DH, RW, BFS, PCL, PC, Sully
Cockroad Wood Motte and Bailey
This walk in Pen Selwood area is a fine example of how much interesting stuff there is within our own local area which many of us have never visited. We parked up in Pen Selwood and set off along some gallops which provided excellent dogwalking in relatively open ground. Having said that, what sticks in my mind about this walk is the lack of views despite the hilltop locations. The whole hillside is so well wooded that we were undercover nearly the whole trip.
We started walking down hill into the woods and Brian was recalling school visits to this location under the guise of “ancient history” as there are both Roman and medieval remains in the area. The paths were well marked with colour coding – I think we selected one of the longer walks. The pace was brisk as we were plunging into mixed woodlands which meant I soon lost all sense of direction and simply followed the team. We came across a very helpful sign, from memory sponsored by the Stavordale Estate, which simultaneously made you feel welcome whilst warning you not to trespass on their hospitality.
Brian led us unerringly through shoulder high bracken to the Motte and Bailey earthworks…where the party began to split up. Shouts for guidance were greeted with derision as you might expect and more than one walker took a tumble down the treacherous slopes. It began to remind me of the film Deliverance where a group of hapless tourists become disoriented and persecuted by local hillbillies when they stray off the beaten track. Maybe the Normans had trouble with hillbillies which is why they built Cockroad Castle – it must have been a dominant fortification in its time. There were no hillbillies so it worked.
The lowest point of the walk was a large pond which gave Brian’s dogs their greatest fun – swimming around searching for prey. If we had shot anything those dogs would have brought it back to us. Thinking about it, if we had shot anything it would most likely have been one another by mistake. That’s why our walks are vegan. Sully enjoyed a bit of open-water swimming as well. It was then uphill all the way back to the cars.
Comments