Reinterred: Ousden Walk

Today we did a walk to help Glen in his ambition to walk all the paths in Suffolk.

This was the invite from Joyce.

"You may know that Glen has set himself the enormous task of walking ALL public rights of way in Suffolk. He hasn’t been to Ousden and Lidgate before so hence a plan for Friday to cover as many paths as we can. The route I have devised measures at 16.36 miles BUT it can be shortened and you will end at the pub.

Some of these paths could well be overgrown as they are unknown to me. I will consider wearing something longer than shorts. I do know that there is a marathon happening through/around Ousden on Sunday so they might have strimmed the paths a little …who knows?

I have started at Ousden Village Hall as it has lots of parking. We will meet there at 10.15am . The postcode is CB8 8TR.

Lidgate village has the Rural Coffee Project visiting 10-12pm at their Village Hall so we can use loos I guess and have a drink?. Ousden has a pub (The Fox) which is open from midday.

And of course if a path looks too unloved we can just send Glen to walk it and meet him elsewhere! "

This was our rather loopy route.

Here are some of my photos.

We met as planned at Ousden Village Hall. Joyce informed us that the name of the village meant "Valley of the Owls".

Our walk included a number of paths and sights familiar from this walk, my first U3A Bury St Edmunds Longer Walks group walk two years ago. I remembered these beehives at Stud Farm.

We were impressed by this thatched barn reconstruction with its big windows at each end.

Snape's Farm just along the road...

...has a lovely garden.

We set off through some fields with lovely open views although it was a bit hazy.

In the distance we could just about make out what I think is Cheveley church,

Look how dry it is.

We passed a house with some lovely trailing white wisteria.

The meadows were full of flowers.

This hedge was covered in clematis.

See through a gap in a hedge.

More big views.

We came to Lidgate village. We did a few loops around here to tick off the various paths.

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!

We passed The Star pub.

Outside the village hall we found the Rural Coffee Van.

It was just past 12, but they had kept open for us. Thank-you ladies! The garden behind the hall was a lovely place to stop and have our refreshments.

Onwards. We passed 16th Suffolk House, on sale last year for £1.25m....

...before reaching the village sign.

We followed the path around the motte and bailey castle remains, getting lovely views again.

This is Dalham windmill...

...and Dalham Hall in the distance.

On the display board about the castle was the de Hastynges coat of arms.

We wondered the symbol was. It appears to be a maunch, a stylised image of a lady's sleeve.

We finished out loop around the castle at St. Mary Lidgate church. It was locked so we couldn't go inside.

We liked the gates.

Some of the paths were less well trodden than others.

Sean spotted and pointed out these hares on the field next to our path.

Looking back we could see the church and castle mound of Lidgate.

Joyce sent me this phot she took of us blazing a trail across this meadow where the path wasn't obvious.

We followed the permissive path to the dam.

We returned to the church and this time stopped for our kunch break.

Alongside the street in Lidgate... "Road ahead closed" is said by the footpath. "Road? What road?" I said.

Heading eastwards again from Lidgate we got quite close to the BT mast near Genesis Green. But we didn't do a there and back stretch to join up with this walk Glen had been on with us last year.