14/08/20 - The Star Inn at Wenhaston

Distance - 6 Miles

Geocaches - 4

Walk Inspiration - Country Walking Magazine - September 2003

The week in Suffolk moves towards its end.  This final walk has all the ingredients for success - last nights storms have cooled things down and we start at a Good Beer Guide Pub - but it turns out to be a bit of a trudge.  

Unusually, I can't recommend you do this one.

9am and we are parked up at the Star Inn.  Its a midday opener and for reasons that will become apparent, we nearly make the 6 miles last three hours.

A promising start at a GBG Pub

An initial circuit of Wenhaston Commons.  Four caches found, which gets me to the mightily annoying grand total number of 9999.   You can guess what I will be doing tomorrow on International Geocaching Day.  One of these caches is even the Church Micro - but a lack of planning on my part has meant that I was unaware of the famous medieval doom paintings inside, until kindly informed on Twitter after my post walk pint.  This would have been the highlight.  As has happened so often before, I've had to make do with Google.

Wenhaston Common - All going well

Church Micro at Wenhaston Church

The bulk of this walk is along the river Blyth.  Footpaths are marked on either side of the river but the reality is somewhat grimmer.  Waist high reeds right to the waters edge.  One of those walks where you need a petrol strimmer to make headway.  Mrs M doesn't moan but at one point, Guide Dog in training Abi simply gives up.  She lies down and refuses to move any further.  

Paths either side of the Blyth

Eventually, we coerce her onwards and she gets her reward - near Blythburgh church is a natural beach and after much teasing of being denied access to the water because of the muddy banks, she can finally get her dunk.  She seems so much happier afterwards, as are we.... especially when we see the splendour of Blythburgh Church

Guide Dog in Training Abi Cheers Up

As are we at the impressive Blythburgh Church

The way back to pub from here is plain sailing across lanes and agricultural land.

We arrive at the pub at 11:30am to see the landlady - who we will name Sybil - struggling with kegs.  I confirm opening hours and ask politely if we can wait in her beer garden.  There's a pause that's long enough to make your wonder if its come from someone in the hospitality industry before she says "if you want to".

Its in the garden that we determine this is the only part of the pub functioning.  A makeshift bar has been setup with gravity fed barrels.  Its here we meet Basil.

Pop Up Good Beer Guide Pub

Watching the pair of them setup shop nearly ruins the magic of pubs.  An almost polite argument over the pumps ensues, culminates with the whispered but not quietly enough retort of ,"I have turned the f***ing pumps off".

If it wasn't for another family turning up, we may have given up.  But a walk is not a walk unless there is a pint in it.

The barrels are positioned at a distance that renders them unreadable to me with or without my glasses, so I have to ask Basil what's on offer.  The Green Jack Brewery from Lowesoft is new to me, but simply telling me the names of the four beers on offer is not going to help.  I do get a description and go for a Trawelerboys - described succinctly as "Bitter".

It has everything going against it.  I'm no fan of gravity fed ales and then horror is added to horror when its provided in a plastic glass.

The Trawlerboys are coming... in plastic glasses

Surprisingly, it was a decent pint and managed to show signs of life to the last sip.

As the locals start turning up, I can see they are bringing their own glasses with them.