Friday 20 May 2022

Follow The Green Path

In England, as well as roads linking adjacent villages, there'll almost always be a few winding, half-forgotten paths running through the deepest green countryside. It's surely no coincidence that the mapmakers have chosen to show these paths pecked out in green on our most detailed maps.


We'll start our meanderings in the village of Great Bardfield in Essex. By pure chance we found ourselves parked opposite "The Brick House" which was home, from the 1930's till 1970 to the artist, Edward Bawden. For a time during the 40's and 50's the village became the centre of a gathering of artists known as the Great Bardfield Group. Perhaps the best-known member of them, Eric Ravilious, also lodged at the Brick House during part of that time.


But we're here to thread our way through some of the countryside that inspired these artists. After a few slightly overgrown paths by field-edge and streamside we found ourselves on a generous grassy track that looks as though it must once led to somewhere of local importance.


At the end of the lane we came to a stylish old house with honey for sale. And sneaking down beside it was a track leading to a little bridge over the River Pant.


Right behind the house were the remains of an old watermill. Yes, this would have been the house of the miller, once a man of some importance in the local community. There was good money to be made if you owned a watermill or windmill to grind their wheat or barley; though that wealth came at a price, for many people thought they were being cheated, however honest the miller might be.


An unexpected sighting of a zebra!


The path doggedly made its way through thick vegetation with quite a lot of Comfrey growing amongst the Cow Parsley.


We passed just a few houses as we followed the tiny Finchingfield Brook on our way to the village of Finchingfield itself. The thatched cottage above has been extended to form a luxurious country retreat for someone with a lot more money than I have. There are two mushroom-shaped "staddle-stones" standing outside. They once had the vital job of lifting the floor of a granary away from the attentions of mice and rats - now they reduced to being mere decorations.


The map's green line led us behind Finchingfield Church as we came to the village. I'll show you more pictures of the pretty villages of Great Bardfield and Finchingfield next time, but for now lets continue our walk.


We followed streets lined with ancient houses down to the village green and duckpond. This can be an exceedingly busy and touristy place on fine weekends in midsummer; it was plenty busy enough at ten o'clock on a Tuesday morning.


As we left the village our eyes were attracted to this handsome grouping of trees.


We're going back by a different, more circuitous, path. Unusually for a footpath this one has a name - Winsey Chase - and I'm pretty certain that it was once a road leading to a farm.


This wooded area, where the track makes a double bend, is, I think, where the road passed through the farmyard and in the trees on the right there are the remains of an old moat, which perhaps surrounded the farmhouse. I couldn't see the moat for all the trees and undergrowth, but it's right there on the map. The old road led on from there to Beslyn's Farm, which I know was a scene painted by one of the Great Bardfield artists.


Artistry of a different kind was displayed on the ridgeline of the Beslyn's Cottage.



Maybe I had one of Eric Ravilious's paintings in the back of my mind when I took the picture above; a signpost, overhead wires and a road junction (but not this one) certainly feature in one of his more famous works, though he probably balanced and finessed his composition with more care than I did.
 


On we went, through every shade of green in an artist's palette, as we gradually approached the little River Pant one more.


Red Campion sang out from the shadows. It's a common enough wildflower, but one that always attracts the eye at this time of year.

And here's the Pant itself, which we can follow almost all the way back to Great Bardfield.


There's time to pause for a final time and glance back on the way we've come. It seems unlikely, if  not impossible, that a path could slip and sidestep its way through all that rampant greenery and lead unfalteringly to its intended destination. But here we are, back in Great Bardfield, right in front of the Brick House with its colourful display of flowers.




Take care.


25 comments:

  1. What an utterly delightful walk. Thank you.

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  2. Essex can be very beautiful and at this time of year must be glorious. Thank you for the walk. I know the two villages well, so look forward to the next photos.

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  3. I love Bawden's & Ravilious's work - did you know that there is a great exhibition currently at the Higgins, Bedford, showing Edward Bawden's work called "Artist Plantsman" with free entry until next January.
    Essex is a county that has never really attracted me, but your photos have competely changed my perspective.

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  4. Sadly, I am not familiar with the works of the artists your mention (perhaps a visit to Google is required) but it is not hard to appreciate why they would be drawn to this delightful corner of the world. The people who built those thatched cottages would be staggered to contemplate the prices they fetch today. As always, John, your narrative leads us on a very pleasant and informative journey.

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  5. Hi John - Our Towner Art Gallery, Eastbourne has many Sussex art works ... but holds a number of Eric Ravilious' works - they form a major segment within the collections. So I was interested to see your information here ... I must spend more time with Ravilious - there is a gallery here and I usually have a calendar with his works for each month. Beautiful walk - you picked an excellent day ... thanks for all the snippets - cheers Hilary

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  6. Such a delightful walk, cottages, a zebra-horse, blooms, tree-lined paths. I thoroughly enjoyed this outing.

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  7. Another most enjoyable walk through woods and dale (whatever that might be) with you! I chuckled at the zebra! Not familiar at all with those artists, so I'll also be looking them up to learn more, since I love your landscape photos!

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  8. I had to Google the artists as I did not know them. Their style was different than what I had expected. Your beautiful photos certainly captured the loveliness of the area you hiked. Wonderful job, John.

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  9. Good writers never lose their touch. You take us on a walk and include history and present day scenery. You also walk alone so that you can concentrate on the scenery

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    1. Actually i was walking with my brother, Les, as I mostly do these days. He's very understanding when I stop to take photographs. And without his driving my walks would be a lot more limited in scope.

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    2. Sometimes it seems like you and Les are two pockets in the same pair of pants!

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    3. You'd be amazed at how different we are, David, we don't even look alike.

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  10. Another lovely, long walk there. That zebra was quite a surprise!

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  11. Superb as usual John - Love Ravilious's work so is interesting to look at his 'area' so to speak. Also I love that horse on the thatch - a work of art in itself.

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  12. This was a wonderful walk...I did enjoy the views so much. Later tonight...I will probably get on google maps and see the satellite view.

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  13. Very intresting walk 4u both r john

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  14. Love the scenery and the zebra coat on the horse gave me a good giggle.

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  15. Very interesting walk, a lot of villages around here are interconnected by footpaths. North and south Hinksey near Oxford were only accessible that way once as there were no roads between them as it is there is only the A34 now

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  16. Quite a walk. It's the horse's coat that really stands out to me.

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  17. Thank you for another wonderful walk. Your blogs always make me wonder whether I should brave the journey.

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  18. As much as I always enjoy your nature walks that are devoid of structures, John, I will admit that I enjoy the ones like this just as much. I too am not familiar with the two artists mentioned but then I admit to not having an extensive art history knowledge. The Red Campion in bloom was most striking amidst all those shades of green. One day in the not to far off future we are hoping to travel to the UK and just might go on a similar walk about.

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  19. What a wonderful wander through the fields and woods. Thank you.

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  20. merci de nous emmener avec vos images dans cette belle région ! la tenue "zèbre" est géniale !

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  21. What a walk! Beautiful scenery! I believe that this landscape provides an endless source of ideas for artists.

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  22. Essex is a very underated county. It has a beauty all of its own which you have shown a little of in this post. All those different shades of green that you meandered through from one village to another make me want to find a paintbrush and create a masterpiece. One can always dream!

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Thanks for taking the time to comment. I'll try to answer any questions via a comment or e-mail within the next day or two (no hard questions, please!).