A reduced turn out for this trip, but good company nevertheless: Trevor, Richard, Phil, Adrian and Pete with of course Scrumpy and Bill. Phil had arrived by electric bike which gives him a burst of speed when riding uphill…maybe we could obtain some electric boots for use on one or two of the more challenging hills. Trevor and Richard discussed the options for the route and agreed to disagree at this point on the exact location of Solomons Lane as opposed to Maggs Lane. The weather being iffy, some wore jackets and waterproof trousers…others just their usual shorts and tee-shirt combo.
We set off from Ansford, down the footpath to Cary Station and passed the latest redevelopment by the Newt of the railway buildings…not much changed since our last outing. We crossed the A371 by the Ansford bridge and walked through some very long wet grass…someone very sensibly rolled up their trouser legs to avoid getting them soaked but this practical act was greeted with derision rather than applause…white legs are the Englishman’s proud heritage dating back to Julius Caesar wading ashore two thousand years ago. (I wonder if the Romans were welcomed ashore by the equivalent of Border Force or the RNLI…). We turned aside from the planned route as recent rains had filled the ditch where we intended to cross into a new field so we walked past the filling station and caravan supplier instead. Turning onto the lane towards Alhampton we skirted the pub, said hello to a genial cyclist and then turned sharp right to recross the A371 and followed a farm lane to reach an apparently neglected dairy unit…reminiscent of the pterodactyl cage in Jurassic Park.
We were now heading in the direction of Wyke Champflower on what the map tells me is Easthill Lane. This was all very level and open walking which Scrumpy saw as ideal for a rough and tumble game with Bill…Bill was happier just dogging Trevor’s footsteps. Maybe we were not quite on track as we had to clamber under and over a barbed wire fence to reach our goal of the Wyke Road. This enabled us to recross the railway line and the River Brue and we followed the road uphill into Cary. We paused to catch our breath and admire the view across to Glastonbury Tor in one direction and Alfred’s Tower to the East.
The opportunities to return to Ansford firstly via Maggs Lane and secondly by the Macmillan Way along Solomons Lane were rejected as we stormed hungrily towards the Wagon and Horses junction. Across the A371 for the final time we jogged downhill to the George where we were presented with an excellent full English served on piping hot plates with a pot of tea and so another walk ended in harmony.
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