Shotley Peninsula Walk

This was the invitation from Joyce.

Thursday 23rd July: Shotley Gate to Pin Mill, Chelmondiston: A 13 mile circular walk using the Stour + Orwell Walk. We will meet at Shotley Gate (free car parking)...drive to the very end of the road, turn left into the marina and keep going until you are almost opposite the Shipwreck pub IP9 1QP at 9.30am. We will be at Pin MIll about 12.15pm ish so we can have our picnic lunch....drinks available from the Butt and Oyster pub and public toilets open too. It's a really lovely walk with views of the River Orwell and the River Stour.

Just 5 of us on the walk today. Once again we had a lovely day for walking with nice sunshine but not too hot.
This was our route, mostly familiar to me although maybe not in the same direction.

We started by heading up the Orwell before turning inland and passing Shotley Church and vineyard, then on past Shotley Hall to Erwarten Hall, chuch and village before crossing back towards the Orwell via Chelmondiston to Pin Mill for our lunch break. We returned along the banks of the Orwell before recrossing the peninsula through Shotley village to the banks of the Stour and then along the Stour to get back to our starting point. Nice!

Here are a few of my photos.

We started with a great view across the Orwell to the docks at Felixstowe. They don't look too busy at the moment.

Off we go.

The marina is very picturesque.

I love walking along the edge of the Orwell.

Turning inland, we passed Shotley Vineyard. The grapes look to be growing well. Their first vintage is now ready - Bacchus 2019 and Pinot Noir 2019.

This Victorian postbox is just by the church.

We passed the other side of the vineyard.

It was good to see there are still some poppies in flower.

We visited Erwarton Hall  and stopped to chat to the gardener, here mowing some stripes into the croquet lawn. He told us all about the alpacas...

...which we later saw from a distance.

We stopped for a drinks break at St. Mary's Church,  Erwarten.

As Simon Knott's write-up says...

" Legend has it that Anne Boleyn, second wife of Henry VIII and mother of Elizabeth I, the two main architects of the English Reformation, stayed often at Erwarton Hall. She gave instructions, it is said, that her heart was to be buried in this church after her death. In 1838, when the north aisle was being renovated, a small, heart-shaped casket was discovered, walled into an alcove. It was reburied, with due ceremony, beneath the organ, and a little plaque there gives some details about it."

We headed back across thw pensinsula towards Chelmondiston where the church was flying St. George's flag.

Our lunch stop was at Pin Mill and I had a rather better pint of beer than Monday from the Butt and Oyster, some Adnams Broadside, with my sandwich.

We walked along the Orwell again back towards Shotley Point via the Pin Mill woods and a ship's graveyard.

Across the river we got a glimpse of Levington Church.

Soon we started getting views again of Felixstowe docks, but shortly afterwards turned inland and recrossed the peninsula.

The tide was in now and the waves lapping at the blocks holding the path from falling into the Stour estuary.

The Admiralty Pier Waterfront homes are well advanced in construction.They do look smart.

And here we are back at the marina and our cars.

That was another lovely walk, Thanks Joyce for leading us and Ann, Peter and Roland for the company.

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