Showing posts with label darsham. Show all posts
Showing posts with label darsham. Show all posts

Saturday, 14 March 2009

Darsham to Saxmundham



Darsham to Saxmundham 11 km

Note: This cycle route is also travelled by the 521 service operated by Anglian Buses.

0.0 km From Haw Wood Farm campsite head northwest towards A12 main road.

0.7 km turn left (heading south) at the A12/Little Chef towards Ipswich.

1.0 km pass the right turn for the Bramfield/A144 road to reach Halesworth.

1.5 km the first left turning of Lymballs Lane offers a quicker route to the pretty village of Westleton and the ancient city of Dunwich, now almost entirely lost to the sea, and its beaches and coastal rides.

2.3 km ‘The Street’ on your left is signed for The Fox Inn 01728 668436 which is a popular pub and weekend lunch spot offering roasts and all the trimmings etc. The 521 bus serving Leiston and Beccles stops outside The Fox Inn.

Opposite the turning for The Street on the A12 is the White House, a Georgian farmhouse also offering B&B. From here the A12 starts to descend towards a level crossing 1 km ahead.

The Street leads into Darsham proper. 200 m east past The Fox Inn is Priory Lane and 300 m north of that on Priory Lane is Byways Bicycles 01728 668764 offering a full range of services for the cyclist including hire.

700 m from The Fox Inn east along The Street is All Saints Church, Darsham, a pretty mediaeval church with Romanesque details sited beside some traditional cottages.

The name of the village of Darsham derives from Deores Ham; home of the deer. This name is borne out by early reference to local roadways as chaseways. There was hunting in this area as late as the 18th century.

At 3.0 km Lily's Pantry/Jet Petrol/Londis/Smith & Wesby 01728 668228 are all under the same management providing a petrol station, locally sourced groceries and general supplies and hot food to eat-in and take away. The petrol pumps are not 24 hours and the air line requires coins.

The fields opposite the petrol station were the site in WW2 of RAF High Street, an early radar station part of Chain Home which originated at Bawdsey Manor, in Suffolk.

The radar station had four 240ft receiving towers made from wood and five 360ft transmitting towers made of steel. The wood towers stood in a close formation and the remains were blown up in the 1960’s.

3.10 km Darsham train station is on the East Suffolk line and enables a return to Halesworth in under ten minutes. The old station house is now The Country Centre, run by The Woodcraft Folk and is available for hire to accommodate groups of up to 22 people. Also on the station forecourt is the Halfway Café, reportedly a motorcyle friendly transport caff, so called because it is halfway between Ipswich and Lowestoft.

From here the road climbs out of dip for the level crossing. When you reach the crest of the hill, there is another lane on your left that could take you to Westleton & Dunwich as well.

From the top it is possible to coast into Yoxford although take care with your speed as the road begins a series of bends and at 4.3 km there is dangerous right hand bend at the junction of the B1122 Middleton Road where traffic from your left has a habit of pulling out in front of cyclists and the road narrows on the bend.

It is worth being assertive with your road occupation (i.e. get into the middle of the lane) as a vehicle overtaking you here could then force you into the kerb if they encountered something coming the other way from around the blind corner. For my own safety, I usually hop onto the pavement here.

Although you are probably to busy with traffic to notice; on your right at this corner are two attractive houses; Satis House, a hotel and restaurant, and Cockfield Hall.

Cockfield Hall is a grade 1 listed private house standing in 40 acres of historic parkland, dating from the 16th century.

It is no ordinary Tudor and Jacobean manor, but, according to the Times Newspaper, and Wikipedia, what the historian Sir John Summerson called a prodigy house — a mansion designed to entertain the monarch.

Sir Arthur Hopton who built a large Tudor house here was knighted for valour at the Battle of the Spurs in 1513. He was present at the Field of the Cloth of Gold in 1520, attended the coronation of Anne Boleyn in 1533 and the christening of Prince Edward in 1537. As heir also to vast estates in Yorkshire, he was called to play a major role in quelling the Catholic rebellion in 1536. Two years later the Henry VIII granted him the dissolved Priory of Blythburgh in Suffolk and he entertained the king at Cockfield at least once.

His son Sir Owen, as Lieutenant of the Tower of London, had a rather different “royal” visitor, Lady Katherine Grey, sister of Lady Jane Grey; the latter was briefly proclaimed queen in 1553 but was executed by Mary Tudor. Katherine was imprisoned first in the Tower of London and finally at Cockfield, where she died within a year and is buried in Yoxford church.

Sir Owen sold Cockfield and in 1597 it was bought by Robert Brooke, an alderman of London whose son, succeeding in 1600, had even loftier ideas and remodelled the house in grandest Jacobean style to receive James I. From the Brookes, Cockfield passed to the Blois family (pronounced Bloyss) in the 1690s, owners of extensive estates in both Norfolk and Suffolk.

Cockfield would never have survived as a private house after 1945 had the Luftwaffe not secured a direct hit on the south wing, destroying 42 rooms and making the house a more manageable size.

Rock star Gene Simmons (lead singer of Kiss) stayed at Cockfield Hall for several months in 2005 while filming the TV series Rock School at Kirkley High School in Lowestoft. An omelet named after him is on the menu at the nearby King's Head. Simmons taught the pub’s cook how to make the chicken, bell pepper and egg white omelet with no butter.

Satis House and Cockfield Hall are reputed to be connected. The hall was the home of the Blois dynasty for over 400 years. Sir Charles Blois (died 1850) is said to have installed one of his mistresses in Satis House across the park. Tradition says that he excavated a tunnel between the two houses so he could make his nightly visits in comfort and security. When the army took over both buildings during World War Two, they're said to have found the entrance to the passage at Satis House but sealed it up again. Unfortunately for this idea, the Hall stands right next to the Minsmere River and the land is so low-lying that the original 16th century Hall was actually built on wooden piles. There’s actually no chance even of a cellar here.

At 4.5 km by the Kings Head, Suffolk’s first “smoke free pub”, the A12 meets the A1120 which is signed as a tourist route westwards to Stowmarket.

350 m along the A1120 which is Yoxford’s main street is Horners 01728 668336, a late opening shop with fresh bread, fruit & veg, groceries, off-licence and a DVD library. Historic Yoxford is worth browsing as it has many attractive buildings, some interesting shops and galleries and quality dining. Main’s Restaurant is a ‘relaxed’ eatery providing affordable meals from locally sourced ingredients.

Behind Yoxford’s St Peters Church (dating from around 1400) is a small industrial building prominently signed ‘Freedom Works’. This libertarian declaration houses a school for flautists and is a venue for the annual Yoxford Arts Festival each August. Next to it, motor mechanic David Parsons 01728 668210 specialises in restoring classic English cars. The village hall hosts a flea market 9 AM - 1 PM on Saturdays with an eclectic mix of vendors, some arty and crafty stalls along with the knick-knacks and WI offerings.

Leaving Yoxford’s charms behind, the A12 is wide and flat and traffic remains slowed to 30 MPH for another 300 m where it then increases inexplicably to 50 MPH (up to March 2009 it was 40 MPH) for the next 1.8 km until you reach the national speed limit sign at the turning for North Green.

At 5.7 km there is a picturesque stand of oak trees (at least I think so) against the wide open Suffolk skies which I’ve been meaning to capture at sunset for some time. From here it’s a boring but thankfully brief 2.5 km slog as the road climbs gently and crests with a level stretch at the sign for Kelsale.

Near here a sign points right to Laurel Farm Herbs just off the A12. Established in 1985 by Chris Seagon, Laurel Farm is one of the leading herb nurseries in East Anglia selling to the retail trade via mail order or personal callers. Chris grows all his plants cold in peat free compost without artificial heating or chemicals.

At 7.5 km a cycle path begins on the southbound side of the A12 for 250m up to the left turning for Saxmundham, signed B1121/Carlton Park. Take this left and about 200m further, after a short climb, the second turning on your right - Rosemary Lane - will be signposted for Tower Plants 01728 603142 with opening hours an on/off schedule of Monday/Wednesday/Friday 10.00am - 4.00pm, Sat/Sun 2.00pm - 5.00pm.

The tower itself is an old windmill built in 1856 by John Whitmore and was worked by wind until about 1905 when a steam driven roller plant was installed. The mill was originally worked as a group of three with a nearby large post mill and a steam mill housed in the building adjoining the tower.

Carlton-cum-Kelsale has plenty of interesting buildings and a church worth exploring and the Poachers Pocket, 01728 602174 is a traditional real-ale family pub providing a garden and lunches and evening meals.

Continue south for another 3 km on the B1121 past housing developments and the Carlton Park Industrial Estate on your right where the road levels off and soon you will see the town signs for Saxmundham proclaiming it was the winner of Anglia in Bloom in 2005. Here the road narrows a bit just before the rail bridge because of parked cars.

At 10.4 km you have reached the end of the journey and arrived at Saxmundham opposite the old telephone exchange and the marketplace (market day is Wednesday). Station Approach on your right (due west) leads, naturally, to Saxmundham railway station 250m further along. Saxmundham has many interesting shops and services and a Somerfield supermarket that is soon to become a Waitrose.

NEXT: SAXMUNDHAM in detail and onto STERNFIELD and SNAPE MALTINGS.

Thursday, 12 March 2009

A cycle ride between the art, history and local services of Halesworth and Darsham.


This was written for the benefit of the High Tide Theatre Company



From: The Cut, New Cut, Halesworth, IP19 8BY
To: Haw Wood Farm, Darsham IP17 3QT


Distance: 5.4 miles, 9.18 km

Although the majority of this route is along a main road which HGVs travel between Ipswich and Norwich, the upside is that the road is smooth and wide with gentle climbs and descents. It should take a moderately fit person less than half an hour to travel by bicycle between the site of the High Tide festival at The Cut, Halesworth and the festival's campsite at Darsham.

On leaving the entrance to The Cut, head north (uphill) on New Cut and turn left at the A144/Norwich Rd, going downhill towards the roundabout.

But if your tyres need some air, turn right to Hammonds petrol station instead as this is the only local petrol station with a free air line.

Go straight ahead (second exit) over the roundabout onto Saxons Way. (The third exit Bridge Street leads to The Thoroughfare, a pedestrian shopping area.) A shopfront on Bridge Street belongs to the World Land Trust, an international conservation organisation that takes direct action to save rainforest and other wildlife habitats by buying it. The public library is almost opposite it.


On the roundabout on your left is Hooker House, once the home of the botanist Sir
Joseph Dalton Hooker which is now a dental surgery. Behind it the park on your left was given to the town by Lady Rugby, the grandmother of disgraced MP Jonathan Aitken who spent his childhood in Halesworth. This is the site of the annual ‘Gig in the Park’ every August.

The river running through the park was once navigable until embankments built downstream caused it to silt up and there was a busy quayside where grain from the many maltings in Halesworth (of which The Cut was one) was taken by boat to Southwold and from there by ship to London. At one time all of Halesworth's malt went exclusively to the Truman brewery in London's Brick Lane.

The car park on the right has a rank of bottle banks and beside them is Huggy's, a cycle shop and motor mechanic.

At the next roundabout continue on ahead. (The right turn is signed Angel Link and leads to The Thoroughfare and the town Marketplace.)

The road now sweeps in a curve to the right. Lansbury Road on the left is named after the founder of the Labour Party George Lansbury (see Mells). Archaeological evidence suggests the derelict land on the right was occupied in medieval times with lead-working, spinning, weaving and brewing carried out in several tenements. It is now the
contested site of a development for a Tesco supermarket.

At the next roundabout take the first left A144/London Rd. On the right is a Co-operative supermarket and a petrol station with a coin-operated pressure washer. Facing the roundabout is the Rifle Hall, originally built in 1792 as a theatre and was used from 1812 - 1844 by the theatre manager David Fisher. He owned an itinerant theatre group which travelled a circuit of theatres in East Anglia (including the Fisher Theatre in Bungay). It would take the company two years to complete the circuit travelling with their costumes, props and sets and publicising their plays as they went. They were highly successful with strong links with the London stage and the acting circle and the Rifle Hall once provided Halesworth what The Cut does today. The Rifle Hall has regretfully been neglected by Waveney District Council ever since they took it over in 1974 and its future looks uncertain.

Continue up the incline, mindful of the T-junction with the B1123 Chediston St causing traffic to stop or pull out in front of cyclists, passing Kerridges car dealership, and after that, turn left (heading south) at the A144/Bramfield Rd (at Highfield Residential Home). The road then sweeps downhill passing Blyth industrial estate. A cottage that once stood at the crossroads for Mells and Walpole was the birthplace of the founder of the Labour Party
George Lansbury. His grand-daughter is the actress Angela. The Mells road continues onto Wenhaston and this is a good route if you want a quiet back road to see the Wenhaston Doom. In the distance to the east along the valley you can also see the Holton Windmill.

At the 2 km mark, the road climbs again as you pass the
Halesworth Golf Club, crossing over the East Suffolk Railway, until it reaches a plateau. The trees at the right bend in the road have seen two fatal car accidents here in the last two years. A memorable road safety poster said "you see a lot of flowers in the country" and the remnants of wreaths were still there at the time of writing. To give a sense of distance if contemplating a side trip; to the east on the far horizon can be seen the Hinton Lodge water tower and next to it is Blythburgh Church, one of the finest churches in East Anglia.

The road then begins to descend towards the village of
Bramfield and with enough initial speed it is possible to coast to the centre of the village.

After the village sign, a short way up the first left turning is K W Clarkes, a quality butchers who produce local ham smoked on the premises as well as stocking locally sourced groceries.

After that turning, the North Manor Equestrian Centre stock the surrounding fields with horses and beyond that, The Bell, a 17th century pub, sells firewood and serves real ale but not food. It is one of the last places in the world where the traditional pub game ‘Ringing the Bull’ can be played.

Further on the
Bramfield Garage services and sells secondhand cars and motorcycles. Opposite the garage is the Queens Head, a long established award winning gastro-pub. Even though it is now only 5 kms since you left The Cut, you may want to slake your thirst from passing the half-way mark with a pint of locally brewed Adnams there. Nearby an overgrown dovecote made from a barrel raised on a post is a charming oddity.

At the village crossroads a choice of diversions awaits: The Walpole road to the right passes a crinkle-crankle wall and leads to the fine
St Andrews Church.

In the opposite direction; a short way down the Thorington road, a path following the ancient Dunwich road leads to circle of felled elm trees at TM 403 736 which often holds outdoor performances. The landowner is the managing director of a display pyrotechnics company who has evidently done extensive and sensitive natural landscaping.


The Thorington road also leads to Wenhaston and a ride to there and back to Holton and Halesworth via the Mells road is a pleasant circular route.

Continuing out of the village, an ancient defensive earthworks, the ‘Bramfield Castle’, becomes apparent on the left side. The road now divides two separate estates. On the right; the Georgian façade of Bramfield Hall can be glimpsed. This Tudor pile is the weekend home of the chairman of the Royal Opera House.

The road begins to climb again and here the surface has deteriorated in some places. A cast iron milestone is at TM 401 727 and near here a large colony of rooks makes an audible landmark that car drivers would miss.

Then on the right,
Brights Farm raises organic meat and is a special area of conservation. From the farm you can access twelve miles of grass walks passing a variety of different habitats including old meadows, ancient woods and ponds. Polocrosse is sometimes played in the fields too.

On reaching a flat plateau again, passing two WWII pillboxes marks the last kilometre. The vista is marred or enlivened depending on your mood by the sight of the A12 road and the whiff of a poultry farm.


At the junction with the A12, to reach Haw Wood Farm turn left towards the Little Chef restaurant and then turn right (signed for Hinton) and continue on, passing the turning for High Lodge golf course and shooting school, to reach Haw Wood Farm.

Otherwise, to continue onto Saxmundham, turn right at the A12 and continue on the cycle path towards the train station and petrol station which will become visible 2 km further south.

Darsham has all the basic essentials for a bicycle visitor including a
cycling centre and The Fox Inn is popular for Sunday lunches. A bicycle will ensure all its amenities are convenient as they are scattered over some distance.

Clustered around the train station 2 km further along the A12 from the A144 junction are two cafés, a Jet petrol station with a market, Monkey Drum; a shop selling multicultural musical instruments and fair-trade gifts, a paint and tile shop and a automotive tyre centre.

If you want to return to Halesworth by public transport, your choices are the train from Darsham which takes under ten minutes but only runs every two hours or the hourly 521 Anglian Bus which stops outside the station and The Fox Inn on which so far folding bikes have been tolerated.

Local Bike Shops

Halesworth

Coopers (an ironmongers selling tools but no bike spares)
53-54 The Thoroughfare
01986 872 110

Huggy's Bike Shop

Unit 5
18 The Thoroughfare
Tel: 01986 873932

Darsham


Byways Bicycle
Priory Farm
Tel: 01728 668764

Mountain Bike Hire for Snape and Rendlesham forests (delivery and collection to your door with 24 hours notice).

Avocet Sports

07706 479965

http://www.eastcoastmountainbiking.co.uk/



Another map link: http://www.mapmyrun.com/route/gb/halesworth/959027424273

Services in Halesworth

Besides The Cut, services in Halesworth cluster around the Thoroughfare and The Marketplace, both a short walk from the New Cut. Halesworth has a wide range of shops including specialist butchers, a fishmonger, a delicatessen, a organic shop, several greengrocers, a toyshop, several giftshops, an ironmongers, several cafes, a picture framer, a teddy bear emporium, several banks and building societies, a travel agent, a sports shop, a Spar, two newsagents, three hairdressers, a gun shop, a wine merchant, a copy shop, a stationers, chemists and several takeaways. There is also a Co-operative supermarket and several petrol stations and car dealerships locally.

For bike related items there is Huggy's and Anglia Sports has some clothing and Coopers is hardware shop with good tool department but it doesn’t stock bike bits.

Barclays and Lloyds cashpoints are in the marketplace (beyond the Thoroughfare, opposite the Angel Hotel) and HSBC has one at the north end of The Thoroughfare opposite Focus Organics.





PART TWO TO COME: DARSHAM to SNAPE via SAXMUNDHAM

Monday, 9 March 2009

A12 road blackmail

Suffolk Coastal MP John Gummer has stated he'd only back another nuclear power station at Sizewell if the A12 road was upgraded.

Those with long memories will recall that the first round of A12 improvements came with the same trade-off. The A12 was improved between Ipswich and Yoxford as it was expected the workers needed to build Sizewell A and B who did not live in temporary housing at Leiston would come from Ipswich or Woodbridge.

In practise, workers found they could rent for much cheaper in Lowestoft than Ipswich or Woodbridge so all the commuter traffic to the site came along the unimproved roads.

If we turn the argument around, what Gummer is saying is Suffolk will get the A12 improvements everybody wants, if we agree to have yet another power station at Sizewell.
In that case, they can stuff the empty promises which report after report has already recommended with urgent haste and were promised long before SCC de-trunked the road from the Highways Agency with yet more promises it would ensure improvements.

Wednesday, 3 September 2008

Ten Green Bottles

The country bus route 521 I take to work (combined with cycling on my folding Dahon Vitesse) has to make several diversions from the A12 to serve the small villages along the way.

Each morning it winds around Yoxford long enough for me to buy a paper and you could probably alight at Darsham long enough to have a swift half in the Fox Inn while it goes through the village and comes back the way it came.

This morning at Darsham an old lady, a pensioner with a travel card, was waiting at the stop with one of those wheeled shopping baskets that only pensioners use. "Morning Doris" the driver said. "Good morning Hector" said Doris. The driver and passenger were obviously well acquainted. (I didn't actually catch the first names so let's pretend shall we?)

As she slowly dragged the basket up the steps I heard the unmistakable clank of glass bottles. "One to Sax, please" she asked. Saxmudham is about five miles from Darsham where I get off. "Having a party?" Hector jokingly asked her on hearing the sound of glass. "If only, just a trip to the bottle bank" Doris told him. Once she was settled behind me, the bus set off for the church where it can make a U-turn to go back to the main road.

Although admiring her devotion to be green I couldn't help thinking that although the cost to her was nil, it certainly wasn't very green to tranport a few bottles by bus each time. Curious, I turned to Doris and said "Don't you have a bottle bank here?" "Oh no dear" Doris said. "There's no room for one." I thought that unusual and told her I used a very small bottle bank in Wenhaston which also raised money for the village pre-school. Doris replied the parish council had looked into one but there was nowhere to put it. She knew a lot about village affairs and she agreed it wasn't very green to ride the bus to drop off a few bottles but sometimes she didn't have much else to do anyway.

As we passed a long low utilitarian building I said, "what about your village hall, could it not go there?" Doris said "they said they haven't got the room, now that they've sold off the land around it." Then as we approached the Fox Inn I asked, "what about the pub? What do they do with all their bottles?" "I don't know" said Doris "but here's the publican. I'll ask her."

The bus was being hailed by a smartly dressed woman, who must be be in her fifties as she didn't have a bus pass, who was going to Sax and she and the driver exchanged the pleasantries that occur at every stop on this route. When Nell was settled, Doris asked her, "Nell, what do you do with your bottles?" "Why, I put them in our bottle bank of course" Nell replied.

Nell explained to Doris' surprise that one had been in place "for about three months now. Didn't you get the letter?" "No" said Doris, obviously crestfallen at the severeal wasted journeys she must have made since, "I'll have to have a word with Shirley about that."

It appeared to present company that Shirley, the parish clerk, hadn't sent a letter to every household about their new amenity. Nell went on to explain she'd tried to get a 3-unit sorting station but because of overhead wires, their site was only suitable for a 'mixed' collection. "It's under my bedroom window" Nell said, "so I hope people will be considerate about using it."

Then the conversation went onto the pub's recent change in menu; "we've stopped having the full menu on Sundays" said Nell ,"it was too much work. Some days Chef didn't know if he was Arthur or Martha!" Despite all the news about the decline of the pub, the demand for Sunday roasts alone kept their bookings at 75% of capacity.

I went back to my newspaper with some satisfaction that my intervention had solved Doris' problem in the way that only country buses can.

image: bottle bank at Pettistree, Suffolk copyright 2005 Chris Garner