Saturday 29th July. DH, RW, PC, DL, Scrumpy & Albus
With the prospect of another wet July walk clearly putting a few folks off, it was just four of us who signed up for the last walk of the month. As such I opted to complete a walk that has been on my ‘to do’ list for quite some time. No one was put off with the prospect of 5 miles and a steep climb and so thanks to Richard opting to save the planet, we all arrived in just the one car at todays RV at 08.30 in the lay-by at the tiny hamlet of Norton Ferris on the B3092 Mere to Frome road, about one mile south of Maiden Bradley. Norton Ferris is an old hamlet and was one of the old Somerset Hundreds, although it wasn't until 1896 that the hamlet became part of Wiltshire.
Once booted up and with the 2 dogs on leads we set off to complete a clockwise loop, meaning we would be going up the steepest part of the climb early in the walk. Even before we had got into our stride we stopped to admire an old barn, which I’m sure all have driven past many times before. The granary is part of the larger Manor Farm and is Grade 2 listed. A quick Google indicates that it’s probably late 18th Century and constructed from random rubblestone with brick
dressings, tiled roof with coped verges. The rectangular structure is raised on brick arches with stone imposts; seven on the long sides and four to gable ends. There are planked doors to the front and rear and shuttered window and blocked loft opening to both gable ends. It is very similar
to the granary in the stable yard at Stourhead.
We headed westwards along a metalled track which very swiftly turned into a gravel & mud lane with a large grass strip running down the middle of it. As such we were able to set off at a good pace as we discussed at great length Englands prospects of saving the draw in the Ashes and expressed our opinions on how to deal with the time lost to rain or even the total wash out of games. Maybe the possibility of earlier starts or extra days needs to be considered, although the purists of Test cricket will certainly say it doesn’t need changing at all. The track turned back into a road outside a lovely farmhouse with substantial barns being erected to the side, which turns out to be the studios of the worldwide renowned light installation specialist Bruce Munro. We found the diverted path beyond the barns and turned right to get our first true glimpse of the west side of our ’Eiger’ and the steep climb ahead of us. The path wasn’t well defined but we made our way through a crop of beans and over a stile to be met by some young cows at the base of the hill. Looking up the ‘near vertical’ hill the semi worn path was straight up, no zig zagging as might have been expected, so at a very steady pace we started the ascent of the knoll. There were small foot size level sections in places and at other times it was just a case of stepping on a large tussock of grass, but thankfully we had all brought sticks with us this week and the extra support was certainly worth having. Richard and Scrumpy raced ahead, (always good to let the healthiest go first).
Those of us with health conditions were soon starting to feel our thighs starting to burn and the lungs ready to burst, so not surprisingly there were the occasional pauses for breath as we made our way up. Pete took a line alongside the fence to help him ascend and as the slope started to ease we knew we were close to the top. I think there was a totally unanimous agreement that the views which opened up in front of us as we topped out certainly made the climb worth it. We were now stood on top of the highest point for a good few miles, at a height of 288m (945 feet) above mean sea level, the 1767th highest Marilyn in the British Isles.
Whilst we we recovering and taking on much needed fluids, (dogs included) I posed the question as to which were the next highest points you would encounter if you travelled in the direction of the cardinal points from here. Whilst we could all come up with possible high points to our west, (Wells radio mast, Quantock, Exmoor) and northwards (Cotswolds) and a few possible ones to our south (Golden Cap, Bulbarrow, WhiteSheet), there were very few offerings for anything higher eastwards. I mentioned at the time it would be good to have an app which would draw out a panorama at the top of such summits, (maybe someone will tell me there is), but I did find this very useful website which produces something similar. How many of the hills do you know that are visible from Long Knoll. https://peakvisor.com/peak/long-knoll.html
Long Knoll is a ridge of chalk grassland some 1 mile in length and includes 85 acres which have been designated a site of special scientific interest and is officially part of the Cranborne Chase and West Wiltshire Downs Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB). There are also two small bowl barrows which were ‘investigated’ in the early 19th Century and a section of parish boundary bank and ditch which runs east west along the ridge line. We stood for quite some time just admiring the view and spotting hilltops and towns in the distance and noticed down in the farmland to the rear or Mr Munro’s farm a group of circular shaped plantations, maybe a practise area for some of his installations. With quite a cool westerly wind blowing it soon started to feel a bit chilly, so we started the long walk along the knoll and alongside the fence line that was used as a site for The Ribbon of Light, one of Munro’s installations at the end of the first Covid lockdown of 2020, inspired by and constructed in thanks to the all those in the NHS. The ridge-line undulated as we progressed eastwards and having passed a small construction consisting of a few blocks of concrete and remnants of a barbed wire enclosure, possibly a former air observation post, we gradually dropped off the ridge and down to the B3092, where we crossed to face the oncoming traffic and walked along the verge for around 250 metres before turning right onto a dead end lane south towards White Sheet ridge. A few drops of rain started to fall but being just about under trees we didn’t get too wet thankfully. Temporary home made signs on the telegraph poles directed us towards an Angus cattle event.
We upped the pace on the good flat road and were soon at the first farm where a wonderful looking black Angus bull was in an enclosure. Our next track should have been just down on the right but with no sign or waymarker we overshot slightly, but were soon put back on the right route by a friendly farmer. Time was now getting tight as we headed across a large open field before passing through two gates in the corner to walk alongside a field of wheat, which looked ready to be harvested at any point. To our left the northern slopes of White Sheet were clearly visible and through a gap in the hedge the whole expanse of Long Knoll we had previously crossed appeared in an open gateway, perfectly framed by the hedges either side.
Another gateway opened onto a good metalled track and the last kilometre back to the cars was completed at record pace, getting above 5km per hour at one point. As we were running slightly behind schedule I attempted to let the cafe know, but with limited signal couldn’t get a call through and so had to hope we would be there in time for breakfast. Another good walk with amazing scenery completed in a little over the usual 2 hours, in fact it turned out to be 5.5 miles in 2 hrs 25 minutes, which with over 160 metres of ascent, was very good going Indeed.
I must confess that I had changed the unit of distance on my route tracking app in the week from miles to kilometres and during the walk had totally forgotten. As such I was a bit worried on route that I had underestimated the distance such that by the end I initially thoughts we had covered almost 9 miles, before the penny dropped and I remembered making the change. Thankfully the 9 kilometres only turned out to be the 5.5 miles as planned!
We arrived at the cafe around 25 minutes later than booked, and fearing the worst from the cafe owner we sat at the reserved table, hoping we would be in time to get our feed. Thankfully we must have caught him in a good mood, as he accepted our apology and got to work cooking the breakfasts. A very large pot of tea and a basket of toast soon arrived and it wasn’t much longer before we were served a good plateful of english‘s best. All in all a good breakfast at a fair price, and for once we didn’t sit in this cafe wet or cold, as we have on every other previous visit.
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