New Year's Day walk. No, I mean Yomp!

I should have known better.  Tired from the night before I was obviously caught off guard.  After all these years I should have been known that when my husband, possibly soon to be ex-husband, invited me to go for a walk on New Year's day, it wasn't going to be a stroll in the park.  

The fact that he'd taken a ruck sack, a GPS gizmo, two pairs of thinsulate gloves and a few pairs of waterproof socks, possibly gave the game away but, the penny still hadn't dropped. As I've mentioned in previous posts Essex does have some hidden gems and whilst this walk was longer than expected it was probably one of the best I've been on in a while.

Our walk, no I mean Yomp starts at the Bell at Woodham Walter.  A lovely looking pub with lots of lucky people enjoying a pint and some wholesome food. Unfortunately, neither of us had taken any money! The Bell is where this walk starts and ends. The pub dates back to the 16th Century.

Beautiful clear blue skies with lots of great views over the Essex countryside. This view is looking out towards Ulting.

This is where we went off course. Don't head right. Continue up through the paddocks...it is much further than you think.

Dreamy looking house....if you've completed this walk before you can tell that we've gone off course and we had to walk up and down this road for several minutes until we found are way back onto the correct route.

Something from War of the Worlds or just a new washing line? This is where you are heading once you venture out of the paddock maze.

Chocolate lady walks across the not so 'giants causeway' and through the scary wibbly wobbly wood!  As you can see I'm wearing jeans, not the ideal walking apparel for the amount of mud we came across. Fortunately, we had good boots!
These pictures were taken in the Danbury Ridge Nature Reserve.

The walk takes you alongside the very posh and lush Warren Golf course. Pictures of golfers are boring so you have horses instead!

Another dreamy house with magnificent views

The end is in sight!

Photographer is about to get a bashing!

The End! Ok. this is the end of the walk not me.
The church of St. Michael the Archangel was built in 1563. It is the sole Elizabethan church in Essex.
A walk of approx. 5.5 miles takes between 2 and 3 hours if you avoid getting lost. Five miles of fantastic scenery and fun.....1/2 a mile too far. Remember to take food, water and money for drinks in the pub!

A complete and thorough review of this walk can be found at Essex Walks.