Sudbury to Stoke by Nayland: E2 Day 97

A walk over rolling hills, by bluebell woods and churches with a village fête near the end.

Lone tree in a patch of sun.

Although it rained overnight it was dry when I packed up and a few light showers later on were offset by patches of sunshine. The hills continued as I walked over mixed farmland to the first village of the day, Lamarsh where I stopped to view the church. Most churches in Britain have square towers but the Holy Innocents has a round tower. From a leaflet inside from the Round Tower Churches Society I learnt that of the 180 churches with round towers in Britain, the vast majority were in Norfolk and Suffolk. Although I was in Essex, I was close to the county boundary, throughout the day I was crossing back and fore into Suffolk. Sadly the nave of the Holy Innocents had bits falling off its ceiling and was barriered off, repair work was urgently needed so I put a few pounds in the donations box. I had made a number of similar donations to churches that I passed which were open to passing wanderers, and allowed me in for a quiet pray and to view the interior. I also visited the church at Wormingford with its conventional tower and white walled interior, reading the Dedham Vale and Stour Valley News in its porch while I rested.

Round tower church at Lamarsh.

Wormingford marked the start of an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB). As the lengthy name implies these are rural parts of the country considered of particular merit. A sign informed me of a proposal to call them "National Landscapes" in the future with greater protection. From the start of the day the area had more trees and woodland than in recent days.  Bluebells frequently covered the ground beneath the trees creating a blue, hazy covering. I was entranced by one particular section of bluebell lined path leading me under oak trees just starting to grow bright green spring leaves, the colours vivid in the afternoon sunlight.

As today was a bank holiday I was not doing well for coffee or tea shops, their owners taking the day off, however I was rewarded at Nayland by a May Day village fête, with funds raised being used to maintain the local church. After paying an entrance fee I was able to buy modestly priced tea, cake and a beefburger, while listening to a jazz band playing. There were lots of stalls with Bric-a-Brac, vintage items, clothes, jewellery and similar for sale. Activities included an inflatable slide, throwing a wet sponge at someone, Tombola and cuddling animals. Classic cars of various ages, all highly polished, were lined up and there was a fire engine. Unfortunately I was too late for the mens' sack-race or egg and spoon race, maybe next time.

Fete for May day at Nayland.

I am now in a very comfortable Bed & Breakfast. As is good practice I checked where the fire escapes are. One of them is under a trap door in my bedroom cupboard.

Our host provided me and another customer with coffee on arrival. In conversation with the other person staying, he said that he and wife planned a tour of Wales, he was keen to see Cardiff Castle and his wife wished to visit some gardens. While in the Cardiff area I wanted to suggest they visited Duffryn Gardens but I could not remember the word "Duffryn". There was an empty, white hole in my brain where the word should have been, despite having visited it many times since I was a child and being able to describe the layout and how to get there. Much later I remembered but it worried me especially as my mother died of Alzheimer's disease. Not that there is much you can do about it, there is no cure to age related dementia. Exercise is supposed to help so this long distance walk is a benefit, and they say to keep your brain active, so this blog is part of the treatment!