In Pete’s back yard

Sat 23rd Aug ‘25. DH, PC, JB, CH

Another week of just Wincanton based walkers and with a walk in the south of our area long overdue the four of used piled into the one car to Dikes store car park at Stalbridge ready for an 0830 start. We headed out of the south side of the car park and through a residential estate. With it been Pete’s home town where he spent his early and teenage years it was a bit of a trip back in time for him as he pointed out previous family homes and related some of his youth time adventures. As we headed through ‘stile field’, an original name for a field with a stile in it, he remembered some of his many trips through it when the footpath was a bit more in the mifddle of the field as opposed to now being along the edge. We exited through a gate and turned right along a road before coming to the original stile still in the wall but no longer used.

As we stood by the stile the view right across the width of the Blackmore Vale was wonderful to see. Their was a good amount of high cloud and patches considerably lower and there were still remnants of the early morning mist which had filled the vale at sunrise, but was slowly clearing as the temperate rose. Taking a two metre wide path flanked by a new fence on each side we continued heading westerly away from the town. We entered a small wooded area which looked like it would make the perfect play area for the current youngsters of the village with plenty of tracks, fallen trees and branches ideal for the construction of old fashioned dens.

On the far side of the woods the views opened up again although this time in a west south westerly direction. Yet again we stood for a while trying to work out what we were looking at, as it’s not often we walk in this area. Unfortunately there was nothing definitive we could identify to our front, although we think it may have been the ridge line heading south across the top of the chalk giant at Cerne Abbas, but a bit further around to the south we could make out the two masts on top of Bulbarrow Hill.

Having exhausted our local knowledge we continued on and dropped down into an area marked as Harpitts on the OS maps. To our right as we descended in an otherwise scorched area of ground, a green linear bushy strip of vegetation indicated a hillside spring, which was emitting only a small quantity of water, the almost dry stream of which we crossed just before the road. On the far side of the road was part of the 4 mile long stone wall which totally encloses the area of Stalbridge Park, which features in Thomas Hardy's Wessex as "Stapleford Park. The imposing, but lost, manor of Stalbridge Park (fifth largest building in Dorset at the time) was the home of the scientist Robert Boyle, who we can thank for air in our tyres. Thomas Hardy used the house as inspiration for Stapleford Park, yet today the manor is no more than a mystery, marked with lumps and bumps in the ground. The wall was the source of much entertainment for the young Pete, as it was a holiday tradition to climb on top and walk all the way around without falling off. Unfortunately with its current state of disrepair and a bit more regard for health and safety, it’s not something the young of Stalbridge can currently complete.

We now turned south and after getting a good fill of some large and tasty blackberries from the hedgerows, we passed through Stuart Farm and then onto a bridge over the upper reaches of Bibbern Brook. There was a surprisingly decent amount of water in the bottom although no sign of any aquatic life at this point. We turned left and started heading east roughly alongside the brook. The route crossed a road and then crossed to the north side of the brook as we headed around the edge of a corn field, before crossing it again and heading up to the edge of a wooded area. There were more blackberries to be had but both John and myself were struggling with pips in the teeth and so declined any more for the time being. In the bottom we came across a cluster of bee hives, although there didn’t appear to be much activity around any of the boxes. At this point with plenty of time to spare I opted to extend the walk to the east rather than heading back up the gill into town.

On the hill to the south we could see the obelisk in Thornhill Park although there was still some confusion as to where we actually were, and even crossing the road by the chicane at Poolestown didn’t help for some. Once over the road we skirted around a nicely hidden property and then through a gap in the hedge to pass along the bottom of what’s marked as Stalbridge Common. there were no animals kept on the common but as we reached the corner and took the final turn north we entered a field of cattle. With no dogs this week they weren’t interested in us although we had to tread careful to avoid the pats and also dropping into any of the cracks in the ground. Passing to the left of Bibberne Farm we crossed the brook which gets its name from the farm, but were surprised to see that at this point the brook was dry apart from a couple of puddles in the bottom of the d

From here it was around the edge of another corn field, past a newly constructed housing estate and on to the minor road going to the bottom of Marnhull although we headed up towards town. We paused on the green by the flag pole at the top of which the English flag was hanging limp, (no smutty or political thoughts please) for this weeks group photo and commented about the floral decoration on the old water pump. Pete tells us he doesn’t remember this one ever producing water, but the one at the far did and was used by many in the village. From here it was just a quick walk back along the road and past some of its quaint cottages, although I’m not sure if we passed the former home of one of Stalbridges famous residents (after Pete) and author of The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy; Douglas Adams.

By the time we had taken our seats in the ‘no dogs allowed’ cafe area we had completed four miles at an average pace of 2.2 mph. Todays menu had a few different options and it was good to have a change from a full breakfast. We placed our orders at the counter and grabbed a glass of water whilst we waited for our drinks. It wasn’t too long then before our smaller plates came to the table, eggs Benedict with mushroom for Chris and black pudding for myself, whilst Pete had a breakfast muffin and John a veggie option. John and Pete took the opportunity to catch up with a couple of locals before we headed back home at a very reasonable time, ready to put our feet up for the afternoon of Women’s rugby. Up the Red Roses!