norfolk Coast Path walk healed.

This was our route.

The SW loop was first and we started again from the Anglesey Abbey visitor centre for the second NE loop. It might look like we did a lot of road walking, but actually there is a rather nice tarmac foot/cycle path parallel to the the road.

Here are a few of my photos...

The visitor centre, where we started and finished, had its entrance and ceiling were decorated.

Off we go.

Some of our route was along the Harcamlow Way, previously encountered on a Ramblers walk from Saffron Walden.

"This long distance walk takes you to some of the most beautiful countryside, interesting historical sites and delightful country parks in the counties of Cambridgeshire, Essex and Hertfordshire. The route is a figure-of-eight, starting in Harlow and first heading to Saffron Walden where you will pass the splendid Jacobean mansion and gardens at Audley End. You continue through the Bartlow Hills, Horseheath, the Fleam Dyke and Milton Country Park to Cambridge. You return passing along the Wimpole Way where you pass the splendid Wimpole Hall and park. This 17th century country house has 3,000 acres (12 km²) of parkland and farmland and is owned by the National Trust. You continue through Melbourn and Chrishall to Newport, and then on to Debden, Thaxted and Takeley. You then pass through Hatfield Forest with over 1000 acres of footpaths and resident deer before returning to Harlow at the end of the route."

One for the to-do list, perhaps? But there are plenty of others to do first.

This is Quy water, which feeds Bottisham Lode, one of the Cambridgeshire Lodes.
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We liked this impressive bracket fungus, possibly a Laetiporus sulphureus

Here we are the other side of the river from Anglesey Abbey.

We soon reached Lode Mill. Not a milling day today, but the mill is used occasionally and I have bought some of their flour in the past for homemade wholemeal bread.

Now we are in Lode village

A quick round the block and we were back where we started. Here we said good-bye to some before starting our second loop.

We wondered what this stood for on  Cow Bridge. It is Newmarket Rural District Council.

 
We passed through Commercial End and the lovely village of Swaffham Bulbeck.

We liked the weather vane at the cricket club.,,,

,,,and these roses.

On our way back we saw these deer in the distance.

And here is a peek into teh grounds of Anglesey Abbey through a gate which wasn't locked. Look, The leaves are starting to fall. Is it autumn already? Yes it is!

Thanks Joyce for a lovely two-part walk.

You can see more of my photos here on Flickr and more details of our route here on MapMyWalk,