Monday June 05, 2006

A weekend in Suffolk

A meet up with friends in Bury St Edmunds found us staying Suffolk for the weekend. We were to stop over in a pub on Saturday and meet up with them on the Sunday for lunch and a wander around Bury afterwards. We found this nice walk but decided to cut it down to six miles from its usual nine. The walk started in Moulton by this pretty Pack Horse Bridge going over a very feeble River Kennet.

We past Moulton's church following the Icknield way beside which the river ran. The landscape of Suffolk is reasonably flat but with some rolling countryside thrown in for good measure. The path followed field edges and dipped into woods. In the distance a sailess windmill could be seen a mournful sight. We then turned away from the river and headed through an avenue of Horse chestnuts now in flower and then met the childhood home of Cecil Rhodes. He was responsible for the colonisation of Rhodesia now of course Zimbabwe.

Beside it was a church the spire of which was lost during a great storm that swept over England the night Cromwell died. We were now in Dalham and went to the pub a pretty thatched affair by the river. Based upon our lunch the Affleck Arms will be getting a Good pub Guide lucky dip recommendation. After lunch we then went through more of the village and passed this Brick Kiln before heading into woods.

The wood aptly named Brick Kiln wood nearly had us lost but by the time we reached Blocksey wood I knew we were back on track. We then headed along more of the Icknield way before entering Gazeley where we had a liquid refreshment. We left the village and then headed back along the road we had driven along to get to Moulton reaching the Pack Horse bridge and the start. Certainly a part of the world that merits another stay next time longer.