Friday 29 May 2020

Local walk 6: West from Tescos to Bury Green.



Time for another walk description. This is a lovely walk that I have completed many times over the years and usually plenty to see and find.

Distance: 5 miles maximum. No inclines and certainly no mud at present. I have pointed out alternative directions for those with scooters.

Parking at Tesco car park and take the path on to the roundabout at the start of Dukes Ride. After passing the letter box, turn right into Knight's Close and then bear left where there is a footpath between houses. Turn right on to a footpath covered in wood chip that comes to the bypass. Directly opposite is the footpath you need.
Walking along here, Great Plantings Wood on your right and open fields on you left there will be chances to see great and blue tits, yellowhammers in the hedgerow and the chance of a Great spotted woodpecker or Green woodpecker calling in the wood. Lots of good flowers along this path, especially Greater stitchwort with its 8 white petals fused into four groups. Also, red and white campion and at the moment, Briar and Dog rose in bloom, too. Beautiful flowers of pinks and whites.

This path drops down through a hedge. On you right, a farm track leading back to the A120 but you need to turn left into an open ride with a high hedge on the left and, after a few yards, East Wood on your right. This grassy ride is great for butterflies: Red admiral, Meadow brown, Peacock, Small tortoiseshell as well as Large and Small white. Also, lookout for Common blue that will be on the wing shortly. Walking through the long grass means you will inadvertently flush small micro moths and Dark bush crickets.
At the end of the wood (not the ride) is a track on your right that moves you to the other side of the hedge. From here, with the pylons on your right, follow straight on for half a mile before you come to a concrete bridge. Turn right just before this and head into Stocking Wood. A fantastic habitat and one of the best sites in the area for the more unusual butterflies such as Silver Washed Fritillary, Purple hairstreak and White letter hairstreak. These will be flying late June through to early August. Check the stream on your left as you wander through the wood.

Upon exiting the wood, turn left, over the steam and then immediately right towards a few houses. This path, adjacent to the stream, has a high row of trees in the edge and finally ends with some towering willow trees. You will arrive at a crossroads of paths. Turn right up a track and past Lower Farm where the lane becomes tarmacked. Here there is a pond, past a house called Tomways and on to the Green. Here, on your left a huge horse chestnut tree and nearby, a bench for a break and a snack.

When completed your refreshments, walk straight in front of you along the green, passing a pond and telephone box, left and right, respectively. Soon after a thatched cottage on your right the road forks. Take the left hand lane and almost immediately there will be a footpath with a wooden bridge over a ditch. (For those with mobility scooters I recommend just carrying on along the lane, called Millfield Lane bearing sharp right after the wood on your left. Here there will be a banner saying Silver Leys polo club 

Back on the footpath you will pass through a couple of gates in horse fields before coming to a wider track. Either: a.) carry on up the track until you come to a concrete track, or b. Enter Millennium Wood through an old wooden kissing gate on your right just after you have passed a garden (also on the right).  This is the 3.75 acre wood that I manage. Take the straight path up into the wood, passing a picnic bench and pond before emerging, by the entrance sign and turn right back on to Millfield Lane where you turn left.

If you chose to go straight on, turn right on to the concrete track, walk over a cattle grid and then another some 200 yards further along and join Millfield Lane on a corner where there will be a Silver Leys Polo club banner.
Carry on along the tarmac lane, past Millfield Cottage on your left. This is the only house along this part of the lane. Almost directly opposite, on your right is a footpath. Take this and follow it all along until you come out opposite Attwell Farm in Green Street. Here, take a right to a junction by the village noticeboard and cross over to take the footpath that will bring you back to East Wood and the ride where the butterflies should be. Retrace your steps back to Tesco. Note: if on a mobility scooter ignore the footpath opposite the cottage and just carry on along Millfield Lane until you come to a lane on your right after 800 yards or so. Take this and it will rejoin the route at Attwell Farmhouse in Green Street.

This sounds a lot more complicated than it actually is. All footpaths are well marked and in good condition so you can't go too far wrong at any point (unless you take the wrong turning!) I, as always, advise an Ordnance Survey map Sheet 194 Explorer series. Sheet 167 Landranger series.

As always, comments, improvements, corrections and photos most welcome.

White letter hairstreak

Silver washed fritillary



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This is me

This is me
At the end of another Norfolk Coastal footpath walk. 47 miles, 3 days 99 species of bird. September 2009

Caley Wood view

Caley Wood view
sunshine through the canopy 29.05.08

A walk along the Warta Valley, Poznan, Poland. Feb 2007

A walk along the Warta Valley, Poznan, Poland. Feb 2007
Best birds on this walk: black and middle spotted woodpecker and short toed treecreeper

About Me

My photo
A primary school teacher for 30 years, I retired from teaching in July 2009 to set up my own science enhancement and communication company. The Primary Works offers science clubs, workshops and staged science shows nationwide. I have always been interested in bird watching since my early years. Apparently my first tick was after inquiring about a chaffinch and then receiving the Observer book of birds. By the age of 9 I had moved on to Tory Peterson's collins guide and was now involved on YOC birding holidays to Northumbria, Essex coast, Slimbridge and Yorkshire. My twitching rule is that I will willingly travel 1km for each gram the bird weighs. However, I have had many rarities just by being in the right place. I have travelled widely throughout Europe and also visited Australia and Sri Lanka. In 2016 I spent time at Portland Bird Obs and two trips to Aviero, Portugal. 2017 found me back in Sri Lanka in Feb/March, then July and back for New Year's Eve celebrations in December. Also returned to The Camargue in May for a 4 day trip. Few plans for 2018, but nothing yet booked apart from a trip to the IOW.

Grey heron

Grey heron
Over the allotment 28.09.08

Southern Hawker

Southern Hawker
Ridge footpath 27.08.08

Juvenile green woodpecker (17.08.08)

Juvenile green woodpecker (17.08.08)
Note the stripes, denoting a bird fledged this year.

common blue

common blue
Ash Valley G.C. 15.08.08

Indian balsam (impatiens glandulifera)

Indian balsam (impatiens glandulifera)
River Ash

azure damselfly

azure damselfly
River Ash 28.07.08

marbled white

marbled white
Discovered at Westland Green 22.07.08

ruddy darter

ruddy darter
Bush Wood 21.07.08

honeysuckle 19.07.08

honeysuckle 19.07.08
growing in hedgerow in Chapel Lane

cinnabar moth caterpillar

cinnabar moth caterpillar
Photographed on ragwort 19.07.08

Bittersweet

Bittersweet
Study of petals 11.06.08

male yellowhammer

male yellowhammer
08.06.08

common blue butterfly

common blue butterfly
06.06.08

River Ash

River Ash
looking south from the bridge at Hadham Ford

Common poppy (papaver rhoeas)

Common poppy (papaver rhoeas)
in rape field 29.05.08

Caley Wood sunshine

Caley Wood sunshine
29.05.08

Millenium Wood fox

Millenium Wood fox
24.05.08

common comfrey (symphytum officinale)

common comfrey (symphytum officinale)
06.05.08 banks of the River Ash

Garlic Mustard or Jack by the Hedge,(Alliara petiolata)

Garlic Mustard or Jack by the Hedge,(Alliara petiolata)
flowers, leaves and fruit edible . Good in salad and pesto

April showers

April showers
Double rainbow 30.04.08

Caley Wood bluebells

Caley Wood bluebells
22.04.08

Yellow Archangel

Yellow Archangel
Chapel Lane (20.04.08)

sunlight 16.04.08

sunlight 16.04.08
looking south west from Bush Wood

snowy buds

snowy buds
06.04.08 in Bush Wood

Looking north west

Looking north west
05.04.08 evening shower approaching

Back Garden

Back Garden
Easter Sunday (23.03.08)

Brick Kiln Hill

Brick Kiln Hill
Looking east (23.03.08)

No play today

No play today
The 2nd hole at Ash Valley golf course

Teasel head

Teasel head
Bush Wood (21.03.08)

Reflections

Reflections
daffodils at Bush Wood pond (21.03.08)

Swollen River Ash

Swollen River Ash
The river at the bottom of Winding Hill 16.03.08

Daybreak over the chapel

Daybreak over the chapel
Thursday 13th March

Wild daffodils (narcissus pseudonarcissus)

Wild daffodils (narcissus pseudonarcissus)
growing in Bush Wood

January snowdrops

January snowdrops
Banks of River Ash, north of Much Hadham

Good Moon

Good Moon
From garden 24.01.08

Village Green

Village Green
Looking east towards Acremore Street

Looking south before Hadham Ford

Looking south before Hadham Ford
rare January blue sky

Useful sites

The following are some useful websites that may interest readers of this blog.
Firstly, Bishop's Stortford Natural History Society http://bsnhs.webplus.net/

Fellow birder, Gary Whelan's blog. Gives reports from our trips out together plus reports from his trips abroad. http://hairybirders.blogspot.co.uk
http://www.hertsbirdclub.org.uk/ The official herts bird club website. Frequently updated, listing bird sightings around the county. Offers links to many other websites. Both of these sites also offer links to yahoo discussion groups.
http://www.birdforum.net/ An international site. You can enter as a guest but become a member( free) to post comments, bird sightings and just about anything to do with wild birds. Good news updates, classified section for binoculars, cameras etc.
http://www.guidedbirdwatching.com/ A new site set up where you can contact people worldwide who will help you find good birds in their country. UK section being set up presently.
http://www.britainsbirder.co.uk/
Fellow birders blog. Strtford resident, Graeme Smith regulary birds the area south of Stortford as well as around Spellbrook and the River Stort from Spellbrook to Twyford Locks. Some superb bird photography: Graeme uses a digital camera attached to his powerful telescope to get detailled images of the birds he sees. Well worth a browse.
Two local sites that may be of interest can be found at
http://www.thehadhams.com/ www.thepelhams.net/content/section/12/139/

South Easterly walk

South Easterly walk
black, normal, red extended walk

South Westerly route.

South Westerly route.
Black usual, red extended

North Easterly walk

North Easterly walk
black short, walk. Red, extended

North West Patch

North West Patch
black route regular. Red route the extended wander