11 Jan 2025: Bah Humbug Anti-Xmas Lunch

This was a circular walk from Bramfield, SW to Tewin, N to Tewin Wood, NE to Bramfield Woods, then SE to Bramfield.

The usual stats:

  • Event led by Martin T.
  • Attendance: 5 men.
  • Distance: 5.15 miles (8.3 km).
  • Altitude per GPS: low 429ft (130.8m), high 570ft (173.7m), climb 187ft (57m), descent 157ft (47.9m).
  • Time: start 10:28, end 12:39 (sunset 16:13), breaks 7 minutes.
  • Speed: moving arithmetic average 2.49mph (4kph).
  • Terrain: pavement and forest (off-road) track.
  • Weather: ideal for walking, clear skies, slightly hazy air, dense fog in the further distance, temperature range between -1°C and 6°C, westerly wind <1mph.
  • Number of sewage works: 0.
  • Number of churches: 0.
  • Number of golf courses: 0.

A superb winter landscape set the ideal scene for this short walk. The day started with temperatures below -6°C, resulting in a heavy frost on all surfaces, some water flows having turned into icicles. By the time of walk started, the temperature had warmed to -1°C. The frost crunched loudly under foot. Puddles were solid ice. Thick churned mud was solid in nearly all places.

The middle-distance views were spectacular. Strong, slightly bleached sunlight – more white than yellow – illuminated the land through a thin haze of mist. The result was a beautifully lit rolling countryside to the south, towards Panshanger Park, and to the west, towards Tewin and Digswell. In the west, a blanket of much heavier fog created a dark wall, obscuring the views westbound.

The route meandered on the wide grass edges of dormant crop fields, meadows of horses , alongside woodland and through woodland, in all cases using routes that Herts GOC has used over the years. A previous visit in this area included the big, modern mansion house Ladywalk, its rear aspect peering south-south-westbound down hill, in the cusp of a small valley. The house dominates the landscape on a northern approach. Ladywalk could be informally known as either “Castle Hamilton” or “Hamilton’s Folly”.

Much of the journey through Bramfield woods repeated the Bramfield walk in April 2024, enabling us to compare the difference that the season made to the woods. What was early spring, showing the shoots of a new season, was today quiet, asleep and waiting. Approaching lunchtime, the sun was at its highest, yet the ground remained in shade, with sunlight piercing through the canopy only at the later stages of the woodland track. The mottled lighting was enchanting.

Five members joined the Bah Humbug Anti-Xmas* meal at the Grandison gastro-pub.

For starters:

  • The French onion soup was a warming reward for a brisk walk in the cold, a naturally semi-sweet umami balanced with two lumps of thick ciabatta, hard-baked on its base and heavily salted on its crust.
  • The wild mushrooms crostini (on toast) with poached egg and garlic puree, oozed slowly on the plate as the fork pushed open the egg, rich garlic flavours diluted by the residual liquid in the mushrooms.

For mains:

  • the pie of the day was… turkey & stuffing! Sounds like Christmas leftovers. As with the test walk in November 2024, the well-cooked pie was served atop a thick layer of mashed potato, with seasonal green vegetables on the side (pan-fried and heavily seasoned), with a serving of gravy.
  • the battered haddock and chips was cooked to perfection. A solid, crisp cocoon of batter sealed a thick fillet of haddock, having steamed the fish inside the batter to the point where the scales of fish simply slid apart on the slightest pressure. The chips were moist on the inside and crispy on the outside.
  • the burger & chips is actually a smoked brisket burger. The burger patty was relatively plain, clearly made in the kitchen instead of being bought in ready-made, to show off the medium slice of heavily smoked brisket sat next to the patty inside a pretzel bun. A collection of cheddar cheese, salad and barbeque sauce provided rich flavours aside the brisket and patty. The chips were covered in smoked paprika and heavily salted. The pretzel bun had the letter “G” branded into it.

For afters:

  • the brioche & butter pudding looked like a modest portion, yet packed in many flavours and textures. Hidden inside the pudding were apricots and pistachio nuts. The custard was actually crème anglaise, enriched with cream and flavoured strongly with vanilla. The crème was lukewarm, with a round of ice cream next to the pudding.
  • the walnut whip chocolate fondant looked modest, but was actually heavier than it looked. A deep, rich, dark chocolate fondant, strong enough to fuel a nuclear power station, sat alongside candied walnuts – filling all by themselves – and a densely sweet portion of Italian meringue. The Italian meringue was spooned onto the plate and ended up looking like a scale model of London’s City Hall.

Including one bottle of wine, coffees and service charge, the final cost of the lunch was £40ph.

For more pictures, see https://bit.ly/gocjan2025bramfield.

 

Words by Martin Thornhill. Pictures by Peter O’Connor.

 

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