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.