Kewstoke and Sand Bay: Sunday 13th November 2011

Last posted as 'Half a walk backwards' this is a great Weston ramble, with beach, headland, and cross-country to satisfy any bastard.  We will DEFINITELY not do it backwards next time, but starting at the same car park on Sand Bay, first find the footpath across the fields.  This is because the last part of the walk, the way what we done it, is the worstest.  Therefore, we get the fields out of the way first (including a visit to the Coppage Estate), we would then be strolling accross great headland to the point, followed by Sand Bay walking back to the car park, and possibly beyond to the chip-based cafe. Yay!

Westerleigh - Sunday November 6th

Is it really two years since we done this?  It's a great 5-mile hike with lots of variety, and we had the bonus of a beautiful crisp warm November afternoon.  Only one shitty bit of road walking spoils it, but not enough to stop us doing it again, probably in two years time.

Badminton 3rd September 2011

Scaling down a bit - 6 miles fairly flat.  Enjoyable but not spectacular, enjoyed a pint and a coffee half way round in Luckington.  The navigation wasn't completely successful; the diversion onto a footpath on the way to Luckington had to be abandoned because of the footpath being comprehensively cropped, but it wasn't a big issue because the lane to which we returned was quiet (no cars at all) and pleasant walking.

 The walk starts through the huge deer park at Badminton, tho we didn't see any deer.

 Some rather handsome sheep

 But definitely no deer and I didn't touch them anyway.

 No way can the iPhone camera catch Badminton House from a mile up the avenue...

 Margie yes, house no.

 T'other way up Worcester Avenue

 We'd just been ticked off by a rather officious woman about walking on private property (LITERALLY about two yards) cos we wanted to take a photo of Geoff Mullet's photo.  Luckington Court apparently, weddings barmitzvahs and secret rendition available.

 R: "I'm trying to look pious"  M: "You look like a spac"

 Giants Cave: "Multi-chamber long barrow" according to the map.

Lacock and Bowood 29th August 2011

Mells and Nunney 21 August 2011

A gorgeous summer walk with Ellie, 10 miles encompassing pretty but very twee villages, lots of woodland, and a loop round a huge limestone quarry.

 Great garden!

 Stop for sandwiches, coffee, and Ellie's legendary Black Strap Flapjacks

Nunney Castle with the deepest moat in all the land.

 The result of unrepaired Civil War cannonball damage

 Flower and hips together, very unusual.

 Lots of cattle, with at least two fields having 'Beware of the Bull' signs which we ignored.

 Unexpected garden/cafe on completion of the walk at Mells.

Wells and Wookey Hole 14th August

Keeping up our pattern of longer walks, this was a mostly enjoyable 10 miles, but rather spoilt by a stretch of about a mile and a half of difficult and unrewarding terrain on a rocky, slippery, wet, dark, often-obstructed stream bank.  Once we were clear of this, the rest of the walk was interesting, undulating, and with fantastic views from the ridge reached before the descent to Wookey Hole.  Unusually, this walk finished with a very well deserved pint in a pub in Wells.

 This aerial is enormous and dominates the skyline for miles around.

 The descent to Wookey Hole

 Being mature in the grounds of Wells School

  Glasonbury Tor in the distance.

Wessex Ridgeway 8th August

11 miles, our longest (intentional!) walk, but we felt not the hardest.  Incredibly open views on most of the walk.

 This is Wansdyke stretching for miles

 Margie and Silbury Hill

There were lots of wild flowers which Margie collected... the chalky landscape helped with identification.  This was M's homework.....

Painswick and Haresfield Beacon 24th June 2011 and 30th July 2011

Originally I did this walk on my own when M was away, and then in July we did it together.  As part of our toughening up after the Lake District wimpishness this was a testing walk... 9 miles and very undulating.  Wonderful views especially from the Beacon.  When I did it in June I met a very large and spread out running group doing part of a relay along the Cotswold Way.

All that follows is pre-2011

... and i am going to use this blog more from now on!

LIttle known lanes 31st May 2010

Don't remember too much about this Sue Gearing walk in the environs of Chew Valley Reservoir...

The Bluebell Walk 9th May 2010

We've done this walk at least five times... but different this time as the Creationist headcase who owns Noah's Ark Farm has had the footpath diverted, and a large field of rape now covers the old track.  If we had turned right instead of left at the decision point it would have been ok but would have shortened the walk by about a mile.  Instead we walked most of the way round the perimeter of the Farm and then had an unsafisfactory road walk to get back to a point on the route where we could complete.  We'll know next time oh yes.

Easton Grey - Faculty walk Sunday 28th March 2010

Great day, great day.

Faulkland to Norton St Phillip March 21st 2010

This is a Sue Gearing. Mostly pleasant from memory.

Some kind of archaeology project in a field.

 Sometimes the walk instructions say 'Walk across the centre of the field'...

I really hate stiles.