Christopher Somerville

First published in: The Times Click here to view a map for this walk in a new window


You couldn’t find a better place than Farley Mount Country Park for children and dogs to run about and kick up the leaves on a cold winter’s day. Bright pink spindle berries lent a touch of colour to the pale grey winter woods. A young wolfhound came up with a five-foot-long stick in his jaws, winking his toffee-colour eyes sideways at us as though to say, “Aren’t I the clever boy?”

In a shallow valley north of the woods we turned along a grassy farm track between rolling fields of beet and wheat stubble. In the hazel hedges crimson stalks of dogwood sprouted green-white flowers and deeply creased leaves turning dark mauve.

Nearer the silos and sheds of intriguingly named Forest Extra a dead starling lay in the grass verge of the lane, wings outspread. Last night’s rain had coalesced into evenly spaced droplets all over the water-resistant feathers, like raindrops on a newly proofed coat.

A pale path of chalky mud led over the winter wheat. On the opposite slopes starlings perched on the backs of fat sheep that grazed among the vines of Chalk Vale Vineyard.

The hamlet of Ashley and its castle mound lay hidden among trees beyond a stout wall. King John stayed here often while hunting, a guest of William Briwere, described by contemporary chronicler Roger of Wendover as an ‘evil adviser’ to the king.

In the fields beyond, large old beech trees, stripped of leaves, raised their graceful domed heads against the grey sky. We dropped down to the valley bottom and the Roman road from Winchester to Old Sarum, these days a narrow lane as straight as a die. From here a good track rose up the flank of Beacon Hill, running through groves of twisty yews.

At the crest of the down we stopped to take in a 40-mile prospect of downs and woods, ribbed ploughland and smooth grazing. By the homeward path rose a white steeple, raised in 1733 by Paulet St John to honour the horse he named Beware Chalk Pit.

Steed and rider had jumped a hedge while out foxhunting and tumbled into a chalk quarry 25 feet deep. Miraculously, both escaped unscathed, and rode to triumph in the Hunter’s Plate handicap the following year. Huzzah!

How hard is it? 9 miles; easy; woodland and farmland tracks, some muddy

Start: Hawthorn car park, Pitt Down, near Sparsholt SO21 2JG approx. (OS ref SU 415292)

Getting there: Sparsholt is signed from B3049 (Winchester–Stockbridge). Follow ‘Farley Mount’ from here.

Walk (OS Explorer OL32): Facing away from road, from left corner of car park follow forest road north. In 250m, at barrier, follow main roadway to right. In 300m, left up forest road (417294). In ½ mile, leave trees (418303); in ⅔ mile, left in valley bottom (418313). In 1 mile pass Forest Extra (403319); in ¾ mile, left off road past gate (390319, arrow) on well-trodden field path. In ⅔ mile at far side of 4th field, up steps through hedge (384311); left (yellow arrow) along field path. In 1 mile, descend to valley track (397301); right to road (399296); right. In ½ mile, hairpin back left across field (390297; blue arrow, then green arrow; ‘Clarendon Way’/CW). Follow CW for 1½ miles across Beacon Hill (detouring right to horse monument at 403290) to road (408293). Cross onto path; in 50m, through gate; fork left on CW at edge of trees to car park.

Lunch: Plough Inn, Sparsholt SO21 2NW (01962-776353, the.littlepubgroup.co.uk)

Accommodation: The Old Vine, 8 Great Minster St, Winchester SO23 9HA (01962-854616, oldvinewinchester.com)

Info: Winchester TIC (01962-840500)

@somerville_c

First published in: The Times Click here to view a map for this walk in a new window


A warm afternoon still gilding the backs of the South Downs, but growing cool in the shade of the trees of Hesworth Common. The downs hung halfway up the southern sky, a long and gradually undulating spine of tar-black woodland and dull gold fields. Baby rabbits were playing ‘statues’ in the verges of the stony lane that led past the back gardens of Fittleworth and on among the sweet chestnuts of Fittleworth Common. 
 
A green lane zigzagged north through the bracken undergrowth of Walters Plantation. Approaching Limbourne Farm the hedges were thick with the white bugle mouths of convolvulus and netted over with hop bines. We squeezed the sticky hop buds as we passed, and carried their pungent oily smell away at our finger ends.
 
Beyond the farm we entered the dense plantation of Fittleworth Wood. Properly maintained coppice of sweet chestnut is rare enough; there’s little call these days for the laths and battens, the hurdles and staves for which country craftsmen once harvested the chestnuts. But here in Fittleworth Wood the path ran between coppiced trees at every stage from tender new growth to mighty poles fifty feet tall – a beautiful sight with the sun filtering in thick bars of watery green light between the saw-edged leaves.
 
Near the edge of the wood a tiny Jack Russell pattered up to press its cold nose against my fingers, savouring the hop aromas as appreciatively as any real ale connoisseur. Beyond the trees lay hay meadows and the mellow red roofs and brick walls of Springs Farm, its peeping windows framed in sprays of buddleia.
 
If chestnut coppices are generally neglected nowadays, the commons where local folk once grazed their pigs and cattle have largely become overgrown with trees. We turned west through the luxuriant ash, oak and holly of Lithersgate Common, and south on a path that edged Bognor Common’s thickets of silver birch and rowan.
 
Down through Little Bognor, another picture-book straggle of beautifully kept old houses along a millpond stream, then on south through open fields. The powdery pink soil smoked in our wake, water-smoothed pebbles from some ancient river rolled under our boots, and the long arm of the downs stretched ahead as though to fence off the valley from the outside world.
 
How hard is it? 5½ miles; easy underfoot; careful navigation needed in woods
 
Start: Hesworth Common car park, Fittleworth, West Sussex RH20 1EW (OS ref TQ 007193)
 
Getting there: Bus Service 1 (Worthing-Midhurst)
Road – Car park signed off B2138 on west outskirts of Fittleworth.
 
Walk (OS Explorers 121, 134): Left/southeast (Serpent Trail/ST), parallel with B2138. In 200m, left to B2138 (009192). Right; in 50m, left past wooden barrier. Fork left on path. In 300m cross road (011191); on to Fittleworth Common. At wooden post bear right (014190), parallel with and then alongside northern boundary fence, to cross A283 (018190 – take care!).  By pond, right (fingerpost/FP); in 50m, left up bank (black arrow/BLA) on path through pinewood. 
 
In 150m bend right; in 150m, left (020191, bridleway fingerpost/BF) on broad bridleway. Pass Limbourne Farm sheds and silo (020193); in ½ mile, enter Fittleworth Wood (022201). In 100m pass footpath turning on left (FP); in another 100m take 2nd turning on right (022203, unmarked fork). Continue uphill. In 300m turn right (024206, blue arrow/BA). In 50m, left (BF); in 150m, right (BF, bench), steeply down bank. At bottom, follow BA uphill and on for 250m to top of wood (027210). Out of wood through gate; on to top left corner of field (027212); left (4-finger post) through gate; half left down across field. Follow lower edge of field below Springs Farm to drive (025213); follow it for 400m to road (021213).
 
Left; pass track to Warren Barn; in 15m, right (FP, stile) on path through trees of Lithersgate Common. Pass 3-finger post; in 200m, at next 3-finger post, right (019211). In 15m fork left down past pond. Follow ST for 550m to enter Mitfords Copse (013211); in 200m, descend to path crossing (011211). ST turns right; you go left/south-west (FP). In 300m, cross road (009209); down road opposite through Little Bognor. At far end of village pass ‘The Potting Shed’ on right; in 100m, left over stile (004204, FP, ‘Dyers Cottage’).
 
Follow YA past Dyer’s Cottage and on. Follow field edge downhill; in 100m, left (BLA, 006202) into wood. At end of trees, keep ahead to 3-finger post (005200); left to corner of hedge; half left across field past lone tree with FP to enter trees (008197). At kissing gate, half right across paddock to gate (BLA). Follow path to road; right to A283 (009194).
 
Right round bend (take care!); cross into Church Lane; right up path (FP) beside A283. At Scout hut, up left side of building; keep ahead to B2138 (008192); right to car park

Lunch/Accommodation: Angel Inn, Petworth GU32 0BG (01798-344445, angelinnpetworth.co.uk)

Information: Arundel TIC (01903-737838)

First published in: The Times Click here to view a map for this walk in a new window


Under a clearing sky and a brisk wind we set out among the cottages of Abbotsbury with their walls of deep golden stone under grey-green thatch. Chicken, duck and goose eggs were for sale at the farm in Rosemary Lane.

Stony, sunken Blind Lane led away uphill between horse pastures. From here we looked back over Abbotsbury and its steep guardian hill topped by St Catherine’s Chapel, the shingle bar of Chesil Beach enclosing the long inlet of The Fleet, and the leonine form of the Isle of Portland with its long back and tail sloping down into the dull sea. Half a dozen dark lumps lay beyond, giant container ships at anchor off Weymouth.

Up over the corrugations of medieval strip lynchets to the ridge, where the South Dorset Ridgeway ran out west along a bracken-brown bar of downland parallel to the sea. An ancient ceremonial landscape where Neolithic long barrows and Bronze Age round barrows lay side by side. The tribal leaders of 3,000 years were laid to rest on this high eminence overlooking land and sea.

On the ramparts of Abbotsbury hillfort a female stonechat sat on a gorse tip, her breast a soft buff pink, a bold dark stripe through her eye. Looking west from here we had a grand prospect of the Jurassic Coast all round the great curve of Lyme Bay, with the crumbling cliffs of Golden Cap shining a rich gold in the muted late-year light.

A cobbled green lane descended to West Bexington between hedges bright with fruit – hard red blackberries, shiny black dogwood berries, the burnished scarlet of hawthorn peggles, and old man’s beard draped over the stone walls.

The single street of West Bexington sloped down to the seafront, where beach fishermen cast their heavy leads in hopes of bass or codling. We turned east into the wind and crunched along a beach of pebbles almost as small as sand. Pale leaves of sea kale like elephant ears grew on the scrubby maritime sward, along with thrift flowers now dry and silvery.

On the seaward side of Abbotsbury we climbed steeply across strip lynchets to reach St Catherine’s Chapel, massively buttressed in thick dark gold stone on its hilltop. In medieval times the maturer maidens of Abbotsbury would make an annual pilgrimage to offer a fervent prayer in the chapel on the hill:
‘A man, St Catherine,
Please, St Catherine,
Soon, St Catherine!’
… following that with: ‘Arn-a-one’s better than narn-a-one, St Catherine!’

Flora: blackberries, dogwood berries, hawthorn peggles (berries), old man’s beard
Birds: female stonechat

How hard is it? 8½ miles; moderate; downland tracks, shore path, short steep climb to chapel

Start: Abbotsbury car park, Rodden Row, Abbotsbury DT3 4JL (OS ref SY 578853) – £1 per hour, signposted in village.

Getting there: Bus X53 (Weymouth-Axminster)
Road: Abbotsbury is on B3157 (Weymouth-Bridport)

Walk (OS Explorer OL15): Cross B3157; up Rosemary lane; left on Back Lane. In 150m, right beside Spar House up Blind Lane (578854, ‘Hill Fort’). In 600m, through gate (574859, yellow arrow), then another (blue horse). At ridge, left (571863, gate, ‘West Bexington’). Follow ‘South Dorset Ridgeway’ and ‘Bexington’ signs for 2¾ miles to West Bexington seafront (531864). Left along shore path, then road for 2¼ miles to road end (560846). Ahead along lower edge of car park. Follow ‘Coast Path’ signs for ⅔ mile to 3-finger post; right (568847, ‘Swannery’). In ½ mile, left at stone marker (575845, ‘St Catherine’s Church’). Steeply uphill to chapel (572848); downhill into Abbotsbury.

Lunch/Accommodation: Manor House, West Bexington, Bridport DT2 9DF (01308-897660, manorhousedorset.com).

Info: Bridport TIC (01308-424901)

First published in: The Times Click here to view a map for this walk in a new window


A sunny afternoon over Penshurst, the blue sky silvered with lazily drifting clouds. The village houses of mellow brick and Kentish weatherboard held enough olde-worlde charm to spark nostalgia for JRR Tolkien’s mythical Shire. I popped into the Forge Stores, with its round wooden hobbit-hole frontage, and was tempted to ask for a flask of mead and a pouch of Longbottom Leaf along with my chocolate bar.

An embanked lane led west between bracken slopes, sloe bushes heavy with shiny dark fruit and hedges a-twitter with flocks of pink-breasted linnets. This is beautifully maintained countryside, giving off a whiff of money well spent, of care taken and forethought applied. Field ditches have been properly dug and cleaned, new plantations of cherry, hazel and hawthorn established, hedges allowed to bulk out as food and cover for wildlife.

Along the valley stretched a line of Second World War pillboxes, the derelict old strongpoints sprouting ivy and elder. We crossed the sluggish River Eden, where silver dace flicked with a tiny splash into the sheltering shade of alder roots as our shadows loomed over the bridge railings. There was a whisper of wind and a shiver of leaves in the poplar groves. A straggle of straws and leaves along the way showed where last winter’s floods had drowned the path as they encroached on these low-lying fields.

This part of Kent is famous for its hops, witness the cluster of former oasts or drying kilns that stood at Salman’s Farm like red-habited nuns under white coif caps. Beyond on a slope vines had been planted, the grapes in bunches hanging from wires stretched at shoulder height. We sat on a bench to eat our picnic, looking down the rows and imagining the harvest. Regent grapes for a nice rosé, said the adjacent notice. That would do.

Twisted hornbeams and hollies reflected a sombre light in Russell’s Wood. Beyond in Yewtree Wood a gaggle of children shouted and swooped, walking the plank along the smooth recumbent trunks of enormous old beeches that had been thrown in storms long gone and forgotten.

At Wat Stock Farm on the homeward path we sat on a bank and listed to squirrels crunching the last of the hazelnuts in the hedge behind us. Back at Penshurst young men and women were jumping with much ado into and out of the river. The walk ended with a stroll across the sward in front of 14th-century Penshurst Place, an extravagant architectural mishmash of brick, stone, chimneys, gables and arches all picked out in the low sun of late afternoon.

How hard is it? 5½ miles; easy; field paths and lanes
 
Start: Penshurst Place parking field, Penshurst TN11 8DG (OS ref TQ 530440) 

Getting there: Bus 231, 233 (Lingfield-Tunbridge Wells)
Road: Penshurst is signed from A26 (Tonbridge-Tunbridge Wells)

Walk (OS Explorer 147): Down Penshurst Place drive; right along village street. Past Forge Stores, right along The Warren (525436). In 1 mile at Salman’s Farm, through kissing gate/KG (512432); right up track; left, and keep ahead (yellow arrow/YA). At T-junction in Russell’s Wood, right (507430, YA, ‘441’). Opposite Oakenden house, right (501428, YA, stile), then right through KG, across fields; through Yewtree Wood. On west edge of wood cross stile (502435, YA); on to road (501436). Right; pass Sliders Barn; in 150m, right along drive (503439); follow Eden Valley walk for 1½ miles to Penshurst. Left at B2176 (525439); in 200m, right (525440, KG) through grounds of Penshurst Place to car park.
 
Lunch/Accommodation: Leicester Arms, Penshurst TN11 8BT (01892-871617, theleicesterarms.com)
 
Info: Penshurst Place – 01892-870307, penshurstplace.com

First published in: The Times Click here to view a map for this walk in a new window


Arenig Fawr, ‘Great High Ground’, the summit of a curving ridge at 2,802 ft (854 m), stands at the eastern edge of the National Park, some way apart from the more celebrated peaks of Snowdonia.

Other than the beauty of Arenig Fawr’s own surroundings, the special attraction of the summit is that from it you can see an unbeatable panorama of the mountains of North Wales spread out all round you. First, though, you need a clear day on those tops, not so common in this part of the world.

Three times over the years we’d had Arenig Fawr in our sights, and three times we’d been rained off. Now here we were at the foot of the track on a beautiful morning. The well-found track led us across thistly hillsides to our first sighting of Llyn Arenig Fawr, a sheet of wind-stippled water, steel-blue in the shadow of a tall corrie of dark crags with pink screes chuting down towards the lake.

By the dam a little one-room bothy, immaculately clean, offered basic shelter – a wooden plank bed, a fireplace still warm from the previous night’s occupants, a kettle, a broom, a bottle of chilli sauce, and naturally The Bible in both English and Welsh. Judging by the ecstatic comments in the visitors’ book, walkers love this spartan refuge beside the lonely lake.

From the bothy the track steepened beside the corrie, a good old puff upwards on a path whose rocks sparkled in the sunshine. A couple of fences to hop and we were out into a wild upland, the path undulating through boggy patches and curving across slopes before turning up loose screes and rocky steps towards the ridge.

The slope of the climb hid the conical summit of Arenig Fawr till we were nearly there. Up at the trig pillar we found a stone-walled shelter and a poignant memorial to the eight-man crew of a USAF Flying Fortress bomber, killed when their plane crashed here on a night training flight in 1943.

The promised mountains stood clear and dramatic all round – the dinosaur spine of the Clwydian Hills and the four billows of the Berwyns to the east, Cadair Idris looming like a hunchbacked beast in the southwest, and away to the northwest the shoulders and pointed head of Snowdon just brushing the gathering cloud.

How hard is it? 7¼ miles there and back, 1720ft/530m climb. Strenuous mountain expedition for fit, sure-footed walkers, properly clothed and shod.

Start: Car parking space just east of Arenig, near Bala, LL23 7PA approx. (OS ref SH 846395)

Getting there: Arenig is signed off A4212 (Trawsfynydd-Bala). Drive through hamlet; car parking space is another ⅔ mile on left, opposite gate signed ‘Farmland’.

Walk (OS Explorer OL18): Through gate, follow track for 1½ miles to Llyn Arenig Fawr. Cross ladder stile by bothy (850379); follow path, gentle gradient at first, then a rocky and steep climb from 400m at bothy to 600m at fence (‘Y Castell’ on map). Cross fence (842373); up to cross second fence 40m beyond corner where you join it (839374). From here on, path rocky and stumbly – watch your step! Path bears right round rocky outcrops, then makes long leftward curve across slope. In ½ mile path bends right and climbs (832372), a few cairns mark it from here. Near the summit, aim for a prominent post above, then the trig pillar at 2,802ft/854m (827369).
Return same way.

Lunch: Picnic

Accommodation: Bothy at Llyn Arenig Fawr (mountainbothies.org.uk); or Plas Yn Dre, 23 High St, Bala LL23 7LU (01678-521256, plasyndre.co.uk)

Info: walkingbritain.co.uk; snowdonia.gov.wales
@somerville_c