‘Field Path near Oliver’s’

Here is the third painting in my new series Essex Paths & Bridleways.

Field Path near Oliver’s

This walk – from Stanway Green across to Oliver’s – is one that we often used to do as teenagers when I lived at Stanway Green. Part of the walk has changed completely due to the discovery of the Roman remains at what is now called Gosbeck’s Archaeological Site, which was the location for a Roman amphitheatre.

I say, ‘the discovery’, but years ago when we used to walk across the fields there we used to pick up bits of Roman tile and tesserae, but in recent years it has all been excavated and the outline of the ancient buildings marked on the grass. The whole area was a mass of buttercups, daisies, and bluebells still going strong in the hedgerows.

The view that I have painted here is further south from the Archaeological Site, the field path eventually coming out, I think,  in Oliver’s Lane. It certainly used to! I didn’t walk quite far enough to find out as the clouds were blowing up, as you can see, and I thought it was going to start raining – again! I liked this little narrow path curving round the corner of the rye field, with the big stand of cow parsley growing up beside it.