top of page
We are all told, “live your life to the fullest”; So as a group of men with many various health issues we intend to do just that and prove that men do actually talk about their health issues and concerns.
Following the Covid lockdowns we have expanded to include other friends and neighbours and also friends of friends from the Wincanton, Bruton & Castle Cary area. We have been nicknamed 'The Walking Dead' by one of the groups children.
We try to get out most Saturdays for heathy walks at different locations within 30 minutes travelling time. On average we walk around 4 miles with a good bit of light hearted banter, culminating with a well earned breakfast.
Read the tales of the walks, with accompanying photos and route map and make sure you revisit for weekly updates.
Search
An egg-celent day
Sat 26 Sep ‘26. DH, RW, PC, DL, JB, CH, JS, Scrumpy, Albus & Ozzy Initial plans for today was to go into the woods at Gare Hill followed by breakfast at the Old Red Lion as I would have my eldest daughters dog Ozzy with me, but with Ann the head chef being on holiday in Holland, we decided to leave it for another day. So at the last minute, I decided it was about time we revisited nearby Long Knoll, another five miler and of course a very steep climb up to the trig point. We
David Hill
2 days ago2 min read
Wylye hilltops and historic churches
Sat 19 September’26. DH, DL, JB With just three of the Wincanton faithfuls available this week and Ralph giving it a miss as he’s taken up under 8”s football, I decided to venture to pastures new and stretch the thirty minute travelling guidelines to the limit, with a walk on the edge of the Wylye Valley. It was indeed thirty minutes after leaving Wincanton that we pulled up in the shared car park for the village Hall and primary school in the rather quaint Wiltshire location
David Hill
Sep 206 min read
Birthday Boy
Sat 12 September. DH, RW, PCL, Ralph & Scrumpy We were a bit short on numbers available today so I selected a route around Stalbridge that I knew Rich and Phil had not done before. Initially Ralph was going to give this week a miss, but with his birthday on Sunday, after a quick conversation with his mother about what he might be missing he decided to join us. And so with Ralph and myself picked up in Wincanton, we all arrived at the Sidings trading estate and following a bri
David Hill
Sep 125 min read
Ofsted inspection
Sat 5 September DH, DL, CH, CLH, Tilly, Amy, Ralph & Albus Whilst on a trip to Paignton Zoo I was literally shocked when talking to the kids about the Saturday walk, that they mentioned that their mother, my eldest daughter wanted to join us this week. I was of course somewhat surprised but delighted as she has waved all three of her children off with us many times over the last few years, but has never found an opportunity to walk with this illustrious group until this week
David Hill
Sep 95 min read
The end of Summer
Sat 29 August DH, RW, DL, CH, JB, JS, Scumpy & Albus All good thinks come to an end eventually and the hot dry summer of '26 will certainly go down in the record books and memories of those who sweated their way through it. We have been remarkably fortunate in having a summer of dry walks, in fact looking back through the blogs, the last wet walk we did, as far as I can find, was around the roads of Gillingham way back in January. So with a wet forecast for our last walk of
David Hill
Sep 14 min read
Fore - Golf balls and tees
Sat 22 Aug '26 DH, RW, PC, PCL, JB, JS, CM & Scrumpy The warm summer continues to dominate although it was a fraction cooler today as we met at The Elms at North Wotton, the former Three Elms pub south of Sherborne. It was good to welcome JS back from a few weeks off looking after his good lady and also to welcome back CM for his first walk since March. This was a first time walking from this location and although the footpath south from the car park was clearly signed at t
David Hill
Aug 246 min read
An evening walk with our ladies
Fri 14 Aug '26 DH, RW, PCL, AC, BS, DL, CH, DH, SW, CCL, RC, KS, ML, DH & Ember With most couples busy with family events or holidays throughout the summer and with the very hot days of 2026, the unanimous decision this year was to get together on a Friday evening, rather than risk walking at lunchtime in temperatures over 30 degrees. It also made sense that we went somewhere to the north of our patch to make it easier for Adrian and Ruth to join us again. Initially there w
David Hill
Aug 156 min read
A sting in the tale
Sat 8th August '26 DH, DL, JB, Tilly & Ralph Yet another warm day forecast (when will this summer end?) and with two grandchildren picked for selection this week, I opted for a shortish river side walk and a first ever Walking Dead visit to Sturminster Mill. We travelled down in the just the one car and parked in our usual spot in the old station carpark. Heading through town we west along the narrow lane of old cottages called The Row, and at the end headed down the steep
David Hill
Aug 116 min read
Who pinched all the stiles?
Sat 1 August '26 DH, DL, PC, JB, PCl The heatwave of '26 continues although the forecast for today was a little bit cooler than the previous few weeks, so I opted a for a walk close to home, which I had planned for the previous week only to discover that no one was available. The RV was at 0830 by the side of the road towards the end of Gyllas Way, on the thirty year old housing estate to the north east of Gillingham. With no dogs or grandchildren this week, we set off on a
David Hill
Aug 46 min read
Ashmore Woods
Sat 18 July '26 DH, PC, PCl, JB, Tilly & Ralph The hot weather showed no sign of breaking so I searched long and hard to find a wooded walk, where hopefully we could keep a bit cooler this week. Knowing there was a cafe at Compton Abbas airfield that we have certainly not been too since Covid, I managed to find a suitable loop around the tracks of Ashmore Woods, a large wooded area just a couple of miles south of the airfield. The normal route would have been through the nar
David Hill
Jul 184 min read
Leigh Common
Sat 12 Jul '26 PC, JB, DL, CH, JS & Albus We set off early from the Leigh Common area near the Hunters Lodge Inn, heading north-east away from the main road towards the edge of the historic Selwood Forest. Following the designated footpath signs heading toward the Stavordale Estate. The path quickly transitions from open grassy margins into a gradual incline framed by a lush canopy of ancient oak, beech, and hazel trees. Keeping an eye out for early morning wildlife, as de
David Hill
Jul 124 min read
Bower Hinton
Sat 20 Jun '26 DH, RW, PC, DL, JS, RC, PC, Scrumpy, Albus & Ember Another bright June morning as we headed down the A303 for one last time before the chaos of the summer holidays turns the road into a mobile car park. The RV was the car park at Yandle's saw mill, and the Wincanton car arrived in good time to see that the car park was now signed down the South Petherton Road, although I still entered by the former gateway. The whole of the front of the yard as we knew it has
David Hill
Jun 204 min read
Breakfast by the lake
Saturday 30 May ‘26. DH, RW, PCL, JB, CH, Tilly & Scrumpy it doesn’t seem possible that we are at the end of May and the summer half term bank holiday week as well, but the weather of the recent week has definitely been exactly what we needed, especially for those fortune enough to have been on the Cornish coast. With the prospect of another bright day I opted for staying in the shade of the trees where possible and having been to the Crockerton Garden Centre with my good l
David Hill
Jun 24 min read
Collier Way
Saturday 23 May ‘26. DH, PCL, DL, JB, JS & Ralph A pleasant morning was forecast as I looked for a different walk which would take us to the north east part of our patch so that we could make a return visit to Gouldy08 for breakfast. However on enquiring if they had room for us, I received a quick reply saying that they would be closed for a private wedding. Having found a suitable route I decided to go with it and afterwards venture into the centre of room to try a new Break
David Hill
May 244 min read
WW1 battlefields and 100km van Ieper 2026
Tue 12 -Sat 16 May ‘26. DH, RW, PCL, AC, DL, JS Day 1 - ‘As it happened’ by DL At 9:15 am Tuesday 12th May 2026 our group of six slightly- retired bunch of friends from the now famous Saturday walking group set off in quiet excitement from Wincanton, the two cars first meeting at the Hunter's Lodge Inn before heading towards the Euro Tunnel. The journey there was quick and largely uneventful due to good traffic conditions, though there was plenty of chat within the cars - on
David Hill
May 1816 min read
Hawthorns in Charlton
Sat 9 May. DH, RW, PCL, DL, JB, CH, JS, Scumpy & Albus After last weekends successful rerun of a previous walk I though this week that we would stay fairly local and return to Charlton Horethorn for a repeat of our walk out to Stowell. With the RV by the village green, the seven of us were soon commenting on each others chosen attire on what was a bright but slightly cool morning. Heading out of the village down Horse Lane and past the very impressive Manor House we avoided t
David Hill
May 93 min read
Hare today, ….
Saturday 2 May ‘26. DH, RW, PC, CH, JS, Ralph, Scrumpy & Ember Another week of dog sitting our son and daughter-in-laws dog so I opted for a mixed route of open fields and some road walks, hoping to avoid too many stiles for Ember and of course sheep or livestock. Returning to a walk in Wonderful Wiltshire we have only ever done once before, back in 2023, the RV was the car park at the Riverside Cafe at Fonthill Bishop. Just the two cars today but as we arrived and parked up
David Hill
May 35 min read
Underneath the arches …
Sat 25 Apr ‘26. DH, DL, JS Albus & Ember Another week when the majority have a better offer so we were down to just the ‘Rodber three’ again, although with the addition of my week long lodger, Ember the golden doodle to keep Albus company. A quick drive up to our regular RV on Martins Lane and the Charlton trading estate where we parked at the bottom of the Fosse Way. With the prospect of a gorgeous morning ahead, two of us had opted for shorts this week, although Deryck did
David Hill
Apr 304 min read
A twitchers delight
Saturday 18th April ‘26. DH, PC, PCL, DL, JB, CH, Tilly, Ralph & Albus The forecast in the middle of the week was for a bit of a damp morning so I opted to head into the woods to keep out of the worst of it. We are somewhat spoilt in this area for good woodland walks but with the prospect of our first breakfast at the Old Red Lion if I chose a nearby location, it made sense to head up to the Somerset/Wiltshire border and the woods of Gare Hill. With there being no dance class
David Hill
Apr 215 min read
Largest gathering to date
Sat 11 April ‘26. DH, RW, PCL, AC, PC, JB, CH, JS, DH, SW, CCL,RC, MC, AB, DH & JS Three times a year we invite our good ladies to give up their peaceful Saturday morning and join ‘The Walking Dead’ on a walk followed by a pub lunch. This Easter we opted to go back to Evershot where we walked with our ladies back in 2022 , and apart from Deryck and Maureen who were already away in eastern Germany, it was great to see all of our regulars and wives waiting for us as we arrived
David Hill
Apr 138 min read
bottom of page