Arger Fen to Bures, Nayland and back.
Maps - OS Landranger 155 and 168
12.5 miles total. 7.8 miles to Nayland, 4.7 miles back.
Start at car park for Arger Fen
Route photos
From the car park turn left up the road to go past Arger Fen House, High Fens Seed Store and then Highfields Farm. Pass some sad looking barns on your right then turn right down a sandy track just before a yellow house. When you reach a field continue straight ahead, then cross over a stile in the hedge and go straight across the field with a hedge on your right. At the next hedge go over the bridge and stile then straight ahead uphill with the hedge on your left.
Where the path joins a track that comes in from the left, continue straight ahead. This track bears a little right then left around some barns. After passing between two more barns turn left at the minor road. After about 25 yards turn left, passing Cuckoo House on your left. Turn right at the end of the hedge on your right, and go downhill on the gravelled track towards some houses. Do not turn right down the permissive path, but continue downhill, now with a hedge on your right.
At the road continue straight ahead, with houses on your right. Continue past Claypits Avenue to a crossroads. Go straight over and bear left. Where the Stour Valley Path comes in from the right, we join it and bear left, with a brick wall on the right. The path then bears right with the Mill on the left. The path heads for, then bears around, the right flank of the Mill and comes to a millpond and a bridge. Cross this bridge, then a second which takes you into a field.
In the field bear left around the fallen tree. Do not head for the stile straight ahead. Cross the stile that appears from behind the fallen tree, then cross the field on a half-right bearing towards another stile, which can be seen to the left of a house in the distance, poking through some trees. Cross this stile and continue across the field to the far corner. You will pass the house on your right. Cross another stile, there is a loop of the Stour to your left. Immediately cross a bridge and go straight across the field, cross another bridge and go straight ahead across the next field to a corner. Keep the hedge on your left to the far corner of the field.
Go through the gap in the hedge, bear a little left then right along a junction between two fields to a gap between trees on the left and hedge and power lines on the right. Just before that gap the path swings right under the powerlines towards another gap, through which can be seen a barn. Just through this gap turn left, keeping the hedge on the left. In the corner of the field pass through the gap in the hedge and cross a field heading towards the right hand edge of a small wood.
At the bottom of the field cross a small track, then a narrow part of the field to the corner of the copse opposite. Keep the trees on your left for a short distance and then go uphill across the field towards a large oak 2/3 of the way towards the top of the ridge. By the oak is a gate, go through and take the shortest route to the top of the ridge, passing a couple of bramble bushes, maybe 10 feet to your left. This should bring you to the top of the ridge by a gate. Go through and cross the field to the white metal gate opposite. Just to the left of this gate is a wooden gate. Go through the wooden gate and go straight across the field, crossing the ridge then down towards a wood.
The path climbs and dips and climbs through this wood until you reach a gate into the churchyard of St Andrew's Church. Keep the church on your left and at the road turn left. At the end of the churchyard turn right on the school road. At the school gates keep straight ahead to a gate. Cross the field to the hedge opposite. At the hedge turn left, keep the hedge on your right and follow it round to the right. Go through a gate and continue on a grassy track. Go through another gate, passing Folley Cottage on your left.
As the road immediately bears right go straight ahead along the edge of a field with trees on your right. As the field curves left there is a stile on your right. Cross the stile and the bridge and the next stile into a field. Turn left and cross the narrow end of this field to a gate, bridge, gate complex. Go through and climb straight uphill across a field to the corner of the hedge and continue uphill keeping the hedge on your left until you reach a gate. Go throught his gate onto the road and turn left. You will see plants punching up through the thin tarmac, even Mare's Tail!.
At the bottom of the hill where the road bears left the path turns right along a muddy track which becomes grassy and climbs gently past a pond. At the copse bear a little left then right and continue gently uphill with the hedge on your right. Near the top there is a stile on the left. Cross stile and continue uphill between two fences to the top of the hill. The large barn you could see on your way up is now on your right. At the top cross another stile and continue straight ahead on a grassy track. Where the track passes under power lines go through a gap in the hedge to the left of the power line poles and continue straight ahead with the hedge on your right. At the grassy crossroads keep straight ahead with the hedge on the right.
When you see a gap in the hedge on your right go through, crossing a bridge. On the road turn left. After 50 yards climb onto the left bank of the road to a gap in the hedge. Turn left through this gap and continue along the edge of the field with the hedge on your left. Ahead there is a strip of woodland that goes downhill away from you, it is narrow. At the top end of this piece of woodland turn right on a grassy track with a thin line of trees on your right. When you get to a road, cross and continue straight ahead, now with the hedge on your left.
If you have your head down you may well miss the gap in this hedge on your left. Turn left through this gap downhill, back towards the Stour. At the bottom of the hill cross a bridge and the next field to the trees beyond. Enter these trees by crossing a bridge. Follow a narrow track to a wooden bridge. Cross this bridge and continue through an attractive plantation of White Willow, ignoring tracks off to the left and right. The next bridge of concrete and steel crosses the Stour.
Cross the river and turn right on a grassy track between trees. Continue along the edge of a field keeping the hedge and river on your right. Cross the minor road and continue along the edge of the field, which is bearing away from the river. Turn right at the end of the hedge down a grassy track with sheep on both sides. Cross a rickety wooden bridge to recross part of the Stour. After a short distance, at the end of a field, turn left with wire fences to left and right. At the end of this track cross a stile and a more substantial bridge to cross the Stour again.
Continue along a grassy track between trees. At the minor road turn left passing Brook House on your left. Shortly pass through the hedge on your right then turn left along the edge of the field with the road to the left. At a small track take a quick left / right dogleg to continue along the edge of the field. This basically keeps you off the road. After a while, unusually for the area, the path is badly maintained and it is best to return to the road. However, you can soon use the path again, where you enter Anchor Inn Heritage Farmland.
At the end of this path cross a bridge then the A134 and continue straight ahead on the path after going a gate that may warn you of a bull in the field. Keep the barbed wire fence on your right to an attractive arched wooden bridge. Cross this bridge then a small green to enter the village. Turning right up the road will bring you to the Anchor Inn or, further along, the White hart.
After eating, cross the road opposite the Anchor Inn and go down the steps to the riverside. Follow the river round in an arc, with the river to your right, until you get to the A134 bridge. Turn right over this bridge and continue towards the crossroads. Cross the A134 and go down Wiston Road, past a small commercial area, then turn left over a stile. Follow the ede of the field, around to the right, with a fence and hedge to your left. The path goes through the hedge, through a largely hidden gate.
Continue through the next field, with the hedge to your left. Again pass throught the hedge, go over a bridge and stile and continue through a small meadow, with trees to your left and a group of small Oaks to your right. You then go through a gap between the White Willow to your left and a Hawthorn hedge that approaches from the right, to enter a larger meadow. After this the path veers away from the ditch and trees, towards a clump of small trees and passes to their right over a bridge. On the other side continue straight ahead along a grassy track. Soon you come to the junction where, coming the other way, you turned right. Continue straight ahead to retrace your steps for a little while.
When you get back to the bridge over the Stour, that leads into the plantation, do not turn left but continue straight ahead on a grassy track. There is a plantation to your left. Eventually you come a mown area with a pond to your left and a moat to your right. Straight ahead is "Eeyore's House", a wooden stack, an environmental project. Bear right with the moat on your right and the wall to your left. The path has been diverted right then left around the moated house to come out opposite St Mary the Virgin church, Wiston.
At the road turn right. At the junction with the Nayland - Bures road continue straight ahead (towards Nayland). Where the road turns sharp right, cross and go up Campion's Hill. After Campion's Farm House turn left through the hedge and continue straight ahead along the edge of the field, hedge and ditch to the left. Continue on the path through a wood, you will pass a pond on the left and brook on the right. When the path splits into 3 (left, half-left and straight ahead) continue straight ahead, with the brook to the right. Ignore tracks which swing off, first to the right then the left.
Eventually the trail swings left uphill with a small path off to the right. Go right, you immediately pass a pond to your left then come to a bridge and stile. Cross these and go half-left across the field up to a stile which is to the left of an oak. Cross this then go straight up or half right through this field, keeping the wood to your left. This section is poorly signed. You will see some more woodland straight ahead. There is a gate at the top and the bottom of the grassy slope. It may be that the bottom gate is the correct path, in which case the path will swing around in a left arc through the woods. If you go through the upper gate, you will swing down and right through the woods to another gate and stile.
Go over the stile and turn left . At the next gate (when open it hides the stile on the left) cross the stile to it's left. Go down then up the dry ditch banks. Turn right at the top along a narrow, overgrown path, with a fence to the left and the ditch to the right. At the end of the path turn right on the road, past Rickland Farm on the left. Where the road swings right go straight on and follow this road around to the left. Continue on this road as it deteriorates into a track, continue due west. The track deteriorates further into a muddy byway. Continue along this byway. Eventually it improves, first into a grassy track and then a road . At the t-junction turn right and follow the road back to your car.
© 2008 Peter Martin pete@tomatin.cix.co.uk