Just before lockdown 1.0 cut in, we managed a walk around the Dillington Estate which gave us a chance to catchy up with former Sexey's staff Jenna & Tom.
Parking on the side of the entrance road the first mile was steady stroll along the park drive, and as there were no sheep in the fields the dogs enjoyed a good run off the leads. For most of us, Dillington has been home to Somerset County Council training courses for a number of years and the great lunches and old rooms dominated the discussions, close followed by the converosion of the stable block to teaching rooms and the long walk between both areas.
The current house which dates from the 16th Century is owned Lord Cameron of Dillington. Richard, being one of those new to Dillington, decided to take a closure look at the main house, and on walking up the drive to rejoin us, looked for one minute like the Lord Cameron himself, chasing off a few unpleasant waif and stray, maybe not far from the truth!
We continued to loop around the western side of the grounds before heading south on the track towards Ilminster. An interesting “feature” along the way are the remnants of the World War 2 'Fortress Ilminster' project. This defensive scheme saw the area prepare for what was thought to be imminent invasion by the Nazis. The drive extending north from Ilminster toward Dillington House hosted tank barricades and concrete gun emplacements as part of the Taunton Stop Line.
Arriving at the end of the driveway we crossed the road and headed along the edge of a relatively quiet country road for half a mile before turning left into a very water logged field from the recent heavy rains. Little streams were all over it, and it was extremely dodgy underfoot. With no clear footpath it was everyman for himself to get to the hedge row and the small bridge over the brook.
We then turned North and followed the stream and lake back up towards the main road and cars. Sully loved the mud, but Tilly went one better and decided to swim the far bank of the lower lake in search of a bit of wild life to chase. The ducks were obviously no novices to this tactic and always kept a good distance ahead of her.
Overall another good walk, and after a short drive through Ilminster we arrived at our breakfast at The Kitchen in Jordans Courtyard, at Hortons Cross in good time. And another good one it was.
