The Two Windmills Walk

Today I did a recce of a new walk to potentially join up with the Stanton walk a did a few weeks ago to make an all-day 2-parter.

Once again I started at the village hall car park in Stanton, but this time I headed past the windmill before heading up towards Stanton Chare and along to Bardwell and back in an anti-clockwise direction, passing Bardwell Mill and church on the way.

This was my route today.

Here are a few of my photos. I forgot my camera today, so they were taken with my phone, which was also tracking my route.

Mine was the only car in the car park when I started my walk just before 10am.

Shortly into the walk I passed Stanton Mill.

Carrying along the road on a grassy track I entered Sid's Piece, a community woodland dedicated to the nature-loving Sidney Bowhill who used to own the land and was publican at The Vine Inn in Hopton for many years.

 

 

Heading north from here I followed a broad track uphill past Hall Farm and through High Wood to reach the A143.

On the short stretch on the footpath alongside the road, I got a surprise when I passed Home Farm and found an animal viewing point.

I across the road to join George Lane heading for Stanton Chare. Looking back I could see Stanton windmill.

It turned into a nice leafy lane.

In Stanton Chare I got a view of the tower of the ruined St. John's Church, which would appear again later.

Now I was on another pleasant country track, Chare Lane.

At the end of it I turned left along the road to Stanton. There was a broad grassy path beside the road for most of the way.

Approaching Bardwell I got a view of The Six Bells, which appeared in six episodes of Dad's Army.

I liked this house on the edge of the village.

My drink stop was at the village green by the village sign.

I then did a little loop around the village with a sudden view of Bardwell Windmill as I came out of a hedged footpath.

I also had a view of Bardwell Church, but rather than heading straight for it, I went down the road and across the Black Bourne to approach it from the west.

Well that was a nice explore of the village. Now it was time to head back to Stanton along some quite back roads. Here again were some broad grassy paths by the road,

I passed this sign for an oil pipeline. It is surely the same one we saw on my Great Saxham walk. Part of the GPSS.

I came across a field full of pigs and little piglets, but didn't manage to get a good photo of them before they ran away

Not far to go now, I could see the ruined St. John's church tower again.

I was back at my car by 12:30 having walked just a little under 7 1/2 miles.... and I managed to beat the rain that came in the afternoon.  I think it would make a nice morning companion to my other Stanton Walk to make a 2-parter.

You can find more details of my route here on MapMyWalk.