27th August 2022
RW , DL , TO , AC and Scrumpy
The glorious Summer weather continued on this Saturday and despite my leadership there was a turn out of four for a return to Stourton. Parked up in the King Alfred’s Tower carpark , we set off by crossing the road where we found the snack van man busily setting up. Disappointingly, he does not offer a breakfast roll and coffee which I feel sure would be a best seller. His muttered response to my generously offered feedback was taken off into the woods by a gentle breeze…perhaps just as well for the sensitive reader.
Our path took us away from the monument to a Hoare’s vanity which so dominates our local scenery and the level former carriage drive which once allowed the wealthy guests of Stourhead House to picnic without getting their breeches dusty. Trevor’s advice at this point was that we should be following a route completely in the reverse of my plan…my muttered response to this generously offered feedback was taken off into the woods etc etc….
We paused to admire the splendid view at the top of Six Wells Bottom, down past St Peter’s Pump and the upper lakes into deepest Dorset. We descended the gently sloping coombe with woodlands on either side, known as Sunny Hanging and Shady Hanging. I have heard of Hangers over in Surrey Hampshire borders and this may be a similar descriptive. At one time there was a row of cottages to one side of the valley which has long since been demolished…another example of the hidden history lurking all around us on these strolls. The beautiful herd of Jersey cows ignored our progress….timelessly.
Timelessly Trevor recounted his travels across Europe by trains, planes and automobiles….amazingly the tale ended well and it sounded like a really good holiday. Deryck also brought us uptodate with his coach trip to the west of Ireland which again sounded a great success…except for it being on a coach, which seemed a major logistical flaw.
By now we had passed the St Peter’s Pump and the lily pond lay below us as a first sight of the Stourhead Gardens. We turned north east onto the Stour Valley Way and climbed steeply through tees until the landscape opened up and we were at the foot of The Obelisk….another of Hoare’s proud-standing pinnacles. We could see a sideways view of the main house and it was discovered that we could actually have gone into the gardens as all were legitimate members of the NT plus Trevor acting as Adrian’s carer! Anyway, we followed the footpath through the main entrance to the house and grounds with Adrian greeting all and sundry like an old fashioned cinema commissionaire. This will no doubt impress the punters and increase the rating on trip advisor.
After a comfort break in the courtyard of the Spread Eagle we walked down the lane and admired the view past the Bristol Cross towards the Pantheon on the far side of the Stourhead Garden Lake.
The footpath took us past the water wheel and below the Garden Lake and into some open fields before we started the ascent through Tucking Mill Hanging. On our right stood Beech Cottage.
The woods now closed in around us, providing welcome shade from the sunshine’s increasing power. We came across a man resting on a felled tree surrounded by 5 or 6 dogs of differing types. Scrumpy was friendly to all. His own dogs were free to roam in the woods but had tracker devices attached as they looked capable of wandering some distance away and merging into the forest scenery. Two other dogs were secured on long leads…they belonged to a friend and it would take a lot of effort to trace them and even more to explain why they had disappeared.
The contours of this final stretch of the walk were now tightly bound, reflecting the steep incline as we headed back towards the Tower. But the tree canopy meant walking was comfortable and so we finished the route in good order.
We headed to Kimber’s café on the Wincanton road for our breakfast and learned that the guy serving has two border terriers himself…an interesting fact which had no influence on the size of the final bill. The meal was good and the company enjoyable as our last walk of the Summer together…will September bring Autumnal mists and the first claggy ground since March I wonder…?
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