Albana Walk Ickworth Park Suffolk

7.50am 8.6 miles in 1 hr 12 mins 45 seconds
Week to date mileage 24 miles
Month to date mileage 343
Average weekly rate 30.1 miles
Average monthly rate 131
Year to date 1080
Lifetime 10673

A lovely Saturday morning and I set off early for a run around Ickworth Park .The Albana Walk in Ickworth Park holds good memories for me and is a wonderful walk any time of year. The path is finely graveled and suitable for wheel chair access.

There is always wildlife a plenty to see here especially if you are an early bird . Today I saw two deer . There is always a moment where he deer is frozen still as it comprehends the threat and danger that you offer. Likewise hearing a sudden rustle in the undergrowth I usually am brought to a standstill before the deer shoot off into the wood or through a field. Less common are encounters with foxes and these are extra special.

Green woodpeckers are a regular site less common a site are the Great Spotted Woodpecker with its black,white and red markings .

However today I wasn't disappointed and had two less common spots

Firstly a pair of shoes neatly placed on a pillar. Why? Whats the story to these ? Neatly placed perhaps someone didn't have the heart to chuck in the bin and hopes that someone will take a fancy to them and try them on.

Second spot was a lost Bugs Bunny balloon .

A well inflated one at that so I would guess this might have been accidentally lost between fingers by some child in Bury Buttermarket.
The balloon has made its way up to Horringer and caught in the hedgerows upside down with its toothy grin - £3.50 down the drain and some parent cursing the purchase. Then again maybe there is an entirely different story these are the day dreams that make up a long distance run.

Once again let me have you songs with running or run in the title as I wan to compile a long list . What things have you recently found or spotted?

Albana Walk Ickworth Park Suffolk

8am 8.6 miles in 1 hr 13 mins 54 mins
Week to date mileage 27 miles
Month to date mileage 47
Average weekly rate 29.7 miles
Average monthly rate 129
Year to date 678
Lifetime 10271

The Albana Walk was the purpose of my run today. This is a wonderful woodland footpath laid out with small gravel chippings. It was originally laid out in the 1770's by Capability Brown and was lined with box hedges. The name of the walk is a tribute to the 1st Marquis of Bristols wife Elizabeth Albana Upton.

There are now signs referring to the Ickworth Park Trim Trail. Along the walk there are stopping points to stop and do various exercises such as press ups, step ups etc. there are also wonderful views over rolling fields towards Chevington and Chedburgh.

I took a detour on the way back to visit Ickworth House. The house was begun in 1795 but not occupied until 1829 by the 1st Marquess of Bristol. He considered demolishing the building in the early 1820's because of the impractical design and size but continued with works to become the first of a line of Herveys to occupy Ickworth House.

A video with accompanied inadvertent heavy breathing at Ickworth House can be seen here.

Albana Walk Ickworth Park Nr Bury St Edmunds

8am 8.5 miles in 1 hr 10 mins 08 seconds

Week to date mileage 8.5

Month to date mileage 94

Average weekly rate 30.7

Average Monthly rate 133

Year to Date 1052

Life time 8830

Course: Set of towards Horringer over fields towards Lord Hervey's wood and Great Horringer Hall. Along Westley Lane and into Horringer Village. At the Church turn right into Ickworth Park, down to Ickworth House and then do a circuit of Albana Wood before returning on the same route.

Ran ok but still feeling a little heavy after holiday and being spoilt by Italian cuisine.

Albana Walk Ickworth Park Suffolk

8am 8.5 miles in 1 hr 9mins 59 seconds

Week to date mileage 25

Month to date mileage 108

Average weekly rate 31.8

Average Monthly rate 138

Year to Date 925

Life time 8703

Course: Set of towards Horringer over fields towards Lord Hervey's wood and Great Horringer Hall. Along Westley Lane and into Horringer Village. At the Church turn right into Ickworth Park, down to Ickworth House and then do a circuit of Albana Wood before returning on the same route.

Very warm and although I ran early it was still warm. The ground is so dry that at times along the field edges I was running to avoid the cracks in the ground!

In the village of Horringer they are making really good progress on building new houses where there used to a large garage selling cars.

I always enjoy visiting Ickworth Park. You usually see a few cars in the National Trust car park with visitors to the home and gardens. Sometimes they have a kiosk which is staffed by a national trust member collecting the fees for visiting. If I see him the guy always looks as if he would like me to pay but as he can see I am hardly likely to be carrying any money.

The highlight of this run is going around the Albana Walk where you are always likely to see deer both in an enclosure and in the woods. Being early morning some of the hedges were covered in spider webs.

Ickworth Park Albana Walk

8am 8.5 miles in 1 hour 9 minutes 07 seconds

Week to date mileage 20

Month to date mileage 73

Average weekly rate 31.4

AverageMonthly rate 136

Year to Date 754

Life time 8532

Course: Set of towards Horringer over fields towards Lord Hervey's wood and Great Horringer Hall. Along Westley Lane and into Horringer Village. At the Church turn right into Ickworth Park, down to Ickworth House and then do a circuit of Albana Wood before returning on the same route.

My first to Albana Walk since March 5th when the woodlands were carpeted in snow drops. Today was warm and sticky to the extent that one dog walker questioned my sanity for running in the heat, I guess he has a point. However I love this warm weather long may it continue.

I took one or two pictures of the various exercise frames which are set up around Albana Walk. I have never seen anyone actually use them, then again you don't actually see that many people walking around here which means you often disturb deer usually muntjac but also roe.

Albana Walk, Ickworth Park, Suffolk

10am 8.2 miles in 1 hour 6 mins 17 secs

Year to date mileage 993

Month to date 43 miles

Average miles per month 107

Average weekly rate 24.7

Weather: A beautiful autumn day very mild and perfect for running. Only problem is I have a 'cricked' neck from shifting furniture.

Course: Set of towards Horringer over fields towards Lord Hervey's wood and Great Horringer Hall. Along Westley Lane and into Horringer Village. At the Church turn right into Ickworth Park, down to Ickworth House and then do a circuit of Albana Wood before returning on the same route.

Usually once I am into Ickworth Park I see little traffic but today was different as there was a Wood Fair taking place. A sale of wood and carvings which seems to attract a lot of interest.

The woods of the Albana are a great place for seeing deer and today was no different I saw 2 muntjac but didn't manage to capture them on camera. When I saw the first deer I came to a halt and the deer kept so still that I wasn't sure if it was a wood carving until I moved to take a picture and it shot of into the woods.

The Muntjac deer are the oldest of all known deer. There are several species of muntjac the one we are likely to see in large parts of England is the Reeves Muntjac and it is our smallest deer. It is believed that the Duke of Bedford had a collection of muntjac deer in the 19th century at Woburn Park. There were several escapees but the biggest escape apparently happened in the 1920's from Whipsnade Zoo.