Saturday 19th August 2023. DH, RW, TO, AC, PCL, PC, JB, Scrumpy
It was another August morning with grey skies and lower than average temperatures as seven of us met by the church of St Peter in the small village of West Lydford. A major crossing point of the river Brue along the ‘new’ Fosse Way between Exeter and Lincoln had led to the establishment in 1050 AD of the parish of Lydford-on-Fosse and the villages of East and West Lydford either side of the Roman road. The large church car park was right alongside the bridge, with it additional row of arches to drain water off of the road in times of flooding, as we assembled with a mix of attire, some shorts and long trousers, and short sleeve or jumpers for others. Adrian was non too confident about the weather holding and opted to take his waterproof coat with him today. The start of todays route took us right past the grade II listed church which is built on the site of a previous medieval church and was largely rebuilt in the 1840s. At the far end of the church and burial area a small path leads to an old narrow bridge which crosses the river just below a fast flowing weir, which today was in full flow. A sign just before the bridge explains the medieval origins of the weir and details the most recent restoration which took place in 2012.
Our route took us down the west bank of the river before another much newer pedestrian bridge crossed us back over to the eastern side, where we turned left and headed out of the village. Rounding a ninety degree bend in the river a large orchard of scrumpy apples spread out in front of us as far as the eye could see, and an orchard came into view on the opposite side also. As we passed a hedge boundary and unable to see any sign for the next footpath which would take us diagonally through the orchard, we turned off the track and made our way around the edge and between the rows of well laden trees to the far side of the plantation. A small gate indicated our route alongside a small wooded area and led by Trevor we started to battle through the overgrown vegetation. The going was extremely slow as we all followed behind brushing aside brambles and nettles and constantly looking down to check our footing as the recent rain had left the pathway wet and slippy. It was only about 250 metres before we finally came out by a gate into open fields but it seems like it had taken us at least 15 minutes to battle through. Heading north we then crossed a small stream and tracked diagonally through a field of mid length grass to a gate in the far corner, onto a wider track and eventually past a large cottage in need of some repair and out onto the road at Southwood.
A short walk along the minor road took us past a new property under construction which had the whole group talking about the planning laws and the ability for farming land owners to build huge new properties under the guise of agricultural residential use. Although the roof rafters were only just going on it was clear to see that the new ’farmhouse’ was going to totally dwarf the original one at its side. On reaching the hamlet of Catsham we left the road and into another short patch of severe undergrowth as we worked our way up the eastern side of the river. Some of the stiles on this stretch were in a pretty awful state of repair and with no step up or down, getting over proved challenging for most of us, even more so for Adrian. But with his usual bravado and determination he found a way to get through. If you can’t go round it and can’t go over it, then go under it! Being about half way and needing to recover and with Adrian being the sole supplier of sugary treats this week, we called a confectionery halt for lollies and also took the opportunity to grab this weeks selfie.
Getting going again slowly and looking to our north the familiar sight of Glastonbury Tor was just visible. It was then only a short walk to reach a very narrow bridge (the flights hole bridge) over the mill stream which runs into Baltonsborough. before doubling back over another weir and bridge known as the Baltonsborough Flight, where the main flow of the Brue crashed down over into a large pool area. The mill stream, probably hand dug in the Middle Ages to provide power for the village mill, rejoins the Brue to the west of Baltonsborough for the slow run to the sea at Highbridge. At this point is is only 10 metres above sea level and is yet to be joined by many other streams and rhynes as it makes its way westwards across the Somerset levels for another 20 miles.
At this point we had a choice of routes, the path following Cunlease Rhyne a bit away from the river or along the river and Dunstans Dyke which runs alongside Honey Mead Lane. The going was a lot easier alongside the river and we caught up a fair bit of time on the mile long leg, passing only through a few easy gates. There were lily pads in many areas of the slow flowing water and the banks were covered in small pink flowers which it turns out are Himalayan Balsam, a non native invasive plant which is extremely difficult to get rid of. We rejoined the road at Tootle Bridge, an 18th century Grade II listed three arched construction of local lias stone. We continued to head back eastwards through a large field and then rejoining the northern bank of the river, past the apple orchard and retracing our steps back to the church car park. Todays walk was 4.1 miles and had taken us 2 hrs 15 minutes.
It was then all back into the cars for the five mile drive up the Fosse Way to ‘The Den’, the cafe at John Thorners farm shop. Although we have not been this way for a good few months, usually the place is pretty busy, but today we had the choice of outdoor tables and having ordered our breakfasts a few (under instructions from our better half’s) popped into the shop to pick up some of the quality pies. Our drinks and food was quickly served by helpful young girls and apart from Scrumpy having a good old barking match with another dog and some of the local hounds, we sat in almost silence as we polished off our regular or vegetarian breakfasts. Another good walk around a new area for all of us. Must make a note to come back earlier in the season next year to catch the apple blossom In full bloom.
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