23rd September Dave,Richard,Phil,Chris,Deryck,Adrian,Scrumpy and Albus
Beautiful sunny morning we met at Old Station Lane and walked down into Cole and crossed the Brue , passing the Pitcombe Rock falconry where the owner was digging for the water main. We made our way through Colestile Farm with sewage works to our right across the other side of the river Brue. The mainline to Exeter on our left - a "fast" cruised past us.
Under the railway arch and clambering up a steep muddy slope through the nettles where Adrian needed some assistance …passing above Gants Mill into the site of Mill on the Brue activity centre….
We paused to read up about a colony of beetles on the Mill on the Brue site
We enjoyed the view over Budgens across the town to St Mary's Church and Dove Cote. We walked into town and then along the alleyway called Mill Dam….passing the duck pond until we reached the ford below George Osborne’s house and the old properties below Tolbury…
A little further on we came to the newbuild mansion which has been under construction since we have been walking…
Following the footpath northwards out of Bruton we reached a footbridge over the stream.
With the dogs running freely ahead we made our way up an ancient footpath or trail inside the hedge rising steadily with Chorley Hill until we reached level ground and passed alongside the field which fell away in a dry valley or coombe back towards town. Scrumpy and Albus disgraced themselves at this point and were put onto leads for the remainder of the walk. Here we paused for a lolly break and some inquisitive calves joined us.
Then onwards along a farm track circling below Creech Hill until we reached the field and some stock buildings….at this point we met Creech Hill lane which we had followed to near disaster with Pete on a previous occasion… we turned left following Creech Hill lane downwards into Wyke Champflower…scene of the Clothier Cheese Empire.
Passing Whitehouse Farm and then taking the Wyke Road past Manor Farm we chose to climb over a stile into a field rising gently upards with Wyke Chuch on our right. We paused to recreate a selfie we took some years ago on walking this path in the reverse direction. The original photo featured some dodgy fashions and old Bill was still with us....
Through this landscape once powered the S&D from Cole towards Evercreech and thence Bath or Burnham on Sea.
We joined a concrete cattle path down to an abandoned milking parlour and out onto Wyke Lane…We followed the lane back to Cole under what once was a rail arch for S&D then the current mainline to Exeter and so to the site of Pitcombe Rock Falconry and back to home for a slap up feed provided by Sarah and Katie.
Great railway engineering.
Struggling uphill through nettles.
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