Saturday 20 July 2013

Circular Walk - St. Clement's Country Trail

The camera-toting crapaud is pleased to bring you another walking suggestion, inland this time, on paths that look fairly new and are certainly ones I've never explored before.
Parking is free at the new road "Rue Hamel" past the new estate at Rue de Jambart, if you can get a space then seize the chance...
.. a short stroll eastwards along the main road, and what always seemed to be just a farm track is apparently an official road from long long ago, called Rue Graut.
Sign says don't trample the crops and all is well.
The path climbs so gradually that even at the top it was a surprise how much altitude we'd gained.
A tree-tunnel beckons...
.. then you eventually emerge...
.. at a clearing with a choice of proceeding ahead, or take a quick dead-end detour back southwards, but up to a field with a view...
.. the church between Christmassy trees - could be a good shot in mid-winter with snow in the equation :)
A nice view to the sea over the farm...
(this being the vantage point taken later in the walk)
.. Icho Tower in still waters.
Back to the original path, and it continues at the side of a field rather than a dedicated track. You may spot a path signpost over the hedge to the left and wonder if there's another path...
.. but no, at the end of the field we turn left, do a '180' and head back south again, then head along a straight up to the lane.
A view of Platte Rocque's Tower from the lane Rue Laurens.
From here you can cut the walk short and head back down the lane to the Church, or take a right along another field-side walk (and past a mobile phone mast if you're looking for a landmark) with Clos de Roncier in the near distance.
That little walk will take you to Rue du Pignon... head sea-wards down and take the first left into La Verte Rue, then after a brief look at St.Clement's Millennium Stone...
.. take the well signposted (!) footpath down to the church.
On the way back to the parking, you may spot an antiquity that is all too easy to have driven past thousands of times without ever noticing. Funny how much more you see on foot!

8 comments:

Mark said...

I grew up in this area, and remember the lower part of Rue Graut still being tarmacked in the 1980s. It was a great place to grow up.

crapaudmatic said...

Hi Mark, thank you for leaving a comment. Can I ask how roughly far the tarmac went - in feet, metres, car-lengths, paces, any unit of your choice? Thanks!

Mark said...

It was tarmacked for about three or four car lengths, up until it curves to the right.

crapaudmatic said...

Thanks Mark, sounds like the point where there's a mini 'cattle grid' sort of thing at the moment.

I should have asked also - how many years ago was this? :)

Mark said...

About 30 years ago. We lost one of our cats when I was about 14 and we went walking all around these fields and tracks looking for her.

crapaudmatic said...

Thanks Mark, I hope you found your puss :)

Mark said...

No we didn't. Loads of cats were going missing at the time, and the rumour was that there was a Chinese restaurant stealing them to kill and serve up! I kid you not.

crapaudmatic said...

Sorry to hear that, Mark, I know how horrible it is. When my cat vanished for a week that was bad enough, but thankfully we found him in the end.

I remember those rumours, I think they come around in most places, like urban myths!