Walking seems to have fallen by the wayside for us a bit recently, and we’ve been off the beaten tracks for a proper stroll for quite some time. Admittedly, there has been the odd one or two, but they’ve all been fairly short in nature and more of a stroll rather than a good tramping across the fields kind of a walk. So, this afternoon, after another sunny and sociable BBQ lunch in Galleywood, we put that right, drove the handful of miles to Ingtatestone, and walked the 2.5 miles through the countryside, past Ingatestone Hall to nearby Buttsbury.
It’s a route that Nik used to take regularly with an old school friend, and that in itself tells you how long ago it is since he last did it. And although the sun wasn’t really hanging in the sky and it was overcast, it still made for a pleasant and long enough walk, even though we thought we might have gotten caught out with a rain shower at one point. With fields of brown and dead-looking peas drying (we’ve since found out the Essex farmers are growing wasabi peas for export to Japan), the air was full of the sound of pods popping.
Crossing the little concrete bridge where the two school friends used to sit and dangle their legs over the edge, we could see the little church serving Buttsbury on the outskirts of the village. With an interior not much larger than a classroom, St Mary’s Church is not only old, but sweet with it. A mixture of brick, flint, tile and timber, the small, slatted bell tower looks out across the now combined fields, the same fields through which we tramped our way back to the car. With two dog walkers and two dogs (one a little more excitable than I’d have liked), we even had some canine company for part of the stroll back.
BBQ? BBQ?! I think you’ll find the word is barbecue. I hope you’re happy now you’ve given me an attack of the vapours.