Saturday 2nd April 22.
DH, RW, TO, PC, AC, DL, Sully, Scrumpy & Bill
After 2 weeks of Covid isolation, it was time to hit the Saturday morning trail again with a walk starting at Mells and heading along The Colliers way and back up through the Wadbury valley alongside the Mells stream. Previously walked by Richard & Trevor last November this 4.8 mile loop was a new route for the rest of us.
Having parked near the village shop we didn’t have time to look around this rather interesting Somerset village, with its grand house in Mells Park built by non other than Wincantons Nathaniel Ireson. and being the only village in England to have its War Memorial designed by Sir Edwin Lutyens, designer of The Cenotaph and many Commonwelath Memorial cemeteries.
Heading north out of Mells, we made a slight deviation off of the road and over fields fairly recently spread with a good dollop of muck, Sully was in his element! Taking a well earned break from sniffing around Scrumpy he proceeded to drop himself right into it and roll around trying as hard as he could to get covered in the smelly deposits. No amount of shouting or grabbing of him was going to stop him, well he had just been puffed up at the groomers this week, so it was a chance to refresh his coats oils!
Conveniently the route across the fields took us away from the scene of the altercation last time out, when Trevor and Richard were ejected from a short trip onto some private property, although there was much muttering and gesticulating across to the farm, to let them know the incident was not forgotten. Arriving at the old railway we dropped down and turned right along the old track bed. The line was constructed in the 1850s and formed part of the North Somerset Railway. It was closed to passenger trains in 1959 although continued as a freight line until 1988. Althought is is still hoped to return it to full use as a heritage line, it currently forms part of the Colliers Way from the Dunas aquaduct near Monkton Coombe right down to Frome.
For most of the way along the track, the old railway line and sleepers were just off to one side. Covered in moss and with young saplings growing wherever they could get root in the old gravel, the area has been left untouched since that last train ran along the rails. In some areas old sleepers have been used to create temporary seating areas and in once instance a small crossing over a little brook.
The going was pretty steady and generally downhill and as we hit the half way point a brief stop was made by some convenient seating to indulge in this weeks lolly selection. Arriving at the end of the line (where it joins the existing line into Wheatley quarry) we headed south and dropped down into the Mells stream valley, ready for the steady climb back upstream. The clear waters of the river were most inviting for Sully and he bobbed in and out as we made our way up the southern bank, with limestone cliffs climbing up towards the Iron Age hill fort of Tedbury Camp. Along this stretch is allegedly one of Englands finest inland unconformaties, which was totally missed by our geography correspondent, more details about it here. The river dropped through former water mills and small weirs and one such area our eagle eyed bird spotter caught sight of a dipper resting on a small branch.
