Visit to Essex

I'm just back from a visit to Essex to see my parents.
The journey down was a bit different because the train service was canceled due to lack of staff. In place was a minibus which  took me to first to Roy Bridge then Tulloch station then back towards Glasgow ( so I passed my front door for a second time after about half an hour of travelling ) Despite this the driver got me to Glasgow quicker than the train would have done. During all that time I was the only passenger!
From Glasgow I took the overnight bus to London . After a coffee I took the tube all the way out to Epping. My plan was to run to my parents house about thirty miles East of there using the Essex Way footpath and then the St Peter's Way footpath. Unfortunately I was suffering from a flare up of the anterior tibialis tendonitis that started on my West Highland Way race attempt. I enjoyed running through the woodland and  on the footpaths but was forced to walk more and more as the pain and swelling in my leg increased
.I stopped for a while at the ancient Greensted Church. It is the only wooden Saxon church still standing. It was constructed about 1060 replacing an earlier building. The wooden walls are made from grooved vertically placed oak logs .Originally they would have been hammered into the ground but the bottoms have rotted so they are now on a brick plinth. Even so it is very impressive to think of the generations of people who have worshipped, been baptised , married or had funerals there all the way back to the 11th century. I sat in the quiet cool dark church and sketched some of the roof timbers .

From there I walked to Chipping Ongar  and then threw in the towel. I took a bus to Chelmsford then phoned for a lift from my Dad. I was disappointed not to do the run but there was no point in hurting my leg further .

My niece Olivia was staying with my parents as well so it was good to catch up.We spent a lot of time in the garden talking and drinking tea. On the Friday we went to London as my niece was going back to Derbyshire.After we had seen her on the train we went to Dulwich Gallery which had an exhibition of John Singer Sargent's watercolours. This was quite exciting or me as I have admired his watercolours for a long time. It was really good to 'see them in the flesh' and try to work out his technique. It was interesting to see that he used quite a lot of bodycolour for accents and used varied washes and negative shapes very effectively.
As my running was curtailed I was able to do more reading and sketching than is normal . I picked up Alain De Botton's " Status Anxiety" in a charity shop and  found it very readable. I have also been reading  "Tools of Titans" by Tim Ferriss which is a beast of a book filled with inspiration.
I did manage a few slow jogs to some of my favourite haunts at Beeleigh and Purleigh.

Recent Paintings

Here's a picture of the canal near Beeleigh painted from a photo I took when I was in Essex a few weeks ago . I have painted this tree several times but mostly in the summer with the sun shining  through the translucent green leaves with cool deep reflections in the water. This time it was a surprisingly sunny late November day. Most of the trees had lost their leaves but not the oaks which were still resplendent in their golden crowns.

This is another picture I painted this weekend. It's of the east shore of Loch Lomond a few miles north of Balmaha from a photo I took when I did a 3 day West Highland Way this summer. Both these paintings are for sale at my Etsy shop.

Last week purchased a pair of vibram five fingers. I have been tempted by these weird looking running shoes( they are like gloves for feet with separate toe pockets) since I first read Born to Run about six years ago However I was put off by the price (£100 or more) and  my fear that they are a bit gimmicky. However I spotted apair for £67 on Amazon and took the plunge So far I have been very impressed . They are very comfortable and have a more protective sole and better grip than many of the other minimalist shoes I have tried.

Visit to Essex

I am just back from a trip to Essex and Norfolk to see family. I opted to get the bus down which was quite gruelling but cheap .
I arrived in Central London at 8am on Monday. After a night sitting up my first priority was coffee! Then I walked to Oxford Circus through the city . I don't know London well but of course all the names are very familiar through the news, culture and playing monopoly.
I passed Buckinham Palace ,went through Green Park ( beautiiful  plane trees)  passed the Ritz and went up Fleet Street. I like to imagine the landscape before London was a concrete jungle what would it have been like when there was a River Fleet running down towards the Thames?
From Oxford Circus I cheated  and took the Underground  My original plan was to run from Central London to my parent's house in Maldon Essex. However I realised that this would be a tall order given my current state of fitness and  the amount I was carrying , So I took the tube to Epping which conveniently is where the Essex Way starts- a well marked footpath heading initially in the right direction.. The first part of my route took me through some lovely forest containing many ancient pollarded hornbeam trees. Then some equally beautiful farmland . The wheat and  the barley was almost ripe; its pale gold complimenting the greens of the trees and  the blueness of the sky .
It soon became clear that it was going to be a long day as the paths were very overgrown with tall grassess nettles and  briars. Often navigation was a challenge too. It slows the running  down if you have to check the map and look for hidden footpath signs every 100 metres or so.
At Greensted I stopped at the church which to me is a marvel. It is the oldest wooden church in the world and  the oldest wooden building standing in Europe. That the original wooden walls have survived since Saxon times in our damp climate without rotting is incredible. To lay ones hand on a piece of oak and know that it was cut and  fashioned by unknown hands nearly one thousand years ago is humbling.

At Chipping Ongar I switched from the Essex Way to the St Peter's Way and continued thrashing through overgrown paths. Listening to my litle pocket radio I learned that Theresa May was to be elected unapposed as the leader of the Conservative party and therefore to become Prime Minister of our country in 48 hours!
At Stock I was stung by a wasp and near Bicknacre I stood on a thorn which went straight through the sole of my running shoe and deep into my foot -Ouch! Here was me used to the wilds of Scottish mountains,being stung, scratched and impaled on a low level country run in Essex.
I limped on and soon reached familiar places; paths and lanes around Hazeleigh that I have known since I was a boy .I eventually arrived at. my parents in the evening.

On the second day I set out from Purleigh to complete the St Peter's Way. The route was clearer since I was now on home turf . Still I was confused once or twice with styles and footpath signs being hidden by foilage .
 The seawall at Maylandsea was very overgrown but once that was passed I felt I was making  progress.
Despite a poor weather forecast it was very hot  and at Tillingham I gave in to temptation and  had a deliciously cool beer at the old pub by the church .
Back on the route I was soon on the sea wall again . Beautiful open country with huge skies and  views that go on forever .
My final destination was St Peter's on the Wall an ancient church built about 660AD on the ruins of a Roman Fort .

The church interior is sparsely  furnished with bare stonework walls. It is a very spiritual place and a fitting end to a long distance footpath. I sat for a while and sketched the light streaming in through the open door.