My Adventures 3: Herfordshire walk.

On Thursday the 26th of May 2016 I set off from home to drive to Bumble Green in Nazeing Essex for a walk. The older village of Nazeing is separated by open farmland from the larger Lower Nazeing to the west.
The land gradually rises from the river to a small hill and bowl-shaped plateau, about 270 ft. above sea level, in the east. Nazeingwood Common covers much of the eastern plateau and was originally part of Waltham Forest, but in the 13th century was deforested for pasture. It was also ploughed up during the Second World War. From the common a small brook runs west through the middle of the parish.

I parked up at the end of Bumbles Green Lane. I walk up through the wood and then followed a footpath that ran alongside.

The Domesday Book records Nazeing or Nasinga as follows: Canons of Waltham before and after 1066; Odo from Ranulf, brother of Ilger, and 2 freemen from him. ½ fishery.The manuscript of 1086 records three entries one of which states the village having 7 villagers, 12 smallholders, 1 free man, 7 cattle and 30 pigs.

Christmas Tree Farm


Clearly a bit of shooting goes on around these parts!

I follow the edge of the field, not really having a route in mind.

I eventually come out on a road and pass Hillside Kennels and then out onto Claverhambury Road.

I pass Claverhambury Manor.

The manor of CLAVERHAMBURY lies near the eastern boundary of the parish, south-west of Harold's Park. Its name is derived from the family of Claverham. Pain of Claverham was holding a small estate in Waltham in 1168, 1180, and later. He granted to Waltham Abbey of his demesne in Fridesheie, later known as Frithey. Adam, son of Pain, and William de Claverham were tenants of the abbey in c. 1235. Claverhambury was part of the Waltham Abbey estates at the Dissolution. It was then leased to George Stoner. In 1547 it was granted, with most of the abbey lands, to Anthony Denny. It descended along with the capital manor and was among the possessions of Edward Denny, Earl of Norwich, at his death in 1637. During the reigns of Elizabeth I and James I it was leased to a family named Hall. By his will the Earl of Norwich left a rent-charge of £100 a year from Claverhambury for the support of the curate of Waltham Holy Cross. The subsequent descent of Claverhambury is not clear; the manor probably descended as part of one of the larger local estates. In 1842, when it comprised 186 a., it belonged to George Palmer of Nazeing Park. In 1933 the owner was William G. Loving and in 1935 Mrs. Loving. Claverhambury was subsequently acquired by the Clapton Stadium, for use as training kennels.

Not sure if I wanted to test whether this was true or not!

I pass Claverhambury Carp Lakes. They have two lakes. The Bottom Lake (the lake nearest the car park) is our match lake. It is stocked with carp,roach and rudd. The top lake is stocked with all carp. Both lakes have fish going into double figures.

I turn and head back up towards Bumbles Green. The footpath takes me through Harolds Park Farm and Riding centre. Plenty of horses in the nearby fields.

Well that was bloody hard work, It was a long way to skip all the way out!!

I head out of the farm along a track called The Avenue. Lovely tree lined avenue at that!

At the end of the road I turnt right only because the map said there was a pub a short way up. I stopped off at The King Harolds Head for a diet coke in the sun.

I went to walk around the side to sit at a table, through the window I could see a waiter all kitted out in his attire looking at me. I had Ben my dog with me, I felt really uneasy, it wasn't a normal pub it was one of those poxy gastro pubs. More restaurant than pub! I walked back out the front, tied Ben up and popped in to buy a coke. £2.50 for a small bottle. Well I sat and drank that in the sun and buggered off. didn't feel overly welcome to be honest.

I headed back up the way I came and eventually back to the car after a short 4.1 miles walk.

I jumped back in my car and drove a few short miles to Broxbourne for a look about. I remember it being very nice, many years ago when I had visited before.
The name Broxbourne is believed to derive from the Old English words brocc and burna meaning Badger stream.
Broxbourne grew up on the Great Cambridge Road, now known as the A10. A number of old houses and inns dating from the 16th to the 19th century still line the High Street (now the A1170). The Manor of Broxbourne is described in the Domesday Book, which mentions Broxbourne Mill. The manor was held in the time of Edward the Confessor by Stigand, the Archbishop of Canterbury, but had passed into Norman hands following the Conquest. King John granted the manor to the Knights Hospitallers until the Dissolution, when it passed to John Cock, after whose family Cock Lane is named.

I parked up by The Lea Valley Boating centre was a walk about. Gorgeous here!!

The base is ideally located for exploring the scenic delights of the Lee Valley Country Park, the perfect place for combining your boat hire with bird watching, walking, cycling and angling. Try one of our day hire boats for a perfect day out with friends or family.

A mill stood here for 900 years before being destroyed by fire on 1 October 1949. It is the only mill in this area to be mentioned in the Domesday Book 1086. The first known owners were the Knights of St. John of Jerusalem who held the mill to 1544 at the time of the Reformation. The mill ceased the milling of grain in 1891 and was used for a variety of uses till its destruction.

The remnants of the mill which were renovated by the Lee Valley Regional Park Authority (LVRPA) in 1977 included c16 brickwork floor and window frames of the c19 two-storey miller's house. The original water wheel has been restored to include replacement paddles made from re-cycled plastic which have a longer life, weigh less therefore placing less stress on the original wheel. Additional work included a new side sluice which when raised allow excess water to pass through.

The mill and its surroundings which are open to the public are known as the Old Mill and Meadows site. The main bulk of which is wet meadows where water voles can be found. During the summer months dragonflies and damselflies are seen hovering over the reedbeds. The small piece of woodland provides habitat for birds and cover for small mammals such as the fox and the muntjac deer. Other activities here are angling which is permitted in the millpool and the millstream. Cycle hire is available in season and a model railway club is open to the public at certain times.

I walk up away from the waterside and pass some lovely houses and up to St Augustine Church.

The parish church of St Augustine was entirely rebuilt in the 15th century, although a 12th-century Purbeck marble font survives. The interior has a number of monuments and brasses dating from the 15th to the 19th century. The three stage tower has a belfry with a peal of eight bells, three of which are dated 1615.

The New River which passes through the centre of the town, was constructed in the early 17th century.

I walk back around and rejoin where I had left the water at The Mill.

Here there is a Model Railways centre that has free entry!

I walked back past the Cycle and canoe hire centre, must come back one day to hire an canoe!

I walked along the Wetlands and woodlands walk, but mindful of a ticking clock on the car park, I turned around not having walked it all!

Now I pass the cafe again, could really do with an ice-cream or even chips but I'm on a diet so I resisted temptation!

I pass The Crown PH by the waters edge. The Crown Inn has served Broxbourne for several hundred years, dating back to the 1700's. Popular with Victorian day-trippers, the inn was also used by local companies who liked their employees to play sports on the adjacent gardens. The current building was constructed in the 1930s, replacing The Old Crown Hotel.