1 | Walk from Coxes Farm Road round the corner into Outwood Farm Road, then turn right up the Tarmac path past Hummerstones Farm.
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2 | Notice the hedgerow on your right – it could be over 500 years old. Hedgerows like this are valuable for wildlife, their variety of shrubs supporting insects, birds and wildflowers.
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3 | Bearing left, you should spot the white flowers of the Jack-By-The-Hedge in Spring.
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4 | Cross the stile and keep to the path along the field’s edge.
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5 | Now you pass an uncultivated field with young oaks. Small corners like this are havens for wildlife, wood mice and
small mammals.
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6 | The path bends to the left by a large English oak. Notice the amount of dead branches. There’s a saying that an oak tree takes 200 years to grow and 200 years to die.
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7 | The path continues over the River Crouch bridge. On the banks spot patches of Lesser Celandine in Spring.
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8 | Cross a stile and enter Barrenleys Wood, with ash, oak, elm, wild cherry and wild service.
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9 | Turn right, leaving the wood, and walk along a bridleway where horses and pedestrians pass. The path between fields widens here with groups of trees either side.
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10 | You now pass a hedge and ditch on the left and open fields on the right.
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11 | Turn right where the path divides by the churchyard. Here you can detour to see St. Mary’s Church of Ramsden Crays.
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12 | Returning to the route there is a small pond on your left surrounded by willows.
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13 | Continuing, you pass field gates. Don’t open them if closed - cattle are being moved.
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14 | Turn sharp right and then left where the path may be wet and boggy.
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15 | The path turns sharp right up a hill bringing you to drier soils on the Bagshot sands and gravels, laid down by the early River Thames 10 million years ago.
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16 | Follow the path sharp left and keep an eye open for nests of solitary bees on bare patches of ground in summer.
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17 | Pause at the hilltop and follow the path sloping downwards. Turn right when you reach the track at the bottom, then follow the road right back to the start.
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