Successful expeditions down the years have been planned and executed under experienced and competent leadership – think Alexander the Great , Francis Drake , Captain Cook ..even Napoleon knew what he was doing until he overreached himself in Moscow. Our group has relied upon the logistical expertise of Dave Hill for all route planning and basic survival protocols. You may consider our travels to be local and small scale in comparison with the greats but it is surprisingly easy to get lost as we demonstrated one Saturday morning in September when Dave was unable to join us.
Things did not start well when 2 group members arrived late having set off in good time. Phil and Richard smugly parked up at Yarlington before realising the starting point was South Cadbury. Our intrepid group had agreed to follow a route planned by Trevor. We parked on a lane between South Cadbury and Corton Denham and immediately set off on a vertical ascent which gave a great view out to the West. This challenged all those with or without heart conditions (two thirds of the group) testing the variety of stents and pacemakers to the limit. Bizarrely, having gained so much height we plunged straight back down the other side and gave it away again, crossed the lane and crawled up another steep gradient where the first signs of uncertainty set in. Maps and online routes were checked but all the head-scratching settled nothing as we wandered on to the road through Sigwells where there is still plenty of evidence of the second world war airbase…including the traffic control tower which is now a stylish period residence with spectacular setting.
Tumbling down towards Compton Pauncefoot we paused to ask the way of a woman in a Range Rover who commended a route through someone’s vegetable garden. We waited till she drove off then ignored her advice. Confidence built as we believed ourselves to be on a legitimate footpath. Then Pete took the initiative and led us into a dumping ground of steaming agricultural waste – more like Mordor than Somerset. We retraced our steps and wandered down a promising track which led us across fields below the Cadbury Camp and Trevor triumphantly pointed out some waymarks which meant we were saved!
Our reward was a delicious breakfast prepared by local chef Trevor – although there was some concern about the cooking time for poached eggs. Personally I found the whole meal delicious. Not one member of the expedition failed to return home.
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