During the spring Elinor and I decided it would be good for us both if we could go out for walks together. The restrictions had recently eased a little so that we felt it would be fine for us to drive somewhere different to walk instead of just walking the usual lanes near our house. Elinor had been stuck at home for months and was becoming more fearful and anxious. We though she should see that the world was still functioning albeit in a rather muted way.
Please click on this link to access a map of the town centre and more information about the town https://www.halesworth.net/townmap/towncentremap.php
Our very first walk was on an extremely cold and gloomy day at the beginning of April. We drove to Halesworth, one of our local towns and parked in the central town car-park. It was so gloomy and cold that I took hardly any photos and most of those didn’t come out at all well. We entered the Thoroughfare from the car-park and turned left towards the church and the Market Place.
We walked through the Market Place and down Chediston Street until we reached Rectory Lane which has a lovely crinkle-crankle wall down one side of it.
Rectory Lane is also still known as Parson’s Lane as it cuts through the back of the town from the Old Rectory towards the Parish Church of St Mary. The Rector of Halesworth no longer lives in the enormous rectory which was sold to private buyers many years ago. The lane meets the Town River a little further on and used to be a place where people went to sit and chat and share their sandwiches with the numerous ducks that lived on and near the river. However, the town’s-people have been dissuaded from feeding the ducks because this apparently encouraged rats and bread wasn’t suitable food for ducks anyway and now the ducks have disappeared as well.
It was all looking a little sad and run-down. The water is clear enough but there are no reeds or rushes growing here and the retaining walls are crumbling.
There were a few plants growing and beginning to flower on our side of the river.
This Archangel is a cultivated form of the wild flower and has sliver splashes on the leaves. It usually flowers much earlier than the wild plant.
We turned right out of Rectory Lane into Rectory Street and then rejoined the Thoroughfare. We turned left past the library and crossed the road at the roundabout next to the United Reformed church and entered Quay Street. Just then it began to rain so we decided to cut short our walk and return to the car by way of the Town Park. When I used to live in Halesworth many years ago there used to be a yard with a builder’s merchant’s a little way up Quay Street. I used to walk through the yard to a path that led to the park. The builder’s merchant’s was knocked down some time ago and in its place a large quantity of houses and apartments have been built. We walked through this little estate and found that the path still led into the park. The park is well laid out with plenty of grassy areas with spring bulbs and a few flower beds. Lots of mature trees give shade and shelter and there is a play area with swings and slides and other equipment. We crossed over the river by the bridge and continued through the park until we had regained the road by the carpark.
Though we had only been out for about half an hour we had enjoyed our walk and decided we would walk together again as soon as we could.
Laurie Graves said:
Getting out for a walk is exactly the thing during a pandemic. I really love “crinkle-crankle.” Never heard that term before.
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Clare Pooley said:
Thank you, Laurie. I love walking but we had a particularly cold and wet early spring and all our local lanes were so muddy! Once we were allowed to travel a little walking was made much easier. East Anglia has many crinkle-crankle walls; they were introduced by the Dutch who helped us drain the Fens for agriculture. According to Wikipedia, Thomas Jefferson built a crinkle-crankle wall at the University of Virginia!
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Laurie Graves said:
Well, you have certainly taught me something new.
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Clare Pooley said:
🙂
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Lavinia Ross said:
Good to hear from you again, Clare! Walking is wonderful thing, and eases many troubles, especially during these times.
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Clare Pooley said:
Thank you, Lavinia. Walking soothes my soul and has been a great help to me. We had trouble walking locally during the winter and early spring because of the very wet weather and were so pleased when we could drive somewhere else to walk!
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Gallivanta said:
That sounds like a lovely walk. Even a short walk makes a world of difference. Crinkle crankle walls are delightful. I do wish I could find one here. I hope you and Elinor have had some more walks.
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Clare Pooley said:
Thank you, Mandy; I hope you are well. East Anglia has very many crinkle-crankle walls, some more ornate than others. I love seeing them! Yes, we have been on a few more walks together though prevented a few times by weather/university work/health.
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susanpoozan said:
What a good idea, thanks for walking us round.
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Clare Pooley said:
My pleasure, Susan and thank you.
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Jill Weatherholt said:
It’s great to see your post, Clare. Thank you for taking us along on your lovely walk. I hope you all are well. xo
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Clare Pooley said:
Thank you, Jill xoxo Yes we are all well as I hope you and Derek are, too. ❤
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Jill Weatherholt said:
We are, thank you!❤️
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M T McGuire said:
McOther has been doing this. Driving to places that look interesting and having a walk around. There are so many pretty villages and towns in Suffolk that he says he still hasn’t anywhere near exhausted the possibilities. Glad you got out for a walk, even though it was a short one.
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Clare Pooley said:
Thank you, Mary. I have been meaning to do this for ages but so many other things seem to get in the way! We have tried to continue with it but it hasn’t been as regular as we would have liked.
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derrickjknight said:
An enjoyable tour. We enjoy those crinkle crackle walls and the skill that went into the curves
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Clare Pooley said:
Thank you, Derrick. I love to find them!
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Meg Owen said:
Can I come next time?
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Clare Pooley said:
Of course you may, Meg! 😀
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Jane Sturgeon said:
A lovely walk with Elinor, Clare. Love the term ‘crinkle crankle’. Thank you for sharing your lovely pictures and words. ❤ Much love to you all. ❤ Xxx
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Clare Pooley said:
Thank you, Jane ❤ It is amusing to find that crinkle-crankle is a technical term! Lots of love flowing back to you ❤ ❤ xxx
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Jane Sturgeon said:
❤ hugs Xxxx ❤
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Clare Pooley said:
xxXXxx ❤ ❤
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Jane Sturgeon said:
You know I’m off to Google the term now don’t you? 😉 ❤ ❤
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Clare Pooley said:
Hehe! ❤ ❤
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Clive said:
Good to see a new post from you, Clare – it feels like ages! I hope you’re keeping well. I know you’ve been around from all the likes and comments you’ve bestowed on my blog and it’s great to have the chance to reciprocate. It sounds like you enjoyed your walk even if it was curtailed by the great British weather, and you got some lovely photos of it. Like others, I hadn’t heard of ‘crinkle crankle’ before – a fabulous description!
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Clare Pooley said:
Thank you, Clive. I am keeping well but would really like a little more warm and dry weather! Crinkle-crankle is truly a wonderful term!
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Clive said:
Good to hear. I know what you mean about the weather: my flat is on the side of the block that gets very little sun and it’s sooo cold! I’d not heard that phrase before, no doubt one of many that I don’t know!
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John Hric said:
Hi Clare. Lovely walk and pictures.
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Clare Pooley said:
It is my pleasure and thank you very much, John.
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John Bainbridge said:
Grand to be out.
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Clare Pooley said:
It was – it is! Thank you, John.
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Andrea Stephenson said:
It may have been a little gloomy, but I’ll bet that walk did you more good than you even realised at the time.
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Clare Pooley said:
Thank you, Andrea. Yes, I am sure you are right. It was good to spend time with my daughter away from home, too.
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SueW said:
Crinkle Crankle is new to me too. I love the wall. I can just imagine a vicar living in the big old house and with lots of children too!
I’m glad you enjoyed the walk with Elinor, we’ve all been tied to our homes for far tool long.
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Clare Pooley said:
Thank you, Sue. East Anglia has very many crinkle-crankle walls and I love discovering them. The old vicarage is enormous and I expect was very cold and draughty in the winter, too! We have certainly been kept at home for too long. I love my home but I long for the freedom to come and go as I please.
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SueW said:
I know just what you mean, Clare 🙂
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New Hampshire Garden Solutions said:
I’m glad you’re able to get out and walk, Clare. There’s nothing else quite like it.
I love that wavy wall, but I’m glad I didn’t have to build it!
I like the color of that river bed too. My color finding software tells me it’s rosy brown. I can’t remember ever seeing that here.
I hope you’ve had the chance to take more walks since.
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Clare Pooley said:
Thank you, Allen. We were pleased to be able to go walking, too. Our local lanes were so muddy and we were getting a little bored with them as well. I believe the river has been dredged fairly recently to prevent flooding in the town. The bed is probably mainly clay but a fair amount of top soil is washed down off the surrounding fields and into the river. The wall is wonderful and there are a number of them in East Anglia. The method was brought to us by the Dutch who came over in the 17th century to help reclaim and drain the fens for agriculture. The walls require fewer bricks than a standard straight wall and also cope with the local climate and open aspect of the area.
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New Hampshire Garden Solutions said:
That’s very interesting about the wall. I would have thought it needed twice the amount of bricks. It’s amazing sometimes what man can do!
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Clare Pooley said:
It is!
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tootlepedal said:
That was a good plan. I hope that other walks worked out well too.
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Clare Pooley said:
Thank you, Tom. Yes, more walks have been and will be taken.
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Genessa West said:
Hi Clare, great to hear about your walk. Crinkle Crankle wall is a wonderful term. Do you know why they built walls like that? Just for the aesthetics or was there a reason? I shouldn’t think it was easy!
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Clare Pooley said:
Thank you, Genessa. Here is a Wikipedia link which describes crinkle-crankle walls https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crinkle_crankle_wall
They were introduced here by the Dutch engineers who helped to drain the Fens. Fewer bricks are used to build them than a traditional straight wall. The tension of the curves holds the wall up without having buttresses or wide footings. They are therefore lighter and better for wet ground where a heavy wall would sink. People are still having them built – the village I used to live in has a house with a fairly new crinkle-crankle wall.
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Helen said:
Thank you for the tour of Halesworth. I don’t know your corner of the world at all, so it is nice to become more acquainted with it.
I hope you’ve been on more walks since and that Elinor is feeling less anxious now.
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Clare Pooley said:
Thank you, Helen. Yes, we have been on a few more walks but not as many as we’d have liked. Elinor is feeling a little less anxious I’m pleased to say. She has an appointment next week for her first Covid vaccine injection (which she is nervous about!) and once she has had that I am sure she will be a little less worried about going out. She has also just had her grades and assessment sent to her for the assignments she had this last year at university. They are better than she thought they would be which has calmed her a lot too!
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wholelottarosie said:
Claire, it is nice to read that you were able to take a nice and relaxing walk. Going for a walk is easy, environmentally friendly and free of charge – and also a treat for body and mind. I always feel wonderful after a long walk!
Claire, I wish you all the best….Rosie
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Clare Pooley said:
Thank you very much, Rosie. Walking is extremely pleasurable and we try to walk as often as possible.
Love and best wishes,
Clare ❤
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Retirement Reflections said:
I walked my way through most of this pandemic. Thank you for taking us along on your walk. I loved visiting your area and greatly enjoyed your photos.
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Clare Pooley said:
Thank you, Donna. I remember all those daily walks you posted! Absolutely amazing!
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Annika Perry said:
Clare, a delightful walk and your descriptions and photos are lovely and atmospheric. I hope Elinor and you have been able to be out for many more walks since the Spring. It does take some time to build the confidence to head out into the world again, even if ever so slightly! Take care and enjoy the Summer, albeit a season of all weathers so far! 😀
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Clare Pooley said:
Thank you, Annika. Yes, the weather hasn’t exactly been very summery, has it? We have had a few walks but have been hampered by the weather, her university deadlines and health problems. However, Elinor is now ‘enjoying’ her summer break from university and is feeling a little calmer. She has her first Covid injection on Thursday which we are pleased about. I hope you and your family are all well xx 🙂
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Annika Perry said:
Clare, it has been such a hard year for university students and one group I feel have been ‘forgotten’ in all this. I’m glad Elinor is feeling a bit calmer. We are all well thank you. My son is back from university today and the first time I’m really seeing him since beginning January so very excited! He had his jab yesterday which was good.
Walking has been central in our lives and my husband worked out recently that last year we walked just under 1000 miles! Aiming for something similar this year!
Take care, Annika xx
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Clare Pooley said:
I am so pleased you are all okay and back together again! Wow! Nearly 1000 miles! We haven’t walked a fraction of that distance. xx
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bowlandclimber said:
That was so good.
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Clare Pooley said:
Thank you, John.
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Jolandi Steven said:
Oh what a gorgeous wall the Crinkle-crankle wall in Rectory Lane is, Clare. I adore it. I’m so glad you and Elinor managed to get out for a walk a bit further away. Wishing you many more lovely walks to combat her anxiety in the weeks to come.
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Clare Pooley said:
Thank you very much, Jolandi! We have tried to get out as often as the weather, our health, her university work etc. will allow 😀
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quercuscommunity said:
I just thought they were called wavy walls and were built for decoration. It never occurred to me that there was a good engineering reason for building them, or that they used fewer bricks – that just seems wrong when you think of the waviness. Always good to learn something new.
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Clare Pooley said:
The logic doesn’t seem right there does it, but I believe it is true.
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quercuscommunity said:
It all seems to make sense when you read it and it is still standing. Just another example of us not knowing something we consider obvious.
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Clare Pooley said:
Yes! 🙂
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Lisa G. said:
Oh, this is nice! When you said crinkle crankle wall, I thought you were making up the words. But I looked it up. 😀 I like the looks of it, but I think if I didn’t know the area, I’d get claustrophobic along that long high-walled street! Anyway, I am glad you and Elinor started on some walks. 🙂
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Clare Pooley said:
Thank you, Lisa! The lane isn’t quite as long as it looks from the photo. Many of our country towns and villages have these narrow alleyways that connect different parts of the place. Harleston has passages between buildings that are only wide enough for one person to walk at a time. Now that is claustrophobic!
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cindy knoke said:
Your blog is full of charm, as are you! Love your photos and descriptions of newsy daily life.
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Clare Pooley said:
You are so sweet Cindy, thank you!
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sherijkennedy said:
What a lovely walk, even if it was a cloudy day. I feel almost as if I had a pleasant stroll with you over my lunch break here at work. Although I could still use a bit of exercise. 🙂 Nice to ‘see’ you, Clare. Thanks for sharing!
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Clare Pooley said:
My pleasure, Sheri and thanks for the lovely comment.
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