Monday November 27, 2006

A three Counties weekend

Last weekend we visited three counties. A walk in Essex, an overnight stop at a B+B in Suffolk and a visit to Cambridge on Sunday. As we set out rain fell so a walk later was a questionably sensible thing to do. We drove to pretty Wendens Ambo and had lunch at the Bell pub. I had a very nice Sausage baguette. Meanwhile the rain had abated a bit so we decided to do the three mile version of our walk starting by the gate to Audley End. We walked by the side of its tall brick wall and entered the grounds by way of a big metal gate. A short while afterwards we started getting into the town of Saffron Walden passing pretty Almshouses and then a church.

Saffron Walden was very prosperous in the Middle Ages as a centre of the Cloth Industry. It was also the main centre for the production of the Saffron crocus grown as a dye and a medicine. It has a wonderful church almost out of proportion to the size of the town built between 1450 and 1525. The spire was an addition in 1832.

We left the town after a good look around and re-entered the grounds of Audley End retracing our steps until we took a right fork across a meadow. In the distance the Palace of Audley End started to appear. We entered a farm with lots of yappy dogs in kennels and met a road. Here we turned left and followed the brick wall of Audley End on the other side could be seen an orchard. Eventually we came up to the main gates of the building where we got our best view of it - sadly closed for winter. On the right was a minature railway also closed.

The Audley End house is Jacobean built in the 17th century by a Lord Howard of Walden on the site of a medieval abbey. Charles the Second bought it in 1669 but returned to the Howard family in 1701. Amazingly parts of it were demolished in the 18th century and it was remodelled with some of the rooms designed by Robert Adam. The park was of course landscaped by Capability Brown - who else.

We then drove to Cavendish and had a wander round there. It has two pubs and a shop called Duck or Grouse.

Our B+B was at the end of the village the excellent Embleton house Bed and Breakfast . We were in the Butterfly room full of 1930's furniture. We were lent a torch to walk into the centre of the village where we had an excellent meal at the Bull pub before walking back. With so little light pollution we could see the stars which makes a welcome change from home.

On the Sunday after a very nice breakfast we visited a friend in Cambridge where we used to live many years ago. After a nice lunch we drove home. A very nice weekend.