| Friday 31st August 2007. North Newton & Hedging (walk stats 4 miles, 185ft of climb) | ||
| A cloudy sky greeted us with a breeze
blowing from the north as twenty ramblers gathered at the
Harvest Moon public house in North Newton. Orders
for supper were taken and liaison with our hostess for
that night was successfully completed. Our leader,
mindful of the august presence of the Chairman and the
Treasurer, carefully detailed the items of interest that
would be seen on the walk; once completed, he led his
charges from the car park and onto the first leg of the
walk. By road and footpath our happy band set off to St Michael’s Church admiring a house with its own lake, complete with canoe, and indoor swimming pool in its grounds. This Anglo Saxon church was part of the Maunsel estate containing the 13th century Maunsel Manor House that was bought by John Slade in 1772 and is now owned by his descendant Sir Benjamin Slade. We progressed to the village of Hedging where the group caught its breath and indulged in a spot of blackberry picking. As time was pressing, it was agreed to take a shortcut to Maunsel Lock unfortunately losing the opportunity to inspect the Outward Canal swing bridge, an example of Victorian engineering at its best. Our party made its way by road to Higher Lock and along the canal to Maunsel Lock but much to our disappointment the café was closed. The canal was built in 1827 to link the towns of Bridgwater and Taunton and was finally closed to commercial traffic in 1907 although in recent times the number of pleasure craft has increased and new quays and landing stages have been built along its banks. From Maunsel Lock we went inland by road, track and footpath to the hamlet of Northmoor Corner and returned to the Canal at Coxhill Bridge. The group followed the Canal to North Newton passing pill boxes from the 2nd World War along the way; this was known as the Taunton Stop Line and was a defence against invasion from the West. Arriving at North Newton, the party stopped to admire St Peter’s Church built as a chantry by Richard De Barfleur, lord of the manor, in 1292 and, having suffered in the Dissolution during the reign of Edward VI, it eventually became a chapel in the 17th century and then a parish church in 1880. In 1693 King Alfred’s Jewel, presented to one of his bishops, was found near the chapel; this is made of gold and Cloisonné enamel covered with rock crystal and now resides in the Ashmolean Museum. Our happy band retired to the harvest Moon where they quaffed real ale and enjoyed a well deserved meal while engaging in stimulating conversation. |
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| Sunday 26th August 2007. Shurton
& Coast Path (photos Roger Conway) walk stats 4¾ miles, 312ft of climb |
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| On a hot and sultry afternoon 18 walkers set off on the boggy track that soon gave way to a stoned path that took us up and over the Shurton ridge to open out to super views of Steep Holm and the Bristol Channel. Oh yes, we also had a good view of Hickley Point NPS (above left). Westward along the coast path before turning back inland and over the fields and lanes to our starting point. The party then drove a short way to take tea at Stella's (above right) | ||
| Friday 24th August 2007. Around Stoke St Gregory (walk stats 4¾ miles, 248ft of climb) | ||
| A late start as we all studied the menu and made our choices and then off at a brisk pace onto the levels with smashing views of the Burton Pynsent Monument and the Fivehead Ridge. The leader had cunningly included a commando type test for the group, in the form of 8ft high maize. Through the site of the Willowcraft Centre with it's charming sculptures (the reporter having forgotten his camera, so you will have to accept written evidence) and then a drop down to the River Tone and the home leg that skirted around the edge of the village of Stoke St Gregory and on to Woodhill and supper at the Rose & Crown | ||
| Wednesday 22nd August 2007. Ashbrittle & Hockworthy | ||
| The Prince of Wales at Holcombe Rogus was
the start of this hilly but beautiful walk and about half
of the party made good use of its excellent catering
before doing a bit of road walking to Kytton Barton. From
there we walked through an old pasture and then up to the
ridge overlooking Ashbrittle with good views of the
Brendons and Quantocks beyond. Here we met the farmer who
was very friendly and explained what he was growing and
all about his farm. He ended by asking us, unusually for
a farmer, what we thought of the waymarking and footpaths
through his farm. We dropped down into the valley shown as Marcombe Lake on the map, but with no sign of a lake and then climbed up to Ashbrittle and inspected the old yew tree in the churchyard there. Our route then took is past Hole Farm which does have a lake, a very pretty one, and its own private railway. We had another climb and descent, this time with extensive views to the south, before we got to Hockworthy. From there it was not far to the picturesque Holcombe Court and back to the car park. The weather and the good views in all directions made this a very attractive walk. |
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| Sunday 19th August 2007. Wellington to Halse | ||
| From Wellington we crossed the line of
the old canal, passed over the imposing bridge over the
Tone on the old drive into Nynehead Court and then wended
our way over Greedy Moor and then Preston Bowyer to Halse.
We lunched beside the pretty pond that has been
developing quietly just south of the village before
looking into the church before returning via The Old
Ground, Blagrove Farm and the Oake Golf Club whose waters
were enhanced by a graceful family of swans. We completed
our circle along the line of the old Grand Western
Canaland back to Wellington to find that all its teashops
were closed. We have done this walk a couple of times before but never before in August and not after such a wet and dismal summer as this one has been. We had walked through the Vale of Taunton with some of the most fertile soil in the area. Corn, maize, potatoes, root crops, all had been planted in high hopes but we were sickened by the extensive fields of blighted wheat, oats and potatoes that had been abandoned and were slowly rotting away. We also noticed the way that footpaths through standing crops had been left. It was good to see that in some fields decent pathways had been cut or left through the maize and the rampant elephant grass whilst disappointing to find little or no effort to encourage walkers in others. |
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| Sunday 12th August 2007.
Devon Coast (photos John Ollerenshaw) |
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| The group's second walk of the Summer with a swim option was again threatened initially by rain,but,again remained bright sunny and pleasantly warm. Setting out from a roadside verge near to the quaintly named Roncombe Goyle,south of Honiton, the select group of seven soon descended into a peaceful wooded valley-so far unwalked by the group. The going was soft underfoot and signs of deer and badgers could be easily spotted. Leaving the track to cross a small ford into the village of Harcombe, the party stopped to admire a partly built house faced with cobble stones that had fallen foul of local planning regulations. A stiff climb was to follow before the first of the day's donkeys were encountered. The leader fed a friendly grey mare with a pear from his rucksack which the donkey then tried to eat as well ! Crossing a busy road, the group made a detour through the well known visitor attraction with its carved donkey emblem on a neighbouring hillside. Descending towards the sea, the group caught a glimpse of the remains of the MSC. Napoli, perched high on a sandbank. With the sun shining brightly,the three veteran swimmers in the group soon were enjoying a refreshing dip before lunch and a brief sunbathe. Many enjoyed the rich range of wild flowers that thrived on the undercliff here.Clematis vied with wild sweat pea above whilst knapweed ,mallow,loosestrife,and fleabane proliferated the side of the steep steps. The climb eased somewhat as the walkers approached the hamlet of Trow,and all were rewarded by the sight of two wonderfully preserved relics of the past. A Lancaster bomber lumbered slowly past ,and the historic village pump was a wonder to behold. The select retirement home of Knowle House in its prime site above the Sid valley was skirted before the party climbed the last steep hill to join the East Devon Way. The view of the sprawling conurbation of Sidmouth was enjoyed before the wooded hillside climb. Soon the cars were reached and a welcome tea in Honiton on the return trip | ||
| Friday 3rd August 2007. Around Bishops Hull |  |
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| On Friday 3rd August Phil and Jan Bacon’s walk began in Watersfield Drive, Bishops Hull and 24 walked through open park land and then past Netherclay House to descend through the Community Woodland. The group skirted the far side of the meadows aside the meandering stream and then next to the railway line to arrive at the attractively restored Hele Bridge ready for a break, on what turned out to be a fine evening. Walking back via Hele through the fields and up to the Bishops Hull Road the walk finished and the barbeque began. This event, in Phil and Jan’s garden, was enjoyed by the ravenous all and a voluntary collection amounting to £47 was raised in aid of S.U.R.E. | ||
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