Stowmarket Lunch and Walk

"Saturday Nov 9th We have reserved dining space at Cabbages and Kings, The Mix 127 Ipswich St, Stowmarket IP14 1BB for lunch at midday, so please do join us for coffee, cake, jackets etc. There is car parking near by near the Regal Cinema or free along Hollingsworth Road. If the weather plays ball then I have devised a 4 mile walk around the village of Badley but it will mean we have to re park at Roots and Shoots Garden Centre. It's a lovely walk though....I'm very happy with it.", said the invite from Joyce. That sounded nice. And it was a much nicer day than yesterday.

We had a great turnout - 16 for lunch; I had a sausage roll and the "Green Eggs and Ham" (ham and egg salad with a balsamic glaze - nice)...

 ...and 13 stayed on for the walk afterwards.

This was our route...

...which is shortened version of the route in this leaflet, Treasured Suffolk - Comb and Badley, subtitled "An Enchanted World of Lost Halls and Remote Churches ".

It was a very gentle stroll along Badley Lane and past the rear of the church then looping back via the church again before a short stretch back along the Stowmarket-Needham Market road. Some of us then added a short extra stretch down to visit the River Gipping and to make it up to about 4 miles distance. "I think this must be the gentlest walk I've done with Joyce", said Steve.

Here are a few photos.

Our starting point, Roots and Shoots....

...where we doubled the number of cars in the car park.

Joyce and Nicky leading the way up Badley Lane. It is a lovely path.

We saw a deer bounding along on the other side of the field. Can you spot it?

On our way back we stopped at St. Mary's Badley Church.

"A church frozen in time. St Mary's is one of Suffolk's most remarkable medieval churches - its setting and unmodernised interior give an atmosphere of great peace and stillness. To discover its charm, you must begin with a journey - a mile's walk or drive down a rutted track across Suffolk farmland, to a small valley of trees and birdsong. The flint-and-brick church has nothing for company but a sixteenth-century farmhouse and the wildlife of its pretty churchyard ", says the website.

I added an entry to the visitor's book on behalf of the group

 Enchanting. As  Simon, on his renowned Churches of Suffolk site listing for the church says,

"It is essentially an untouched 18th century interior, with barely a sign of Victorian enthusiasm. The benches and box pews are bleached white by centuries of Suffolk air and sunlight, and flooded with sunshine by the remarkably large five-light west window. The tiled floor spreads, punctuated by ledgerstones and brass inscriptions, and the whole piece is heartachingly rustic. "

We got some nice views from Badley Hill on our way back.

Then it was down the lane and under the railway to the river.

I liked this notice on the gate to the house we passed....

..and the bridge by the old mill.

The River Gipping.

Just the other side we came to a field where the inhabitants didn't seem very keen for us to share it with them.

So it was back to garden centre and time to disperse.

It was good to catch up with a few we hadn't seen for a while and a very pleasant stroll in the sunshine. Thanks Joyce for organising and everyone else for the company.

You can see more details of our walk here on MapMyWalk and more of my photos here on Flickr.