When our team visited Orwell Country Park to check part of the Stour and Orwell walk a few weeks ago a number of problems were found found with the waymark signs. The problems were mainly due to coastal erosion which has resulted in part of the path along the Orwell being realigned further away from the shore. These had been reported to Neil at the AONB team who asked us to follow-up and replace missing signs. Lizzy and Andrew signed up for this mission and Neil dropped-off a batch of waymark discs and screws.

As we arrived, it was hailing, but spirits remained high whilst Andrew explained the task and so we set-off. We jogged the outbound leg through Bridge Wood, with bluebells in full bloom, whilst checking that signs were still in-place and easy to follow, until we reached the river. Once close to the river we started replacing missing signs, adding them to the realigned section and recording where we'd placed them so that future checks are based on up-to-date information.

It was good to see that the area around the steps up to the Orwell Bridge that were litter-picked on Good Friday were much cleaner this time around and so we paused and attacked the "Stairway to Heaven" - Lizzy set the GoodGym Community Mission benchmark: 38 seconds. In doing so she also claimed the best female this year leaderboard top-spot for the Strava segment! At the top we paused and admired the view before returning and turning our attention to litterpicking whilst jogging back. Lizzy claimed fifty points for finding an unattached pair of socks!

The route from the river back to the car park is a continuous incline. Whilst spirits were high as we made our way back through the bluebells, Andrew was definitely struggling having earlier ran the Felixstowe parkrun and admitted he'd be walking if he was alone; Lizzy said she would be too, but we continued running to the top - a great example of how exercising together can spur you on to keep going! When back at base, they celebrated earning their Community Capes^ with lemon and sultana Danish pastries :-)

Despite it being a bank holiday we still have a Group Run on Monday evening. The task will be helping out at a soup kitchen. Full details are here.

^ The eagle-eyed reader might think: "Surely Andrew already had his". However, he'd forgotten to register himself for the previous Community Mission and so it hadn't been counted!

Five Ipswich GoodGym-ers met at the Bridge Wood carpark entrance to Orwell Country Park for Ipswich's first Community Mission. Andrew and Eleanor were first to start work even before the official start! They'd arrived at the meeting point by bike and found the bike stands overgrown with stinging nettles. These were quickly ripped out and bikes were locked-up. Everyone else arrived promptly and Andrew explained the task.

The Stour and Orwell walk is a 42-mile walk from Felixstowe to Cattawade and Manningtree, around two of the most beautiful estuaries in East Anglia. It is promoted by the Suffolk Coast & Heaths Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty Team. We weren't planning to tackle the full 42-miles in the ninety minutes available; instead the task was to check the waymark signs and clear the path where necessary on a section from the meeting point towards Ipswich. We were also taking the opportunity to litterpick on behalf of Rivercare.

Armed with gardening gloves, secateurs, litter pickers and bin bags, we also had a map showing where the waymark signs should be and a list describing them. Eleanor took charge of map reading, Alex was reading the descriptions of where the signs should be and keeping track of which we'd seen whilst Andrew was recording any that were missing . Adeline and Steve were chief litter-pickers.

The woodland area is well maintained by Ipswich Borough Council's team of Park Rangers and so with no path clearance required and little litter needing picking, the initial section through the Bridge Wood provided a good opportunity to enjoy the woodland, admiring the trees and bluebells whilst checking the signs as we went. There were a couple of points at which we weren't 100% sure which direction the path should take, so Andrew will report these back to Neil at the AONB Team.

As we reached the Orwell, spectacular views awaited. We continued towards the Orwell Bridge. About half-way between the wood and the bridge we came across the remnants of a fire with a lot of litter around it. Steve and Alex put in a great effort to tackle this, quickly filling-up their bin bags. As we approached the bridge there was plenty more litter to be picked. The secateurs also got their first use as a tree's branches were drooping over the fencing and obscuring the waymark. We made it up the bridge, collecting lots more litter on the way and then looked out to enjoy the view down the Orwell before marching back to the meeting point.

We deposited the bags of litter by a bin and almost immediately an Ipswich Borough Council Park Rangers van appeared to collect the litter! The ranger thanked us for not filling up the bin with our finds; they prefer to see them left available for use with full bags by the side. He also asked that if we have lots of litter that we call them so they can prioritise collecting that.

With the five Ipswich GoodGym-ers having earned their Community Mission Capes, celebratory hot cross buns were shared. These seemed to be enjoyed as they were wolfed down so quickly the photographer only managing to get a photo of the final scraps! We hope this will be the first of many Ipswich GoodGym Community Missions - it was an enjoyable and productive way to get started.