June 28: St Peter's Way

25 miles today – my longest walk in years – to celebrate Camilla’s birthday. Work and other distractions had meant two months without a long walk, so I was completely out of shape.

I did a circular walk out of Shenfield, taking in a short section of the St Peter’s Way (which I never managed to finish last year). I started with the southern outskirts of Shenfield and Brentwood, but I needn’t have bothered. Things improved as soon as I headed north in the direction of Ongar, and found the wonderful medieval churches at Doddinghurst and Stondon Massey. Both were typical of the Essex tradition, with timber bell towers, though unfortunately both were closed.

After nearly 13 miles, I reached Chipping Ongar, an elegant small town that used to be the terminus of the Central Line. There were many fine buildings here, particularly the church. Ongar also lies on the River Roding, which runs through Ilford and flows into the Thames through the Barking Flood Barrier (see my January walks). In Ongar it was little more than a stream.

Chipping Ongar marks the western start of the St Peter’s Way (I had completed most of the eastern sections, towards Bradwell on Sea, last year). The countryside here is fairly unspectacular, so it is the buildings (or their remains) that give the trail character in this section. Immediately east of Ongar is the huge Norman motte. Now covered by trees, it is still impressive.

Nearly two miles to the east, a diversion to High Ongar revealed another fine medieval church of unusual structure. A brick tower from 1858 was added to the south side of the church, with the base of the tower forming a porch. An ornate Norman arch frames the doorway.

Five miles along St Peter’s Way lay the jewel of the day, the church of St Laurence at Blackmore. This was once the church of the Augustine Priory, and the wall that surrounded the priory complex survives. I decided to leave St Peter’s Way here and return for a more exhaustive visit. I headed southwards and reached Shenfield in darkness, 15 hours after I had left it.

A lack of fitness, the unexpected heat and my unerring ability to locate brambles had made it seem like very hard work at time. I got home to find some of the largest blisters I had ever seen. Still, it was worth it…

Today: 25 miles
2006: 220 miles