Text and pics contributed by Simon
This was the first IOG walk led by John Mills: a wonderful, wet hike to Wivenhoe. The weather forecast was ‘wet most of the day’, but that didn’t deter the three hardy souls who joined John at Manningtree train station. We started off in light drizzle. The rain soon stopped and the sun made an appearance. Over trousers were optimistically removed.
This dry spell was short-lived.
We walked in the rain until we arrived at Great Bromley, where the entrance to the churchyard provided shelter from the rain for a brief snack. A handy bus-shelter in Elmstead Market was a dry and relatively comfortable spot for lunch, before heading off again through fields and woodland with a brief stop when our phones rang for the ‘Emergency Alert Test’.
After negotiating the extremely muddy path into Wivenhoe we headed to the Rose and Crown to dry off and have a well deserved drink. ‘A drink’ became a few drinks and dinner – as our wet waterproofs dripped puddles onto the floor of the pub. Then it was time catch the train back to Manningtree via Colchester.
It had been a very wet day, but a great walk in good company. Thanks John.