U3A Dalham Walk

I've been meaning to join a walk with the U3A Bury St. Edmunds longer walks group for some time. They walk on the first Thursday of the month, generally walking between 9 and 15 miles.  Now I'm retired, I'm no longer at work on Thursdays but the first walk I was going to go on got cancelled because of COVID lockdown and I couldn't make the last two, in April and May, due to diary clashes. But today I joined 5 others in the group for a great walk from Dalham and was made most welcome.

As the weather forecast was for it to get rather hot, we started at 9am rather than 10. It was warm and muggy at the start, but a bit fresher later as we climbed and caught a bit of a breeze.

This was our route, which is based on the walk described in this Discover Suffolk walk leaflet.

Starting at Dalham we walked clockwise via Ousden and Lidgate - both villages I hadn't walked through before. Here are a few of my photos.

The cottages and gardens in Dalham were immaculate, as usual.

We headed uphill to Dalham Hall and  St. Mary's Dalham Church. I was familiar with this from the 3 Churches Walk - more than once, and most recently on this walk last summer.

There was plenty of ragwort in this field.

We passed quite close to these hives, but the bees took no notice.

I loved this green view.

Coming in to Ousden village we found this monkey puzzle tree. I think these are male catkins rather than the female cones.

We passed the memorial lychgate at the entrance to the cemetary and little chapel of St. Barnabas....

...before stopping at the picnic tables in the grounds of the village hall for our drinks' stop.

No it's not a real dog on this thatched roof.

We walked some lovely country paths with plenty of may blossom and cow parsley.

At Lidgate we admired this cottage garden....

...and this wisteria.

John de Lydgate is from the village, as this blue plaque testifies. Read about his poetry here. As it says there... '[He was quite well thought of until] his work was attacked in 1802 by "scholar-at-arms" Joseph Ritson in one of the most brutally negative critiques ever written. To him Lydgate was a "voluminous, prosaick, and driveling monk" whose "stupid and fatiguing productions ... by no means deserve the name of poetry ... are neither worth collecting ... nor even worthy of preservation."' Blimey!

Our lunch stop was in the grounds of St. Mary Lidgate church....

...which has a fine gate.

The paths we followed were mostly fine... 

but we did have one stretch which was a bit overgrown... and nettly.

What is everyone looking at?

It was this view that was suddenly revealed as we topped the hill on the way back to Dalham of Dalham Hall...

...and mill.

Then it was down past the mill back into Dalham. Here we found one of the residents public-spiritedly cleaning the white railings on the bridge....

...before returning to the village hall.... and giving Andy moral support while he dealt with his very flat tyre - but that is another story.

Thank-you Andrea for leading us round and everyone else for the additional company. I can't do July, but will keep the first Thursday in August free.

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