It’s a snip

Sat 6 Sep ‘25. DH, DL, CH, JS

Another Wincanton only week so I decided to stay local and try out another new cafe option. We all met at Chris’s for the short trip down the vale, into Dorset and to the RV just above Kington Magna church. As we arrived we noticed signs for a village fete but as yet there was no sign of much activity.

Once we were ready to go and whilst John engaged with a fellow walker I noticed an old map on a notice board at the top of the parking area. The title is unfortunately illegible but it’s clear the roads on it are the three main ones which run through the village east to west namely Barton, Church & Chapel Hill. I could see the initial path we would be taking on it, but after that the intended walking route around the village is unfortunately undistinguishable.

When we got going, we took the pathway through the field and we’re immediately impressed by the quality of the fencing along side the path, a subject we would return to later in the walk. The path turned left at the hedge line and in a very tight space we followed it round to the top of Barton Hill, just above where the car park for the village fete was sign posted. Crossing straight over we entered another well fenced field and as we walked along the top edge the view north opened up and visible in the far distance was the unmistakable sight of the rooftops of Wincanton taking its place at the hard of the Blackmore Vale. Using the view as a suitable backdrop we posed for an early ‘groupie’ before starting our drop down the side of the ridg.

The map showed the path taking a diagonal line across the field, but the keen fencing erectors had decided to combine the crossing points in an intermediate fence not shown on the map, with the gate at the top of the line. As such we had no choice other than to stay higher a bit longer before taking a steep decent through a very uneven and unkept patch of land, with our last few steps being around a bonfire site with remnants of twisted and rusty old barbed wire. Thankfully the gate in the corner of the field was in good order, although a small wooden bridge over a dry ditch was not so well maintained. Taking another diagonal across a large field we passed by a small group of Hereford beef cattle including a couple of young ones. With no dogs this week, they were not bothered about us at all which made a nice change. We exited onto the Buckhorn Weston road, turned right and then crossed Filly Brook before turning left, to follow it downstream for the next mile.

We entered another field with new sheep fencing all around and after a short distance we spotted in the furthest corner of a pretty large area the reason for it. Near a gate two large brown horses were eating grass oblivious of our existence. We carried on parallel to the hedge and fence all the time looking for our next crossing point to the far side of the brook. I don’t know if we were distracted or just didn’t see anything, but we arrived near the bottom of the field still on the horses side of the fence. It was clear there was no way for us out of said field so we had to turn back and seek out our crossing point, this time we walked right next to the fence. However it wasn’t long before John shouted out from the back that the horses were coming to investigate our presence, and they did so by joining in our single file, one behind Deryck and the other with John. Chris had seen a potential crossing point and was some way ahead. Thankfully the two beautiful fairly young looking horses were nothing more than inquisitive and allowed us to all cross safely onto a small wooden bridge which unfortunately was extremely hidden by masses of brambles.

Deryck either by being the first over to avoid the horses, or the most intrepid when faced with a wall of brambles was soon bashing and sweeping them aside with his trusty walking stick. He made good progress initially but came across brambles growing up through the gaps in the wooden bridge and plenty more coming from all direction forming an impenetrable barrier. I don’t know if I’d had a premonition or was just switched on for the possibility, but before I left home today I put in my back pag a pair of sharp secateurs, so once they were handed through to Deryck he quickly attacked the remaining stubborn parts and before we knew it he was in the next field, with only a few scratches to show for his hard work!

We left the horses well behind as we made out way further down the vale crossing through gates and electric fences along the way. The ground was still very dry despite the rain during the week and with the sun breaking through the high cloud it was warming up as we pushed along. We had a brief discussion as to whether we should head back or extend a bit more and after a unanimous decision we carried on, crossing over the brook yet again and then making our way down to the banks of our hometown River Cale.

There was a small wooden bridge crossing the river on the path towards Nyland so we pop up for another selfie again with the more distant Wincanton still just about visible at the head of the vale in the background. I think it’s fair to say that there was probably more water in the river a few miles upstream as it flows through the recreation ground that there was under the bridge, although it was very overgrown and with patches of the pink flowers of the ubiquitous Himalayan balsam.

Stepping back off the bridge we started our return leg to Kington Magna which could just about be made out in the distance. At the next hedgeline we spotted the stile but again it was well overgrown, so whilst I was attempting to snip through it John wandered down to the left to discover an open gateway into the next field, which we quickly made out way down to. A couple of more fields following a section of the White Hart link circular path and across the road we could now see the church tower and taking a path across Back Lane and to the rear of some properties we came to the youthful heart of the village, the children’s play area! From there we cut around the bottom of the village hall then up Church Street to the village War Memorial.

All that was left now was the final push up Church Lane, a climb of just under 50 metres. We passed an old water source embedded in a wall and through the village just in time before the tractor run started. The village is in the Doomesday book when there were only 31 properties listed, and it’s name means Great Kings Town. In the 13th century it was called Magna Kington to avoid confusion with the nearby Little Kingdon. On the slow walk up, we past signage for the great ‘Magnafest’ and made our way past the parish church of All Saints which was restored and enlarged in 1862, when most of the building, except for the late 15th-century west tower, was rebuilt. It certainly has to be the church with one of the best views in the area. We arrived back at the car having completed four miles in two hours ten minutes.

Breakfast today was going to be at another new location, so once we got out of the village on the right road it was a short journey west along the A30 and then left towards the large expanse and numerous industrial sites which sit in the south easter corner of Somerset and occupy the area of Henstridge airfield. Formerly HMS Dipper, and the first home of Bristow helicopters, there is now only one working runway used. It is also home to the Somerset & Dorset Air Ambulance and the Yakovlev display team as well as the location for vintage car, bike and other open days. More on the history here.

Non of us had ever been to the cafe before so it was a case of the blind leading the blind. We missed the obvious car park signs (although no mention of the cafe) and so drove a bit further round the site than necessary. Thankfully the gate we eventually came to was unlocked so we were soon parked up and chatting with the bikers who had just pulled up. Unsure where the entrance was , we entered the cafe via the wrong door but were welcomed in. The breakfast offerings were quite basic by our standards but once we had ordered, and visited the vending machine for our drinks, we took a seat in the very large dining area, which was adorned with aircraft related pictures and completed jigsaw puzzles. Whilst we waited for food, which wasn’t long, we watched a small plane land, which looked like it had been a family flying experience event. Overall a very good first visit and it’s certainly another cafe we can return to again sometime soon.