Iron Acton - Saturday 28th January 2012

This was an extremely muddy ramble...

... which made the 4.5 miles feel more like 8.  Pleasant enough overall, but not a walk we're likely to repeat.

Lancaut - Sunday 22nd January 2012

Excellent winter walk, short (4 miles) but undulating.  Great views up and down the Wye Valley, lots of variety, and vertiginous skirting of quarry tops (including views of climbers scaling very sheer rockfaces).

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.