Christopher Somerville

john

Miserden, Througham and High Wood, Glos

Mar 162024

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

The south Cotswold village of Miserden seems to have it all – shop, post office, school, dentist, craftspeople, (occasional) bus, and a cosy and welcoming pub. In addition it’s a pretty place of mellow limestone houses, barns and field walls.

Do rural Edens like this harbour serpents? Impossible to believe it as we passed a posse of happily babbling village toddlers on their morning constitutional and set out along an old country lane. Hock-deep mud and a surface abraded to stumbly rubble by winter’s floods soon brought us back to earth.

Two worlds intersected along the route from Miserden to Througham. The byway, evolved to suit man’s objectives, led purposefully between the two settlements, while claw-scraped mudslides in the banks marked the passage of animal highways crossing the man-made track on the way to and from unknowable destinations.

A grey squirrel scampered across the lane in front of me, so intent on its course that it darted right over the toe of my boot. The sunken track, more stream than lane, rose to Througham under hazels festooned with catkins and minuscule female flowers, tufty and scarlet.

We passed the handsome old country house of Througham Court, its gables pierced with dove holes. A high wall concealed a garden laid out by the owner according to mathematical formulae, medical principles and cosmic theory. Less abstruse but just as wonderful, a prunus on a grass triangle by the road stood covered with pink blossom, loudly humming with a smother of bees hard at work.

Another stony lane led to a pasture where seven roe deer ran in line across our path, each creature rising in turn to spring over a fence, easy grace personified.

In High Wood off-roaders had trenched the byway with ruts too deep and flooded to walk in. We teetered along the muddy margins before plunging down a hillside path to the hidden valley of the Dillay Brook. An upward slog, a tangle of storm-toppled trees to negotiate like a giant’s game of spillikins, and a last stretch through sheep pastures under a sky milky with late winter sunlight and jingling with the early spring twittering of skylarks.

How hard is it? 7 miles; moderate; muddy and wet in parts, especially in High Wood.

Start: Carpenter’s Arms, Miserden GL6 7JA (OS ref SO 937088).

Getting there: Off B4070 (Birdlip-Stroud)

Walk (OS Explorer 179); Leaving pub, right; at T-jct, right; in 200m, left (933086, ‘Restricted Byway’). In 400m, fork left (930085); follow lane to Througham. In ¾ mile where tarmac begins, left (921081). 50m past Througham Court, ahead off right bend (921078) along lane. In 300m fork right at sheds (921075). Green lane, then field paths to road (914074). Left; fork right; at T-jct, right (912073). In 450m cross road (908076), then 3 fields to lane (905079). Left (very muddy!). In ½ mile lane bends sharp right (899081); descend on side path with wall on right. In 150m fork downhill. At bottom, cross track (899085); up path opposite. In 350m at top of rise fork right past house (901087). In 200m, ahead (blue arrow) for ⅔ mile (some fallen trees to negotiate) to gate into field (912086). Path to cross 2 roads (914087, 916087); on down to Honeycombe Farm. Path (left side of silage clamp) to road; right (ignore ‘Private’ sign). At gate, left-hand of 2 stiles (923090); path uphill (gate, yellow arrow) across 3 fields to road (931090). On across field to road (933089); right into Miserden.

Lunch: Carpenter’s Arms, Miserden (01285-821283, thecarps-miserden.co.uk)

Accommodation: Falcon Inn, Painswick GL6 6UN (01452-222820, thefalconpainswick.com)

Info: Nailsworth TIC (01453-839222)

Hambleden Weirs, Aston and the River Thames, Berks

Walks No Responses »

Mar 092024

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

A cold cloudy morning where the Chiltern Hills meet the boundaries of Bucks, Berks and Oxon. Not that the red kites were inclined to respect the county borders – they soared and wheeled indifferently over the bare woods and rain-sodden fields.

At Mill End the River Thames had forsaken its measured pace through the green meadows. The river, swollen by a whole night’s rainfall, came rushing and roaring, pushing a solid skein of sinewy grey-green water through the sluices. ‘She’s risen six inches higher than we expected,’ said the lock keeper as he pulled the sluice gate cable. ‘In for some flooding tomorrow, I should think.’

How did Thomas Caleb Gould, lock keeper here from 1777-1832, cope in similar conditions with no modern technology to help him? Gould was a celebrity in his day, famous for his many-buttoned coat and his daily diet of onion porridge. What his wife thought of that went unrecorded, but it kept him in good fettle till the age of ninety-two.

Heads reeling with the sound and energy of the seething water, we turned along the river bank and were instantly doused in peace and plenty. The Thames formed a broad, graceful bend, the water slow and wind-stippled as it slid smoothly past riverfront villas and their ornate wooden boathouses. Kempt lawns studded with fine cedars sloped up to Greenlands, a white wedding cake of a residence, built in 1853 for stationery mogul WH Smith.

A great crested grebe bobbed in the midriver flow, cautiously observing a nearby tufted duck with straggly crest and brilliant golden eyes. Black-headed gulls still sporting their white winter hoods screamed and squabbled over titbits, and a grey heron emitted a mournful shriek as it skimmed the water like a ragged umbrella on the loose.

At Upper Thames Rowing Club’s handsome premises we left the river and followed a snowdrop-spattered path to join up with the Chiltern Way that led across the winter wheatfields to Aston. From this elevated stance the Thames lay hidden by a fold of ground as though it had ceased to exist.

The Flower Pot Hotel at Aston exuded good smells of log fires. A venison pie (with juniper berries) and a golden pint of Boondoggle bitter here; then the final stroll beside the racing Thames towards the rumble and tumult of Hambleden weirs.

How hard is it? 6 miles; easy; riverbank and field paths

Start: Mill End car park, Hambleden, Bucks RG9 6TL (OS ref SU 786854)

Getting there: Bus 800 (High Wycombe – Reading)
Road: Follow ‘Hambleden’ from A4155 (Henley-on-Thames to Marlow) at Mill End. In ¼ mile, left into car park.

Walk (OS Explorer 171): Right along road (pavement). Dogleg right/left across A4155 (786850); follow footpath signs (‘Wokingham Way’) across River Thames via Hambleden Weirs. Cross Hambleden Lock (783851); right on riverbank Thames Path for 1¾ miles. Beside flagpole of Upper Thames Rowing Club (767836), left through car park to Remenham Lane. Right; in 50m, fork left (768835, fingerpost). In 50m, left (fingerpost, ‘Permitted Path); in 150m, left on Chiltern Way, Berkshire Loop (770834, fingerpost). In 400m left on Remenham Church Lane (774837); in 200m, right (773839, kissing gate, fingerpost) on Chiltern Way. In ½ mile, just before wooden gate across path, left (782840, ‘Permitted Path’) down to road (783842). Right into Aston. At Flower Pot Hotel (785842), left down Ferry Lane. At river, left (787845, ‘Thames Path’) to recross Hambleden Weirs and return to car park.

Lunch/Accommodation: Flower Pot Hotel, Aston RG9 3DG (01491-574721, flowerpothotel.com)

Info: Henley-on-Thames TIC (01491-576982)

Coire Lagan, Cuillin Hills, Isle of Skye

Walks No Responses »

Mar 022024

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

As we drove the narrow twisty road down Glenbrittle after a stormy night, it was a relief and a thrill to see the sharp silhouettes of the Black Cuillin mountains stamped against the sky.

We started up a broad steep grass slope towards Skye’s most magnificent backdrop, the Cuillin Ridge, standing dark and dramatic with clouds drifting among its razor-toothed peaks. The view back south was of dark blue waves riding in from Loch Brittle to cream on a long sandy beach.

Heather, moor grass and white crustose lichen clung to the peat that covered the underlying rock, grey knobbly gabbro from which the sun struck a cheerful sparkle. Violets were rebeginning to struggle out among the clumps, and curlews had already begun their haunting territorial calls.

The well-made path trickled with runnels as the rain-sodden slopes disgorged their surfeit of water. We paused for a breather and a look back over Loch Brittle to where the Cocktail Isles had slid into view – flat-backed Canna, mountainous Rhum and the volcanic prow of Eigg.

A posse of climbers heading for the ridge swung past us, belts a-clink with multicoloured clips. I felt my customary twinge of envy for their careless athleticism and daring, then bent my efforts once more to the upward climb.

Now the sunshine fell behind and we were forging up the cleft of Coire Lagan in the shadow of the Cuillin ridge. A short sharp scramble up a jumbled staircase of rocks with a stream hissing down beside the path. Then the reward at the top of the climb, the still black pool of Loch Coire Lagan under tremendous upthrusts of black gabbro, with the shark fin of Sgùrr Thearlaich rising dramatically to the 992-metre pyramid of Sgùrr Alasdair, highest peak in the islands.

Descending past Loch an Fhir-bhallaich towards Eas Mòr’s horse-tail plume of falling water, we stopped for a last look at the high black rock spires of the Cuillin Ridge. The clouds were already drifting back, and against their grey backdrop a magnificent golden eagle, monarch of the range, was slowly wheeling away.

How hard is it? 5¼ miles; strenuous; mountain paths; one short, steep ascent with a little scrambling. For experienced, sure-footed walkers. Wear hill-walking gear; take map/GPS; consult weather forecast (mwis.org.uk)

Start: Car parking area near Glen Brittle campsite, IV47 8TA (OS ref NG 410205)

Getting there: From Skye Bridge, A87 north to Sligachan. Left on A863 (‘Dunvegan’). In 5 miles, left on B8009 (‘Glenbrittle, Carbost’). In 1.6 miles, sharp left at Merkadale for 8 miles (narrow road) to Glenbrittle.

Walk (OS Explorer 411): From car park area at end of road, continue along track. Pass to left of campsite toilet block (pitched corrugated roof); through kissing gate; up path. In a few metres fork left on path. In 600m ignore path that heads to right (421203) across small burn and waterfall; keep ahead uphill here. In ¾ mile ignore a left fork (434206), and another in 400m with a big cairn (438206), both these paths leading past Loch an Fhir-bhallaich; instead, keep ahead up main path. In another 200m path steepens beside Coire Lagan burn on your right, leading up a rocky ‘staircase’ to Loch Coire Lagan (444209). Return down same path; in ½ mile, near large boulder on right (438206), fork right at big cairn on path for 2 miles, passing Loch an Fhir-bhallaich (432208) and later Eas Mòr waterfall (420214) to descend to road at Glenbrittle House (412214). Left along road for ⅔ mile to car park.

Lunch: Picnic

Accommodation: Sligachan Hotel, IV47 8SW (01478-650204, sligachan.co.uk)

Info: walkhighlands.co.uk; visitscotland.com

Lavenham and Balsdon Hall, Suffolk

Walks No Responses »

Feb 242024

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

Lavenham is ridiculously pretty, its High Street an unbroken run of delectable medieval buildings, each one more cranky, crooked and colour-washed than the last. No wonder the young American flyers of 487th Bomb Group, stationed nearby during the Second World War, came to walk its fairytale byways and drink and yarn in the impossibly beamy and lopsided old Swan Inn. Here the graffiti and signatures they scribbled on the wall plaster are lovingly preserved under glass.

Medieval Lavenham grew rich on the wool trade, a prosperity witnessed in its wonderful houses, guildhalls and great cathedral of a church. And it was a massive economic slump in Tud
or times, caused by competition from cheaper and better cloth produced elsewhere, that fixed Lavenham’s buildings in aspic. The impoverished townsfolk couldn’t afford to modernise or demolish them, so in their early medieval glory they remained through the succeeding centuries.

A cold west wind blew out of a wintry sky as we followed the trackbed of the old Long Melford branch railway out of the town. Arable land lay on either hand, the heavy dark soil sliced by recent ploughing into long gleaming furrows. We watched a trail of seagulls following a distant tractor, each new furrow no sooner opened than lined with screeching, squabbling birds.

Spring was beginning to knock on winter’s door. Hazel catkins trembled in the wind, daffodil spears were pushing up along the hedge roots, and over the open fields the first skylarks of the year poured out their continuous, ecstatic song. But winter was not done yet. Grey-headed fieldfares, overwintering from Scandinavia, flocked round a stark concrete wartime pillbox, crowds of goldfinches twittered in the treetops, and the mud of the winter rains lay black and stodgy underfoot.

Beyond the bare skeletons of beech and oak in ancient Lineage Wood we traversed fields of river-rolled pebbles to cross a tangle of old moats at Balsdon Hall farm. The yellow-faced 17th-century farmhouse lay tucked away behind trees, a remote setting among the fields. A characteristic rural Suffolk landscape, agricultural and unsmartened. Sugar beets lay heaped in roadside ramparts ten feet tall, and the great flint tower of Lavenham church rose across the waves of ploughed earth like a landlocked lighthouse.

How hard is it? 5¾ miles; easy; field and old railway paths

Start: High Street, Lavenham CO10 9QA (OS ref TL 915491)

Getting there: Bus 753 (Bury St Edmunds – Sudbury)
Road: Lavenham is signed off A134 (Bury St Edmunds – Sudbury)

Walk (OS Explorer 196): Up High Street, over ridge and down. In ⅓ mile fork left (017496, ‘Lavenham Walk’). In 100m, left along old railway. In 100m, right (‘Dyehouse Field Wood’). In 200m right by bench (914497, ‘St Edmund Way’) across field. Left along hedge. At Park Road, left (908497); in 300m, right along old railway (911494). In 1⅓ miles, Paradise Wood ends on left (893484); in another 300m, left (891481, arrow post) on field track. At Balsdon Hall Farm, follow farm drive between buildings (898484) to 3-arrow post at fork, with Balsdon Hall on right (900484). Ahead across fields to road (906476). Left; in 400m, left up Harwood Place (808480). In 50m, right (‘Byway’) along Peek Lane for ½ mile to road (909487). Left; in 200m, right (907487, fingerpost) on field path to road (913490). Right to Lavenham Church. Leaving south door, left along south side of church, then north side of graveyard to kissing gate. Follow tree avenue and walled path to Hall Road (914492); right to High Street.

Lunch/Accommodation: Swan Hotel, High Street, Lavenham CO10 9QA (01787-247477, theswanatlavenham.co.uk)

Info: Lavenham Information Point (01787-247983)

Dufton Ghyll and Flakebridge Wood, Cumbria

Walks No Responses »

Feb 172024

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

The sky over eastern Cumbria was sliced in two: a great smoking curl of mist obscuring the tops of the North Pennine Hills standing east of Dufton, and away to the west beyond the green Vale of Eden a field of brilliant blue above the sunlit fells of the Lake District.

Down below the village Dufton Ghyll rushed in curls of bubbles between the sandstone walls of its miniature gorge. ‘Dan McPhee, 1874’ read a graffito scored in square letters into the dusky red rock, legacy of some long-forgotten quarryman. ‘Cockdick’, said another – maybe a nickname, maybe an insult.

Below the mossy quarry faces the path twisted among fallen fragments of beech and birch, then climbed to green pastures by way of stone steps hewn and placed by the quarrymen. In the yard at Greenhow Farm a collie crouched on guard on the tray of a quad bike; he never budged a muscle, only swivelling his narrowed eyes to track my progress out of his domain.

In the fields beyond, a gang of rams, muddy-coated and curly-horned, stood stolidly and stared me out. The sodden path squelched and slithered underfoot as I crossed Keisley Beck and came down into Flakebridge Wood.

From the sunless cottages at Flakebridge a rough path traced the lower edge of the wood, passing under beech boughs as yet leafless. Wild geese flew clamouring overhead, shadowy presences beyond the treetops – pinkfeet, I guessed, en route to their night roost.

The rutted farm road of Frith Lane led on to Esplandhill where a range of superb old sandstone barns stood tall. Tiny spears of bluebells were already pushing up in the hedge roots beyond, and a wren sang its chittering song in the alders along Brampton Beck where I crossed the racing water swollen with recent rainfall.

A final stretch northwards ran between wet rushy fields along Wood Lane. Moles had been driven up from underground by the flooding; their castles of finely dug earth stood tall, temporary refuge until their tunnels dried out under spring sunshine and became habitable once more. Ahead beckoned the cone of Dufton Pike, gilded by late afternoon sunshine, as my internal compass set course for the cheerful taproom of the Stag Inn on Dufton’s village green.

How hard is it? 5½ miles; easy; field paths. NB: Some fallen trees to negotiate around Dufton Ghyll.

Start: Dufton car park, Dufton, CA16 6DB (OS ref NY 690250)

Getting there: Dufton is signed from B6542 in Appleby (A66 Brough-Penrith)

Walk (OS Explorer OL19): Right along road; immediately right (‘Dufton Ghyll’); descend to cross ghyll (wooden footbridge, NOT stone bridge!). Left along bank (yellow arrow/YA). In ⅓ mile at Redbanks Bridge dogleg left/right over road (694245; ‘Keisley, Flakebridge’). On through Greenhow farmyard; follow ‘A Pennine Journey’ across fields (YAs, stiles). In 1¼ miles cross footbridge and stile opposite (706231, YA). Right up bank to wall stile beyond (705230, YA). Down to stile at corner of wood (704229); half left to ladder stile (703226). Cross stream; into Flakebridge Wood. In 150m join track (703225); in 100m, left at junction, down to Flakebridge (704220). Bear right on track, keeping to edge of wood. In 1 mile leave wood (693229, stile); follow Frith Lane to road at Esplandhill (685230). Right; in 100m left past Brampton Watermill. In 400m right over footbridge (683234); left to join Wood Lane. In 1 mile enter Dufton Ghyll Wood (688249); down to cross ghyll (footbridge); up into Dufton.

Lunch: Stag Inn, Dufton (01768-351608, thestagdufton.co.uk)

Accommodation: Crown & Cushion, Appleby CA16 6XB (01768-351595, robinsonsbrewery.com)

Info: Appleby TIC (01768-351177)

Aston Tirrold & Lowbury Hill, Oxon

Walks No Responses »

Feb 102024

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

A sunny winter sky over the Oxfordshire downs. We sauntered a circuit of the back lanes of Aston Tirrold – St Michael’s Church with its ancient doorways, the weathered brick and flint of the Manor House and street walls, the great weatherboarded barn, and round the corner in the twin village of Aston Upthorpe more handsome houses.

Once across the rush and swish of the A417 we followed an old mossy byway towards the low-lying downs south of the village, with cold wind and dazzling winter sun in our faces. The sky above the downs was bathed in a nacreous sheen. Partridges scuttled away among green beet leaves, a robin trickled out a dribble of song from the scrub of nettle and elder along the lane, and there was a feeling of being deep in agricultural countryside, far from any city.

In the spring of 1967 the youthful members of psychedelic folk-rock group Traffic installed themselves at Sheepcote Farm in this peaceful cleft in the hills to ‘get it together in the country’. Jamming night and day with only the hares and pheasants as audience, they soon nailed the songs for their debut album ‘Mr Fantasy’. Traffic didn’t last long, but their rustic sojourn fixed the name of Aston Tirrold in rock history.

The muted sun cast a bristly halo behind each teasel head along the byway. Soon we turned off the track to thread a lonely dry valley in Access Land. Juniper bushes prickled the slopes among heaps of white flints kicked out by burrowing rabbits. A couple of red kites came to circle overhead and issue high-pitched whistles as we climbed to the braided ridge track at the top of Aston Upthorpe Downs.

The shapely hump of Lowbury Hill rose alongside, site of a splendid Saxon warrior’s burial. Archaeologists found him interred with sword, shield, spear, a comb in a leather sheath, and under his back a tiny pair of shears.

Irresistible to speculate that it was for the enormous views north that the warrior’s tomb was sited on the eminence of Lowbury Hill. Descending the homeward track between hedges where linnets bounced among the dried elder and haw berries, we savoured the prospect over the wide valley of the Thames and thanked our lucky stars for this beautiful winter’s day as the sun set slowly behind us.

How hard is it? 6 miles; easy; downland tracks (some slippery).

Start: St Michael’s Church, Aston Tirrold OX11 9DJ (OS ref SU 558860)

Getting there: Aston Tirrold is signed off A417 between Wantage and Streatley.

Walk (OS Explorer 170): From church, left along Aston Street, then The Croft. At junction (556863, ‘Aston Upthorpe’) round left bend; follow road past ‘Olivier at Chequers’ and on (Spring Lane) to cross A417 (553853, ‘Byway’). Up byway; in ⅔ mile at corrugated shed, fork right (551844; ‘Byway leading to Restricted Byway’). In ⅔ mile fork left past square tank to gate into Access Land (545836, sign). Up valley. In ½ mile through gate and on (543829). At top of valley, through kissing gate (539827); left along byway. In 350m, left along ridge trackway (538824). In ½ mile at multiple arrow post, left down byway (545826, orange arrow). In 1 mile fork right off byway (549840, blue arrow) and follow hedge. In ⅓ mile left along farm drive (556848). Cross A417 (556852); along Chalk Hill; in 500m, right (556857, ‘Aston Street’) to church.

Lunch: Olivier at the Chequers, Aston Tirrold (01235-850800, olivieratthechequers.co.uk) – a restaurant, but you can have starters and sides. Book in advance.

Accommodation: Beetle & Wedge, Moulsford OX10 9JF (01491-651381, beetleandwedge.co.uk)

Info: theastons.net

Bledlow & the Chiltern Escarpment, Bucks

Walks 1 Response »

Feb 032024

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

An ice-cold breeze coming east off the Chiltern Hills stung my eyes with wind tears as I followed the puddled track of the Icknield Way out of Bledlow. The low winter sun topped the trees on the crest of Wain Hill and threw the medieval ridge-and-furrow of the fields below the slope into sharp relief.

The Icknield Way, ancient thoroughfare across these chalk lands, ran at the feet of the hills. Soon I turned off on a carpet of wind-blown beech and oak leaves, into a steep holloway that rose up the escarpment in the chilly shade of a yew grove.

Near the top a fat ginger tomcat on a cold tin roof yawned massively as he watched me go by with supreme indifference. A path at the crest of the ridge brought me to a wonderful viewpoint over the Vale of Aylesbury where the sun was sweeping up the last of the morning mist and spreading golden light like butter over thirty miles of low-lying country.

A flock of goldfinches, softly twittering, flitted away from the thistle heads where they had been feasting. I passed the Bronze Age burial mounds of Chinnor Barrows, smothered under juniper and bramble, and dipped down another slippery hollow to the feet of the scarp once more.

The Ridgeway, companion to the Icknield Way, ran here in a succession of snaky curves under beech and ash. Silver birch trunks, their heartwood rotted where they lay, were no more than empty cylinders of bark where spiders and tiny beetles lay in their winter inertia.

The pearlescent sun swam down between the bare treetops of Thickthorne Wood. I followed a footpath over the grassy billows of the lower slopes before setting back across bare, silent stubble fields. A red kite wheeled down to land nearby and pick up a worm, short commons in the hungry months of the year.

Back in Bledlow with its beautiful old Church of the Holy Trinity and charming cottages of brick and timber framing, I ducked into the Lions of Bledlow pub. Literally ducked – the place was full of scalp-scraping beams, a properly cosy pub for sitting and replaying this perfect winter walk.

How hard is it? 5 miles; easy, but muddy, sticky and slippery in places!

Start: Church End, Bledlow HP27 9PD (OS ref SP 778021)

Getting there: Bus 320 (Chinnor – Princes Risborough)
Road: Bledlow (NB – not Bledlow Ridge!) is signed off B4009 between Chinnor and Princes Risborough (A4129/A4010)

Walk (OS Explorer 171): Beside Lions of Bledlow PH, through gate (‘Footpath only’), across field, right along Icknield Way/IW (775017). In ½ mile at Hempton Wainhill, follow IW/Ridgeway between two houses and on (770012). In 600m fork left uphill (767009, ‘Bridleway, Wildlife Walk’). At top of rise, left over barrier (767002, ‘Chinnor Barrows’) and on. In ⅔ mile, back at Hempton Wainhill, right (IW). In 100m in front of house, fork right (770012, ‘Ridgeway/IW/Bridleway’). In ½ mile, just past track crossing, right (778011, gate, ‘Footpath’) across fields, soon with trees/fence on left. In ½ mile, just before crossing hedge, left (782006, gate). Right; in 20m, right (gate, ‘footpath’); cross field; cross Wigan’s Lane (784004). Down driveway; in 400m on right bend, left (787001, blue, yellow arrows). In 100m path bends left; in 300m, before waymark post (787004), left through hedge; recross Wigan’s Lane (785005). Follow fence; in 300m pass ‘Footpath’ gate; in 20m left (782006, gate); right along hedge. In 200m fork right through trees (781008); cross IW (781011); path by hedge to Bledlow.

Lunch: Lions of Bledlow PH (01844-343345, thelionsofbledlow.co.uk)

Accommodation: Inn at Emmington, Sydenham OX39 4LD (01844-351367, theinnatemmington.co.uk)

Info: chilternsaonb.org

Greatford, Wilsthorpe & Braceborough, Lincolnshire

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Jan 272024

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

Greatford Hall lies beyond its boundary wall, a handsome rebuild in pale Lincolnshire limestone of the old country house where during the 18th century Dr Francis Willis practised pioneering forms of psychiatric treatment. His patients were misfortunate gentlemen of quality, the most illustrious of whom was the occasionally demented King George III.

In the village church alongside we found a bust of Dr Willis, bald and benign. The memorial eulogised the good doctor, ‘happily the chief agent in removing the malady which affected the present majesty in the year 1789’. The physician’s kindliness and benevolence were attested ‘by the tears and lamentations which followed him to the grave.’

With this touching image in mind we left Greatford and struck out north across the flat South Lincolnshire landscape, following the twisty Macmillan Way under a sky of grey and pink clouds. A proper midwinter afternoon, with floods gleaming in the fields beside the East Glen River and bushy-headed willows leaning over their reflections in the streaky water.

This is a countryside where church steeples have only the skeletal pylons as rivals for skyline prominence. The slender tower and spire of St Faith’s at Wilsthorpe beckoned us from afar. Inside, a dusty stone knight, perhaps a Mortimer, lay recumbent in a corner of the sanctuary, legs crossed at the knee to commemorate his two crusades, a purse and sword at his elaborate belt. The sculptor had furrowed the warrior’s brow with deeply incised lines, giving him a curiously worried expression.

Down the lane in Braceborough, little fierce stone lions guarded the label stops of the church windows. A mistle thrush was stabbing slots in a pile of apples that had fallen across the fence into the graveyard.

The homeward path led south over big fields of winter wheat, the slithery mud pocked with deer slots. In Shillingthorpe Park lumps and bumps in the wide grassland showed where immaculate parkland had superseded a medieval settlement. Trees had swallowed what little remains of Shillingthorpe Hall, a fine mansion which once housed a group of Dr Willis’s psychiatric patients.

Beyond the woods the West Glen River ran swift and swollen, stained bright yellow with floody mud. Towards nightfall we followed a quiet country road back into Greatford as a band of rooks flew chuckling and chattering overhead towards some distant roost.

How hard is it? 5½ miles, easy; field paths and country roads. NB can be wet around West and East Glen Rivers – take wellingtons in case!

Start: Church of St Thomas of Canterbury, Greatford, near Stamford PE9 4PX (OS ref TF 086119). Park near Hare & Hounds PH.

Getting there: Bus 45 from Stamford (Call Connect, 0345-263-8253))
Road – Greatford is signed off A6121 (Stamford-Bourne) at Carlby, between Essendine and Toft.

Walk (OS Explorer 234): From NE corner of churchyard, path to road. Left; in 150m pass Ash Lodge on right; on next left bend, fork right on Macmillan Way/MW (086122, fingerpost). Follow MW through fields (fingerposts, yellow arrows) for 1¼ miles, crossing East Glen River (089131), to road opposite St Faith’s Church, Wilsthorpe (092136). Left; in 150m, left (091138, ‘Braceborough’). Follow road for 1 mile to Braceborough. Left at Village Hall (081131) to visit St Margaret’s Church and return to Village Hall; right for 600m to cross Greatford road (079126). Follow path through fields for nearly 1 mile to join MW in Shillingthorpe Park. Left (072116, fingerpost) on MW to road (075111); left for 1 mile to Greatford.

Lunch: Hare & Hounds, Greatford PE9 4QA (01778-560332) – open Mon-Fri, 2-9; Sat, Sun, 12-10.

Accommodation: Crown Hotel, Stamford PE9 2AG (01780-763136, kneadpubs.co.uk)

Info: Stamford TIC (01780-755611); visitlincolnshire.com

Eyemouth and Burnmouth, Berwickshire, SE Scotland

Walks No Responses »

Jan 202024

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

Nearing the border where Scotland hands over to England, the cliffs of the south Berwickshire coast form a spectacularly folded and tilted rampart, partly ancient volcanic outpourings, partly sedimentary rock some 430 million years old with the curiously pleasing name of greywacke. Tucked away at the back of a sea-sculpted hollow lies the old fishing and smuggling town of Eyemouth, pungent with a whiff of fish and a smack of salt.

On the cliff path south of Eyemouth I stopped to watch the waves dashing in white foam on the Hurkers, jagged black teeth of rock at the entrance to the bay. On that reef and adjacent cliffs the Eyemouth fishing fleet was wrecked in a vicious autumn squall in 1881 that claimed the lives of nearly two hundred local fishermen in the space of a few hours. A devastating toll for the little town, and the stumpy, storm-proof build of the modern trawlers sheltering in the harbour today told of a sea that has lost none of its deadly power.

On a ledge of rock high above the waves a solitary figure in a yellow oilskin was wedged for a gull’s-eye view of the dramatic pull and suck exerted by the sea on its timeless mission to whittle away the land grain by grain. A last northward glimpse of Eyemouth sprawling down its cliffs and the lighthouse on St Abbs Head beyond, and I faced into a strong southeast wind laden with salt spray.

At Hurker’s Haven the sea has taken a great bite out of the cliffs, exposing green, red and yellow layers of rock scrunched up together by ancient subterranean upheavals like a Danish pastry squashed in a giant’s fist. Near the crest stood a wartime lookout, a plain concrete hut transformed into a child’s dream eyrie with fun-size table and chairs, a couple of pictures and a toy boat.

Beyond Hurker’s Haven the path ran between the cliff edge and fields stretching inland. The sea murk cleared to reveal the English coastline running away south. A tiny blob some fifteen miles off was Lindisfarne Castle, with an even tinier Bamburgh Castle beyond, both strongholds apparently floating far out at sea.

Now the long pincers of Burnmouth Harbour came into view with the houses of Ross beyond, twin fishing settlements clinging to the base of the cliffs where the waves rolled and retreated. The bent-up cliffs and solid breakwaters made a striking contrast with the diffuse energy and hunger of the sea, and I gazed my fill before turning for home with wind and spray at my back.

How hard is it? 9 miles there and back; easy; clifftop paths

Start: Eyemouth Seafront car park, High Street, Eyemouth TD14 5EY (OS ref NT 944644) – free

Getting there: Bus 235 (Berwick-upon-Tweed to Eyemouth)
Road: Eyemouth is on A1107 (signposted off A1 between Berwick-upon-Tweed and St Abbs)

Walk: (OS Explorer 346): Facing sea, bear right along harbour. At corner, right. In 500m, beside Quayside Chandlery (945641), left up causeway; left along fishing boat moorings. In 600m road curves right; on this bend keep ahead (948645) to post with arrow, and follow cliff path (posts with arrows) round edge of golf course. Follow ‘Coastal Path’ signs along cliff edge for 3¾ miles to road at Burnmouth (955610). Bear left (‘Coastal Path’) down road to Burnmouth Harbour and on along shore road to Ross community at far end (963604). Return to Eyemouth by outward route, or by bus from Burnmouth.

Lunch: Oblò Bar and Restaurant, 18-20, Harbour Road, Eyemouth TD14 5HU (01890-752527, oblobar.com)

Accommodation: The Ship’s Quarters, Harbour Road, Eyemouth TD14 5HT (01890-769515, theshipsquarters.com)

Info: visitscotland.com

Postbridge, Bellever Tor and Lakehead Hill, Dartmoor

Walks No Responses »

Jan 132024

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

Postbridge lies more or less in the middle of Dartmoor, its main attraction the medieval clapper bridge that crosses the East Dart River. Early on this brisk morning I had the bridge with its great granite slabs and piled supports to myself.

Out on the open moor a broad grassy bridlepath ran south through pale wiry grass. All round the long skyline of the moor swelled, its smooth undulations broken by the hard outlines of granite tors.

Down in a sheltered hollow the white cottages of Bellever lay cradled in dark forestry. The village has its own clapper bridge; the central slab is missing, and it would be a brave leaper who dared the jump.

A gravel roadway led through the conifers of Bellever forest to where Laughter Hole Farm lay silent and derelict among ancient trees trailing long green beards of usnea lichen. Beyond the farm the track headed on across the moor, wide open country all round, low ridges and hidden valleys, stunted thorns and willows dotting the coarse grass.

I turned off along a green track to pass the Laughter Man, a 10-ft tall standing stone on the slope of Laughter Tor. From here Bellever Tor stood tall on the western skyline, a jumble of granite that resolved itself as I got nearer into piles of flat wind-sculpted rocks stacked like grey pancakes. Near the top Dartmoor ponies grazed, glancing at me from under their rock star fringes.

It might have been the arresting profile of Bellever Tor that caused our ancient ancestors to construct their sacred sites across the slopes of Lakehead Hill. I followed a rough path through the tussocks, stumbling upon stone circles, a cist burial under a flat capstone, and a row of twelve tooth-like stones carefully aligned with the rising and setting of the sun.

There was something about these obscure monuments half buried in the moor grass that made me linger in their presence far longer than I’d intended to. Walking on at last, I thought of Tom White of Postbridge, a lovelorn suitor who dallied too long with his girlfriend. The pixies of Bellever Tor caught him on the way home and taught him a lesson by making him dance from midnight till dawn.

How hard is it? 5¾ miles; moderate; rough moorland paths. No recommended in mist.

Start: Bellever Forest car park, Postbridge PL20 6TH (OS ref SX 647786)

Getting there: Bus 98 (Tavistock-Yelverton)
Road – Postbridge is on B3212 between Moretonhampstead and Two Bridges

Walk (OS Explorer OL28): From car park, follow signs to clapper bridge (649788). Just before bridge, turn south off road (‘Bridleway’); up steps onto moor. In ⅔ mile at gate (652778) cross track; bridleway descends into Bellever. At road, left (656773) to clapper bridge (659773). Return along road; left through forest car park; follow track past Laughter Hole Farm (659759). On up hill (‘Country Road B3157’ fingerpost). At gate leave trees (658755); ahead (‘Dunnabridge Pound’). In 500m at cross-tracks (654752), right past Laughter Man standing stone (653753); on towards Bellever Tor. In ½ mile through/over gate (646758); right on grassy track to Bellever Tor summit (645764). Down broad path towards forest; in 400m, fork left (646767) on path up right flank of tussocky Lakehead Hill between forestry blocks. Follow it for 1 mile past cairn circle and cist (644774), stone row (644776) and stone circle (644777) to Kraps Ring settlement (645781). Path through trees beyond (post ‘5A’); in 200m, right on track, then left to Postbridge.

Lunch/Accommodation: East Dart Inn, Postbridge PL20 6TJ (01822-880213)

Info: Visitor Centre, Postbridge (01822-880272, dartmoor.gov.uk)

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