A walk in the Mistley area.
Lynne, Paul, Ken, Kathy, Richard, Trevor and Gill met each other on Saturday 8th December at the Mistley train station for a walk through the Mistley Woods.
Old Knobbly, in Mistley WoodStarting at the English Diastatic Malt Extract Company (Edme) factory, we walked partly along an Essex green way to Furze Hill to visit Old Knobbly, an 800 year-old tree which was a sanctuary for witches in the 18th century. Old Knobbly has lots of history: it has survived a big fire in the past, it has its own website, and it has starred in a children's book!
As we walked along the green way we came across a stray spaniel puppy. He joined us and played with Serena. We were worried about who the owner was and we asked a local couple that we met if they knew. They didn't but offered to take the dog and try to find out.
Much later o
An Essex Green Wayn in our walk they saw us and stopped in their car. They had found who the owner was and was taking him home.
Although rain was forecast, luckily it stayed dry throughout the walk although part of the walk was quite muddy, especially through the woods, and around the lake.
The River StourMistley is well known for its Grade 1 listed Mistley Towers, all that remain of a Neoclassical Georgian parish church designed by Robert Adam.
Continuing, we walked along the beautiful River Stour towards Manningtree where we noticed a man feeding the gulls and swans, and surrounded by the hungry birds. The Mute Swans at Mistley are famous, and Mistley Coucil and Swan Rescue make sure their local birds survive the winter by feeding them twice a day.
After our 3.5 mile walk, lunch at Mistley's authentic Quay Tearooms was lovely. Our table overlooked the beautiful River Stour. A visit to the craft shop inside the tearooms building added to the finish of a lovely few hours in Mistley.
Gill Light, 8th December 2018