Saturday 1st February’25. DH, PC, DL, JB, CH, JS
It has been another wet week with flooding around the area, so finding a cleanish route was always going to be a challenge today, however with recent information from Pete about a new breakfast location, I opted to take us south across the county boundary and explore the lanes on the northern side of Sherborne, hoping for at least some dry sections to walk on. Unfortunately there were no takers from the north today so it was just six of us from Wincanton (with no dogs) who arrived outside of the Mermaid Pub at the top of BlackBerry Lane just before 9 o’clock.
Once all were ready I started the route tracker at 08.57 as we set off in a northerly direction. Just past the pub a small gate led onto an area known as Quarr Nature Reserve, which was a revelation to all of us. The Quarr is Sherborne’s own Local Nature Reserve, designated by Dorset County Council and English Nature in 2004. Once a quarry, providing stone for local builders, and later a Fair Ground and landfill site, its 2½ hectares of woodland and grassland is owned and maintained by Sherborne Town Council with support from Eucan, a Community Interest Company (CIC) working in the UK and other countries of Europe to involve more people and communities in the conservation management of their local environment. Its exposed Jurassic cliff faces, revealing millions of years of history, make it a Dorset Important Geological Site.
The area is well established and has a good loop of gravel paths with plenty of seats to sit down and enjoy the peace and tranquility. We didn’t have time fot sit and look at the snowdrops emerging under the trees today so followed the track parallel to road bypassing the enterance to the large mobile home site of Quarr Lane Park, until the very top of the reserve where we exited onto a narrow track/bridleway and another unwalked section of the Macmillan Way for us. The track steadily climbed but was not too muddy at this point, although there was a divergence at one point as most of the group decided that walking on the edge of a field was preferred to easing through a large track wide puddle. The hedge was thin in places and provided many places where the view out to the west improving with every meter we climbed.
As we approached a small wooded area and the edge of Sherborne golf club, the track turned left and started to descent through the trees to the road below. The road which leads up to Sandford Orcas is only one vehicle wide with high hedges in places but thankfully we didn’t have to avoid any traffic as we headed north, all the time admiring the grand Ambrose Hill House on the hillside which must have quite decent views from its lofty position. At the road junction with the lane (which leads out to the main Wincanton road at the turnpike cottage of Whitepool Gate) we turned in the opposite direction onto a muddy track heading westward. A steady climb by the side of a small wood and we were soon on the top with more gorgeous views. The track was clearly used by farm machinery but was wide enough to dodge around the sides of the many puddles. As we dropped down a bit the view north opened up and despite the misty skies we could just make out the outline of Glastonbury Tor, and the temporary break allowed sufficient time for Dereyk to pass around todays lolly bag. As we were preparing to set off again we stopped just short of a really large puddle as a tractor with passenger carrying trailer attached came towards us. The driver opened his door as he passed and smiled as he told us he had though of speeding up to splash us, but thankfully, for him, he chose the right option and drove through slowly.
We arrived at the high point of the B4138, the road between Sherborne and Marston Magna at Charlock Hill, and after waiting for a suitable gap in the passing traffic, crossed and turned onto Checcombe Lane. The next 500 metres along it took us on another section of the Monarchs Way as it winds its way northeast from Trent towards Cadbury Castle. We reached the next track junction close to a radio mast installation and started the steady decent toward sSherborne of a much narrower track. We weren’t exactly hanging around, but had to step to the side to allow a women of similar age past with her dog, who before we knew it was half way down and fading to a small dot in front of us. The large new Hillbrook Hotel dominates the foreground and on ridgeline beyond we could make out the route through the fields and woods of the only other walk we have done around Sherborne to date, which we must repeat again sometime!
When we reached the bottom of the track we turned left along by a trading estate and headed towards the corner of a new ish residential area. There was an option to pass through the estate to find a path at the bottom corner, but I opted to keep straight on into a more stabilised area of town, back across the B4138 and down a steep hill into the valley bottom onto the road simply called ‘Coombe’. There was a mix of old cottages and newer properties along the road before we came to bottom of Blackerry Lane, and the climb up past the Scout and Air Cadet huts back to the cars. A walk of just over 4.5 miles completed in a little under 2 hours, just leaving enough time to jump in the cars and head off for breakfast in the Brittania, a new location to us found by Pete.
Parking is not easy anywhere on the narrow roads at the bottom of this ancient town which boats a magnificent Abbey as well as two castles and some top notch public schools. The town was named scir burne by the Saxon inhabitants, a name meaning "clear stream", after a brook that runs through the centre of the town,and is referred to as such in the Doomsday Book. Pete found a space near the station but Chris hit the jackpot with a space outside of the pub. The staff were very welcoming and the dining area large enough although it need of some newer wallpaper, as Pete remembers it been like that in his younger days. The menu was pretty limited so we didn’t have to ponder for too long and the service was swift and cheerful, and they even obliged us by taking this weeks groupie of us mid meal. The quantity and standard of the food was very good and it was nice to be offered refills on the drinks, but the best bit was the price. At just ten pounds for a large breakfast and two drinks it got to be the bargain of the year so far. As we left and looked up, a stone plaque above the door reminded us of the educational heritage of the town and the Digby name, synonymous with Sherborne.
Comentarios