Saturday 7th September’24. DH, RW, PCl, DL, JB, CH & Scrumpy
Another summer holiday season is over, although as we all know it’s certainly not been the sunniest summer we have ever had, so this morning felt very autumnal as we drove west down the A303 towards Ham Hill. There was plenty of mist around but the skies were starting to clear in places however as the Wincanton car arrived the view from the car park was totally non existent. Clearly the lack of visibility caused a few issues for the Bruton pair as not only did they miss the turn off for Stoke sub Hamdon, but they then managed to turn into the dead end hamlet of Percombe, resulting in them being a good ten minutes late arriving, and once they had booted up we set of having lost around fifteen minutes of what was already going to be a shorter walk today.
Last time we walked from Ham Hill we managed to loose half the group on the western side this week it was all about so keeping an eye on everyone as we dropped down the steep steps opposite the pub and into the woods heading east towards the village of Montague. The track was slippy and muddy in places, not really surprising after the last two days of heavy rain (over an inch a day according to Chris’s garden rain gauge) although even with some fallen branches obstructing our passage in places we pushed along at a good pace. At one point we came across a number of felled tress which had been cleared of bark and appeared to be leaning against a central tree in an attempt to form a large tee-pee type structure.
We dropped down to a lower track and on reaching the edge of the wood took a short path just inside the boundary fence before dropping down a steep slope and into a field full of sheep. The mist was still low and any chance of seeing the tower atop of St Michaels hill were absolutely zero. The large mound on which the 18th century folly stands is understood to be the site of the original Montague Castle built in 1066 after the Norman conquest to keep eyes on the Fosse Way and the Somerset levels. The motte and Bailey castle fell into disrepair and was eventually demolished although a castle chapel was on the site up until the 16th century, the foundations of which were used when the folly was constructed. It is now owned by the National Trust.
We carried on downhill eventually entering the outskirts of the village at the site of the former Montague Priory, which was a Cluniac priory of the Benedictine order. All that remains is the Abbey Farmhouse which incorporates the gateway of the old Priory. It was built in the 16th century and has been designated as a Grade I listed building. With time being short this week ( we had the table booked at the Prince of Wales for 10.30 as breakfast finishes at 11.00) rather than head into the market square and walk through the old village, as originally planned, we turned right across the modernised living areas of the farmhouse and paused briefly to check out the carp in the pond, thought to be the same one as when the priory housed up to 25 monks.
We followed a path from the farm towards the newer homes of the village, past an old Dovecote in the centre of a fenced field, and with occasional views of the roof tops of the houses in the square and the grand facade of Montacute House, the rather grand Elizabethan mansion built in 1598 for Sir Edward Phelips. On reaching the minor road of Hollow Lane we turned into another field and started a steady climb parallel to the road. Those who had opted to wear coats this week were soon removing them as the beads of sweat started to appear on foreheads. As the path exited onto the road again we walked for around 200metres along the ‘top’ road before turning into the fields of Hamdon Hill.
We opted for the shorter clockwise loop around the fields as slowly the mist was lifting and the odd blue patch of sky appeared overhead. There was much talk on the final leg about the merits, or otherwise of seafood, and in particular the consumption of octopus. Those who had tried it were in the whole not particularly impressed with it, whereas Chris was 100% ‘resolute in his views that ‘it is not going to be on any of my plates’. This banter around molluscs and pink octopus even continued later at the breakfast table, although how it morphed into being about daily refunds of energy bills is anyone’s idea. We rounded off the walk by the usual route back into the country park and despite the late start and the slightly shortened route, we arrived back at the pub dead on 10.30, as if it was all meticulously planned that way from the outset. We had kept up a good pace throughout and managed to cover almost 3 miles in the eighty minutes we were out.
Our table was ready and waiting for us and the simple orders were quickly taken by the young waitress. Drinks were quickly served but despite it not been particularly busy we were left waiting for over forty minutes before our plates of breakfast arrived. Plenty of time in which to thoroughly discuss the merits of the different sausage production types, although I’m not sure Phil’s use of spare plastic piping to create his extrusion sausage machine will produce the best bangers ever. The banter soon ceased when the food finally arrived and everyone enjoyed their meals, especially the triangular black pudding, although by the sounds of Scrumpy’s crying sunder the table, the tit bits were in a bit of short supply this week. As we left the view from the hill had cleared at last so we managed to grab this weeks groupie before heading for home, not via Percombe this time hopefully!!
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