Reinterred: Holbrook Walk

Today was Day 4 of Joyce's Mini Walking Festival and today we had a circular walk from Stutton via Alton Water, Holbrook, Woolverstone and Harkstead on the Shotley peninsula.

This was the invite from Joyce...

"This is an undulating and varied walk which I hope you will enjoy a lot. There isn’t much shade so be prepared for all 4 seasons in a day. We will meet at Stutton Community Hall Car Park at 9.30am. There is a Community Shop here that sells hot drinks etc. We will make our way over to Alton Water and make use of their toilets and of course hot drinks are available here too. We then head towards Woolverstone and skim Chelmondiston and Harkstead. Expect to see a lot of wildlife and bluebells and a couple of donkeys. I will certainly build in some rest stops and maybe a pub stop at Harkstead if we make good time. See you then, Joyce"

This was our route.

We assembled at Stutton Community Centre, only a few minutes late despite an accident on the A14, so were on our way by 9:40 am. It was a little chilly to start and I was the only one with shorts on, but it warmed up later in the sun. It was a beautiful walk with lots of points of interest. Here are a few of my photos.

We left the community centre and walked through the Stutton Grows community woodland.

We passed the Baker's Almshouses, built in the second half of the 19th century.

Soon we reached Alton Water.

There was a small group highland cattle close to the water.

I stopped to listen to some birdsong. It sounded like a nightingale, and I spotted this bird - but it wasn't the one singing. I think this is a Dunnock.

Leaving Alton Water behind we headed for Holbrook. Was this the eponymous brook, we wondered? The map doesn't say. [Update: Oh yes it does... Paying a bit more attention to the map where it reaches Holbrook Bay would have told me it is Holbrook Creek]

We didn't tarry at All Saints, Holbrook church....

...but we did stop at St. Michael, Wolverstone, which was open. I left a message in the guest book on behalf of the group.

The table and chairs outside made a pleasant place for a biscuit stop in the sun.

We took the footpath across Woolverstone park. The little white-faced black lambs were cute.

Crossing the impressive drive leading to Ipswich High School, based in Wolverstone Hall and founded in 1878. It was based originally in the Assembly Rooms in Northgate Street and then Westerfield Rd before moving to Wolverstone Hall in 1992. Originally a girls' school, it transitioned to co-educational in 2018. Famous alumnae include Enid Blyton.

In a lane on the outskirts of Chelmondiston we found these pretty flowers in the bank by the road. The flowers are smaller and the petals narrower than the more common greater periwinkle - I think it may be a form of lesser periwinkle.

We passed a pheasant farm. Are these white peahen among them?

Time for lunch. We stopped at St. Mary Harkstead church and basked in the sun. While there we heard a peacock just down the road.

There it is!

We didn't have far to go now so we stopped at the Bakers Arms in Harkstead for refreshments. Mine was a Woodforde's Nelson Bitter. Very tasty!

We descended to the shoreline of the River Stour. There seems to have been some erosion here.

Joyce Helen and Steve were studying the display panel and its map.

The inlet and its craft were quite picturesque.

We found plenty more lambs as we approached...

...the Royal Hospital School. It is a very impressive set of buildings. Historically nicknamed "The Cradle of the Navy", it is a co-educational independent day and boarding school with naval traditions. The Royal Hospital School was established by a Royal Charter in 1712. It was originally located at Greenwich Hospital in Greenwich. The school moved in 1933 to East Anglia. It is the only UK independent boarding school to have ever been continuously granted the Queen's Banner and it flies its own Admiralty-approved Royal Hospital School Blue Ensign. It is one of only two UK schools whose students have the privilege of wearing Royal Navy uniforms, the other being Pangbourne College in Berkshire.