This short, circular, flat, 4-mile route goes mostly through ancient woodland, starting in the medieval hunting grounds of Writtle Forest. There are plenty of opportunities for wildlife spotting along the way; we saw deer, rabbits, squirrels, birds, and a rat. For the most part it was easy to navigate but as always, having a map never hurts. If you do this walk after lockdown, there’s a pub at the end.
The Sugar Loaf mountain stands 596m high in the Brecon Beacons National Park, Wales, near Abergavenny. It is the southernmost of the summit peaks of the Black Mountains. This walk offers many vantage points of (and on) the Sugar Loaf.
The route starts at a Cibi valley farm before ascending through a medieval deer park then ancient moorland. The climb to the summit is short but steep with rewarding views. The meandering descent passes grazing sheep and crosses a spring before a near vertical climb, then back onto Sugar Loaf common. The final decline is through woodland and pasture to the start.
This North Essex walk is one for the nature lovers, taking in four nature reserves. The walk can (and should!) be extended by rambling along the trails within these reserves before re-joining the main route. There’s a variety of terrain; farmland, woodland, meadows, and River Stour estuary and salt marsh. It’s an undulating walk with …