Stoke Ash to Rumburgh
I set off from Stoke Ash, ready for a day’s walking. I knew that I had a longer day (36km) ahead of me, so I had planned to set off a bit earlier. However, I was still feeling the effects of the clocks changing and my body had other plans, so I set off just before 8.15.
After a short lane, I took a footpath over to Thorndon. The weather couldn’t really make its mind up all morning. There was a bit of wind, which occasionally brought with it the odd rain shower. Nothing was too heavy and the rain wasn’t sideways, so it was all a bonus in my book! When I set off on my walk, I had the expectation of four months of rain and mud, and anything better is a bonus. I really can’t complain as I’ve definitely been experiencing the bonus so far!
After Thorndon, I took some lanes towards Occold. The lane was flanked by a mixture of hedgerows and fields. It made for lovely and quiet walking.
I then passed through Redlingfield and onto Dunham. In Dunham, I passed the village hall, which has a very welcoming sign announcing that they were currently running a coffee morning. I couldn’t resist the thought of cake and decided to pay a visit. The selection was amazing, there were sausage rolls, onion bhajis and over 5 different types of cake. The choice was overwhelming, before one of the locals said “I can make a bacon roll too” and that was that, I went for a bacon roll. It was so good. I think the fact that it was unexpected, in a warm hall, and on a long day’s walk, made it taste even better.
I enjoyed my bacon roll, whilst chatting to some of the locals about my walk, and hearing about their favourite parts of the area. One of the locals said that she loves it being flat, because there are massive skies, with beautiful sunsets. This isn’t something that I’d considered and walking along for the afternoon, I definitely took some moments to appreciate what she meant!
After leaving Dunham, I took footpaths towards Stadbroke. One of the footpaths was lined by hedges. The hedges were so neat and merged into a canopy. It felt like I was walking through a specifically made archway in a garden at a stately home!
Walking through Stadbroke, some dust blew into my eye, which was very persistent! Thankfully the local pub landlord was very kind and let me use the sink in their toilet to wash my eye out!
I then crossed fields towards Fressingfield. By this time, the rain had stopped and the cloud was starting to lift. Once again, I crossed lots of crop fields. The majority of the farmers clear a path through the field, which makes the way clear and I feel less guilty crossing straight through!
On the way into Fressingfield, the sun came out and I stopped for some late lunch.
Crossing the subsequent fields, I had my first encounter with a local farmer. Before setting off on my walk, I’d checked the best etiquette about crossing fields of crops. There’s not many in the Peak District, so it is a new experience for me. It seems that the best way, is to cross the field along the right of way, unless a diversion is in place. I crossed over a field, to the road, to be greeted by the farmer. It turns out that all of the locals walk along the edge of the woodland instead. With no obvious sign or diversion, I wasn’t to know. I apologised for my mistake, and he was appreciative that I was trying to do the right thing, even if I’d not got it quite right in this instance!
The next footpath brought a bit of added “agility”. After squeezing through the two trees, I had to cross the little bridge, before climbing up a little bank and crossing the stile. It was definitely an adventure! This unfortunately set the tone for the next few footpaths as I had a few that were either overgrown or non-existent. Thankfully one of the footpaths went through a small area of open access land, so I was able to reroute along a neighbouring track.
I was very glad to make it to Fressingfield, after the excitement on route. I had to take a photo of their sign, with the donkey following its owner.
I then took some tracks through farmland and towards Rumburgh. With the clouds almost gone, I could really appreciate the big skies !
On the way into Rumburgh, I crossed a footpath through a rapeseed field. It was amazing to walk through the sea of yellow!
I soon arrived at Rumburgh and was glad to finish. The early afternoon had been a bit eventful, but it had been a lovely day, and definitely not forgetting the bacon roll!
Tonight I’m staying with Tanya, who is a volunteer for the local Love Her Wild Group. I’m very grateful for her letting me stay.
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