With our ladies on top of the Mendips

Sat 26 Apr ‘25. DH, RW, PCL, AC, DL, CH, DH, SW, CCL, RC, ML, DH & Scrumpy

Three times a year we invite our good ladies to join us for a short walk and a spot of lunch, and as last Christmas’s walk was cancelled due to high winds and we never managed to find a suitable date during the summer, (although we did have a great night at the Dire Straits tribute night) so today would be the first walk in which they have joined us since our coastal walk from West Bay last April. Having been to the coast the last couple of times, and with Adrian & Ruth making the move towards the Bristol Channel sometime soon, I opted for a walk on one of the many open areas of the Mendips, that maybe we can use as a mid way point when we arrange to meet up from time to time once the move is completed. Richard and myself carried out a quick recce of the walk earlier in the week so we were confident it would be suitable for all and close enough to a good pub for lunch afterwards.

The RV was the lay-by at the top of Burlington Coombe by the Burrington Ham nature reserve at 10.00, although we had to wait a few extra minutes for the Bruton car to arrive, after they had had to make a last minute detour to Castle Cary to pick up something for a surprise presentation after the walk. So it was around 10.10 once everyone was booted up and ready to start. There was much debate about how many layers were needed, was it worth taking a coat or even just a lightweight waterproof jacket, so it was a mix of jackets and jumpers that set off over the road and up to the bridleway by the side of Ellick House for the steady climb up to the northern most Mendip high ground of Black Down. The name "Black Down" comes from the Saxon word 'Blac' or 'Bloec' meaning bleak, 'Dun' meaning down or fort. The climb was steady as we made our way up the stoney track and by the time we had reached the gate onto the open moorlands, jumpers and coats were starting to be removed. Our route today was going to be a steady clockwise loop along the eastern perimeter initially before turning west into the heart of the moor.

The pace at the front was around our normal and I suspect some of the wives were itching to push it along a bit, but at least they could have a good old natter with each other without getting out of breath. We had to give way for the occasional runner flying down the hill but we made it to the small saddle between the summit and the radio masts and turned right onto the pathway which traverses the whole length of Black Down. There was a lot of gorse clumps shining bright yellow and low down the first shoots of bilberry, or whortleberry bushes were starting their yearly growth spurt. I can’t remember who I was walking with at the time but we both have vivid memories of Sunday afternoon outings onto the moors (Derbyshire ones for me) picking masses of the tiny berries to make pots of jam at home later.

The going through the middle was quite difficult. The path was narrow with plenty of stones and ruts to negotiate so we ended up as a long narrow train bunching up at times and then spreading back out again. On our recce we reached the next major track crossing and the turn around point after around 50 minutes but today with larger numbers and a slower pace it was almost 10 minutes past the hour mark by the time the end of the snake arrived. Knowing the return leg was a bit shorter and mostly downhill we pushed on for just another 100meters to a large stone track and then made the turn for home. The sky was still quite grey but thankfully there was no sign of the rain which had been so prominent in the forecasts leading up to today. Adrian led from the front as we made our way past mounds or tumps regularly spaced along both sides of the track as we headed for the highest point on the Mendips.

An old ordnance survey triangulation pillar on top of a large stone mound marks the top of Beacon Batch at 1066 feet or 325 metres above sea level. (Interestingly only 37 metres higher than the trig pillar on Long Knoll just north of Mere). We paused to catch our breath, take in the rather limited views and indulge in one of Deryck’s renown lollies whilst gathering around for the big group photo. With a bit of persuasion Scrump was lifted on top of the pillar as we all gathered around for the weekly groupie, with our ladies on top of the Mendips, with the long and open expanse of moorland as our backdrop.

During the recce, the weather was much brighter and Richard and myself managed to watch as a brigh orange Easyjet aircraft started its take off from Lulsgate airfield in the distance. Unusually, with an light breeze from the east the departure was in the opposite direction to usual, as the jet gained speed and rotated in front of the terminal buildings before crossing the busy A38, heading for some holiday destination in the sun no doubt. Adrian and Ruth spent a few minutes looking through the greyness towards their soon to be abode on the edge of Congresbury, as the Mendip uplands are visible from their soon to be back garden.

There was not much interest in the Bronze Age archaeological circles or other mounds which form the Barrow or cairn cemetery although there were the odd questions about their purpose and inaccessible location. However for those who want to know more, The main group of barrows consists of nine bowl barrows, one bell barrow and one disc barrow. There is also an outlying group of three bowl barrows to the west, and a group of two bowl barrows about 600 metres to the southeast of the main group. All of the barrows show signs of being opened in the past, but the only recorded excavation was done by Rev J. Skinner in 1820.

During World War II a bombing decoy town was constructed on Black Down, which was intended to represent the blazing lights of a town which had omitted to follow black-out regulations. The decoy, known under the code name Starfish from the original code SF (Special Fire) used fires of creosote and water to simulate incendiary bombs exploding. In addition glow boxes were used to simulate the streets and railways of Bristol, the light bulbs were powered by electrical generators, powered by Coventry Climax petrol engines contained in two bunkers. It was laid out by Shepperton Film Studios, based on aerial photographs of the city's railway marshalling yards.

The decoys were fitted with dim red lights, simulating activities like the stoking of steam locomotives. Burning bales of straw soaked in creosote were used to simulate the effects of incendiary bombs dropped by the first wave of Pathfinder night bombers; meanwhile, incendiary bombs dropped on the correct location were quickly smothered, wherever possible. Drums of oil were also ignited to simulate the effect of a blazing city or town, with the aim of fooling subsequent waves of bombers into dropping their bombs on the wrong location. The site was home to a Z battery of anti aircraft rockets. The success of this endeavour is questionable, with no ground indications that the hills were used as targets. Piles of stones (known as cairns) were also created to prevent enemy aircraft from using the hilltop as a landing site.

Both the World War II bombing decoy complex and round barrow cemetery are included on the Heritage at Risk Register maintained by English Heritage due to erosion from the visitors to the site. (Above information from Wikipedia).

As we moved down off of the hilltop the lakes of Blagdon and Chew Valley further to the right came into view, as did the ice cream van clearly visible in the car park we were heading back to. The descent was steeper than the ascent and we made it back down in around 30 minutes, completing the 2.65 miles and 130 metres climb in 1 hr 40 minutes. There was plenty of discussion about having an ice cream before we headed to the pub, but nobody really wanted their dessert before their main meal. It was then just a 10 minute drive down the hill past the Yeo Valley HQ into the village of Blagdon and then to the New Inn, our lunch location recommended by a former colleague who lives in the valley.

As we pulled into the car park the view in front of us was pretty impressive as the lake filled the whole of the valley bottom. We were, by design, about 20 minutes early and so popped inside to get some drinks and sit down on the benches to take in the view. There was some discussion about the possibility of walking around the whole perimeter of the lake, so a quick check on the map shows it would be possible, a distance of around 6 miles. Certainly a walk to consider for the future.

We were notified that our meals would be ready in a few minutes so we headed inside the community run pub to take our seats in the top bar area on a long table with six either side. Our meals were soon being served and they all looked very good indeed. From the fisherman’s, to the chicken and ham pie, the beef bourginon to the lasagne, they were all good sized portions and served on hot plates, much to Richards delight! Twelve clean plates says it all.

The pub is now owned and run by the Yeo Valley dairy company whose HQ is in the village and a sign above the juke box in the corner made a cryptic reference to the arrangements. After a bit of a breather it was time to choose from the dessert menu and it was no surprise to see a good range of Yeo Valley ice creams to choose from. Adrian and Ruth, with a prior engagement to get to in Bristol decided they would forgo desserts, but just before they left we had a small presentation for Adrian to mark his 8mmenient move away from our area of operations. Hopefully we will still seem him from time to time (when he’s not doing his hair or packing boxes) but to remind him of what he will be missing, Trevor has very kindly sourced from the local hedgerows and then fashioned a walking stick for him to use on walks around his new home.

It was my honour to present the stick on which Trevor had placed an engraved plate with the informal name of our group - The Walking Dead. If nothing else it will provide a good ice breaker as Adrian and Ruth make new friends and walking buddies.After they had left, desserts were served and again much enjoyed by all. Once settled up at the bar it was time to catch one last look at the wonderful view over Blagdon Lake as we headed for our cars, but not before we all agreed that The New Inn Blagdon will make a great place to return to again at some point. 

Thanks to all our ladies for joint us today, another successful day out all round. The next opportunity for us to all get together will hopefully see even more able to join us for a Friday evening walk and meal in the summer.

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