Tags
estuary, Iken, River Alde, Roy Tricker, Saxon cross, St. Botolph's church, Suffolk, wading birds, walking
Three days after the walk we took round the lanes on New Year’s Day, mentioned in a previous post, Richard and I took ourselves off for another walk. Elinor joined us. We set off quite early as we needed to complete the walk before lunchtime; Richard had an optician’s appointment in the early afternoon in Halesworth and we had decided we would have lunch in a pub together before the appointment.
Iken is about twenty-four miles to the south of us and is a tiny village near the estuary of the River Alde and near the coast. We have walked here a few times before but not for some time and never in the depths of winter. The day was cloudy and raw, the temperature didn’t rise above 1 degree Centigrade all day ; a day when it would have been pleasant to have stayed at home and read a book.
There is a narrow pathway from the car park down to the estuary.

Despite the cold weather the Gorse (Ulex europaeus) was still in bloom. ‘Gorse is out of bloom, kissing’s out of fashion’.
I don’t know what this fungus is. It was much too cold to stand still for more than a couple of minutes so I had to leave it.

The Alde estuary. You can just see the tower of Iken church sticking out above the dark trees on the horizon on the right.

There are many geese, ducks and wading birds on the estuary. I don’t know what type of geese these are.

Some, if not all of these waders are probably Bar-tailed Godwits (Limosa lapponica). They appear to have slightly up-turned bills with pink-orange bases.
The shore was very muddy and difficult to walk on.
I couldn’t definitely identify these ducks either!
We left the estuary and walked along another narrow pathway adjacent to a few gardens until we got to the road in the village. At a junction on the edge of the village we turned left towards the church which is situated right at the end of a promontory jutting out into the estuary.
This church is mentioned in the Anglo Saxon Chronicle. “Here in 654……Botwulf (Botulph) began to build the minster at Icanho”. There are a couple of other places that have been considered as the possible site of Botulph’s first church (Boston in Lincolnshire and Hadstock in Essex) but this promontory, or hoo is now considered to be the most likely site.Here is a short passage quoted from the church guide written by Roy Tricker.
‘A Saxon minster was a nucleus of Christian worship, witness and learning for a wide area. It was staffed either by a community of monks or a group of priests and from it missionaries travelled to spread the Faith and to establish satellite churches. Botolph remained at Icanho as its abbot until his death in c.680. It is recorded that he was buried by his disciples on June 17th and this has remained his annual feast day. Abbot Coelfrith of Wearmouth and Jarrow, who nurtured the young (though later to become the Venerable) Bede, paid a visit to Icanho in 670 to observe the type of monastic life in operation here, and it is recorded that he was greatly impressed.
From Icanho the monks made missionary journeys into East Anglia and beyond and it may be that the 75 or so English churches which bear (or have once borne) St. Botolph’s name may give some clue to the extent of their work. They include 16 in Norfolk, 4 in Essex and 6 in Suffolk, of which the church at Burgh (near Woodbridge) appears to have enshrined the Saint’s remains for a time. King Cnut authorised the removal of some of Botolph’s bones to the abbey at Bury St. Edmunds, which he had founded in 1020. These precious relics had clearly at some time been transferred from Icanho to the relative safety of Burgh, which was also a fort and a defensive site”.
The invading Danes destroyed the monastery in 870 and some time later the site was marked with a stone memorial cross. The church was rebuilt, again in timber in 900 and re-dedicated to Saint Botolph. The Normans rebuilt the church in flint-rubble between 1070 and 1110 and from then on parts were rebuilt or improved upon over the centuries. By the early 19th century only the western end of the church was in use, the rest being in ruins. The church was repaired and a new chancel built in the mid 19th century. The village was evacuated in 1942 and the church closed so that the area could be used as a centre for battle training. The church, which had been slightly damaged by a fallen tree in a gale and then by the blast from a land mine, reopened in 1947 and the parishioners spent the next ten years or so improving and decorating the church. During tree-felling in the churchyard in 1968 some sparks from a pile of burning logs set fire to the thatched roof of the nave and destroyed it. Fortunately, the chancel was undamaged and was blocked off and made fairly watertight. The Parochial Church Council and the tiny congregation have worked hard for many years to raise money for the church’s restoration. The tower was restored first from 1984 onwards then the nave walls and buttresses conserved and the nave got its new roof in 1987-9. Between 1990-94 the nave floor was laid and repairs done to the porch and chancel roofs, benches and altar rails, the stonework and glass of the windows and the font. The work continues still.

The beautiful 15th Century font with it’s typically East Anglian decoration of four lions round the stem and angels with outstretched wings under the bowl. The bowl is decorated with the emblems of the four Evangelists and four angels.
I apologise for the murky picture. It was a very gloomy day and the church had no lights available to us.

You can just see the stairs going up to the rood loft. The rood loft has long gone so the stairs go nowhere.

The lower half of the 9th Century Saxon cross probably dedicated to St Botolph found embedded in the tower wall during restoration work in the 1970’s.
The cross is very weather-beaten as one might suppose, but typical inter-lacing Saxon patterns decorate it and there is also what could be a dragon carved on it, but I was unable to photograph it due to the gloom.We left the church and retraced our steps back to the car-park.
We were glad to return to the car and I drove us to Halesworth where we enjoyed a tasty lunch and a drink.
Brrr – you needed that pub lunch
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Yes, we certainly did! Thank you, Mark.
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The buildings are so old, it’s amazing to see them standing almost intact. Interesting post Clare, thank you. 🙂
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Thank you, HJ. With all the problems that building has had over the centuries it is truly amazing that any part of it still stands!
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What an interesting slice of history! Britain has so much recorded history that has been cared for by future generations.. you are very fortunate. On a visit to Britain we were amazed at the many very old churches & monastries. .. oh the stories they could tell! Thanks for the interesting post.. especially braving the cold.
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Thank you very much, Gerrie. This place has so many stories to tell and is still a place of pilgrimage.
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That was an interesting tour of the church, Clare! That white yarrow is lovely, too. I have not found any growing wild here, but I remember them from my days of living back on the east coast. They were everywhere there.
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Thank you very much, Lavinia. Yarrow is such an attractive and useful plant; it grows all over our garden especially in the lawn which annoys Richard!
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I bet you’re glad you made the effort. A lovely walk, some new stories, new research, new pictures – all shared. Thanks!
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Thank you, Margaret. Yes, we were so glad we got out in the fresh air for some much needed exercise after Christmas.
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Thank you for the lovely tour, Clare…I’ve missed them. We’ve had our share of gloomy weather, so I felt right at home. Your photos are beautiful! Have a great week! xo
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Thank you, Jill. It was a very gloomy day and we were glad to have got out and had some fresh air and exercise. We were well rewarded by an excellent lunch afterwards!
I am sorry your eyes are troubling you so much; is there any hope that they’ll get better soon? I just finished reading your book ‘A Father for Bella’ – wonderful!
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Fresh air and a nice lunch…works for me! Honestly, as much as I’m on the computer, Thanks, Clare, but I’m not sure how my eyes will improve. There is a procedure to unblock the glands, but it doesn’t always work or if it does, it’s not permanent. Aw…I’m so happy you enjoyed A Father for Bella. I appreciate you reading it! ❤
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A friend of mine is suffering with a similar complaint to you and has had her glands unblocked twice so far! ❤
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That’s what I was afraid of…no permanent solution. ❤️
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❤
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Thank you for sharing all that information about St Botolph, most interesting. Loved your photographs too, they made me want to visit for myself one day.
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Thank you, Susan. It is well worth a visit though much more pleasant in the warmer months!
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I am sure that you are correct!
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What a lovely walk with so much nature and history to enjoy. Hope it’s warming up a bit for you.
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Thank you, Mandy. We had a week of really warm almost summer-like weather at the end of February but we are back to normal March wind and rain now.
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With some fascinating history you have demonstrated that winter can provide a different perspective on a familiar walk
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Thank you, Derrick. It was a very pleasant walk as long as we kept moving! It’s much nicer in the late spring and summer.
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I love the photos and history of the church! Those old carvings give me shivers–the mark of ancient human hands!
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Thank you, Kerry! Yes, they give me the shivers too. Those unknown people who created something beautiful with no idea that their work would be treasured over 1000 years later.
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I’m with Kerry! What a fabulous walk, even on a cold, gray day. Bet lunch tasted really, really good after being out in the cold.
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Thank you, Laurie. Lunch was really appreciated after such a cold morning and with a good appetite, too after the exercise!
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Your research is most interesting. One of our local Saxon churches is dedicated to St Botolph. It’s on the downs above the Adur river near Steyning. Well done for a great walk Clare.
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Thank you, Richard. Those Saxon missionaries worked so hard and travelled far for the glory of God. I must investigate your local St Botolph!
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Lovely walk, though a little bleak and wintry. I think the ducks may be Wigeon.
https://www.rspb.org.uk/birds-and-wildlife/wildlife-guides/bird-a-z/wigeon/
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Thank you, Simon especially for the link. I am sure you are right about widgeon; I am not very good at identifying waders and ducks and hoped someone kind would help me out.
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I’m hopeless at waders and warblers. And quite a few other things too. 🙂
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There are very few things I am confident enough about to say I’m good at them!
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Robins are quite easy. Apart from juveniles disguised as Dunnocks.
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Yes! Haha! Cunning creatures.
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They do it on purpose. 🙂
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😀
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Nice to see flowers blooming in January; any flowers would do but especially roses. The moles tell me that your ground must never really freeze. Ours freezes deeply and all our water pipes have to be at least 4 feet deep or they’ll freeze too.
I don’t recognize the fungus but many bracket fungi turn white and degrade as they age.
The church is amazing. I can’t imagine being able to actually touch things as old as these are!
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Thank you, Allen. Our ground hardly ever freezes to any depth especially near the coast.
There were a couple of fungi I thought this might be but couldn’t pin it down any further. I will need to return and look more closely, I think.
I also am full of wonder at the age of many of the places I visit.
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That church has been through an amazing number of what-all! What a history! Nobody wants to give up on it, which is wonderful, but do they have a minister? I’m thinking of your own situation at home.
That gorse is so pretty, and must have been a welcome sight on this walk that I think you’d rather not have been on. 😉 I’m sure you didn’t expect to see a rose blooming, or yarrow, for that matter. Glad you survived it.
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Thank you, Lisa! Once I was out I was glad I had made the effort and you’re right – I was surprised to see the flowers.
The little church has been through so much and the congregation obviously love it very much. I believe it does have a priest though he/she also looks after other churches in the area.
It was decided that our benefice should have two ‘house-for-duty’ part-time priests and so far we have had one applicant (who has been accepted by us) and he will probably start in September. Whether we will get another applicant, I don’t know!
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I was right there with you! I used to see a fungus like that in Michigan. I always thought it was a little nasty because it was so dramatic!
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Haha! It could very well be a relative to the one I saw. Thank you, Luanne!
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I love those trees in the first photo, and they are wonderfully contrasted by the beauty of human endeavour (sadly this can’t be said across the board, especially in these days of glass and steel, but the church looks wonderful.
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Thank you, Ste J. I love the bare trees in winter; I find them so beautiful without their leaves.
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Yes, I like to think they look a little Gothic.
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Hi, Clare – I thoroughly enjoy my virtual walks with you. The details that you share are very striking. Please keep stories of these walks coming!
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Thank you very much, Donna.
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Clare, a lovely post of your walk and it was a delight to join you … from the warmth of my study! 😀 I am impressed with the rose and flowering gorse, nature is in a flux at the moment! The views are soft and gentle (whilst even the birds looking cold!) Thank you for sharing so much about the history of the church … very interesting. Hooray to a good lunch afterwards … much deserved! 😀
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Thank you, Annika. It is a very easy walk but so much nicer when the sun is shining! The lunch was so welcome!
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That fungus looked like shaving cream lol.
I love that you take us with you on these wonderful walks
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It does look like shaving cream! It is my pleasure, Ari and thank you.
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Gorgeous all round – and I vote for wigeon too!
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Thank you, Liz! It is good to have such knowledgeable friends!
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That was quite the journey! Walking from trees to ducks to passing by sheep, to a church and all its history to a tiny rose flower an a Saxon cross.
Amazing!!!! Thank you, Clare!
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Thank you, Resa! xo
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I like those atmospheric views Clare, bleak though they might have been that day! That church has certainly been through some trials over the years.
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Thank you, Andrea. Yes, it really has had a difficult life, but it has been fortunate in having so many people willing and able to keep it going.
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