Rodber Reunited

Sat 14th March ‘26. DH, DL, JS, Ralph & Albus

The forecast today was not as bad as last week but at least it was looking dry as we opted for a local route for a change. We started mid week with five of us but a couple of drop outs left just the three of us oldies so I invited Ralph the opportunity to join us again, which he jumped at! John kindly picked up Deryck and Albus whilst Ralph had been dropped off by dad, and so by 0830 we were sat on the bench on the Deansley Way green waiting for everyone to arrive.

There was still some frost on the grass and car roofs as we set off down Common Road heading south out of town. Crossing the A303 we turned left into Snag Lane, a very first for John despite him walking many miles around town for his health and well-being. It was as we made our way towards the field that we were talking about our time in Wincanton and the penny dropped that although non of us are locals, we all lived on Rodber Close at the same time in the 1980s. It was not a bad starting point for all of us and was a nice quiet close in it’s day. The local dog walkers had obviously been down and gone by this time as there was no one walking around the perimeter as we made our way through the middle to the cattle grid. In the area between the grid and the farm the trees are now pretty substantial and I think Ralph couldn’t believe that I remember them being planted, only twenty years ago. At the farm we stopped to look at the remains of one of the propellers from ‘Old Faithful’, the American Flying Fortress which crashed on Snag Farm in 1944 on its return from Europe, having missed crashing onto the town. All nine crew on board we unfortunately killed and are remembered on the plaque on Bayford Hill which overlooks this area.

We continued through the farm and through a couple of very weak handmade wire mesh gates onto a lane heading up the hill. The initial part was very wet and muddy as a small water course crosses the track but as we pushed on up the hill it dried out nicely. The sun was now shining brightly against the blue skies and as we entered the shade of the large trees at the top of the track and turned back to look at our town, the light was shining on all the properties in front of us, stretching a good two miles from east to west.

We pushed on to the top of the track and then ducked under a barbed wire fence to climb through a field of long wet grass towards the top of the ridgeline. As we climbed the view to the east and south opened up although it was a little hazy to pick out too many distinct locations. Dodging a large badger hole in the middle of the path we made it to the top where we paused again to admire the view, and to try and work out what a large plastic pipe was doing sticking out of the ground. (It was probably a marker for any tractor driver to avoid a small hole with a steel cable inside, possible a pull wire to another area). In a hedgerow, we crossed through a gate which has recently replaced a very awkward stile and then drop down into the gap to look out onto Wincanton again. Sharp eyes spotted four deer in the grass below us, and although they picked their heads up knowing we were about, they remained calmly eating the grass as we posed for this weeks photo.

Keeping just below the ridge-line and following the hedge on our left we pushed on by the edge of a nitrogen crop until we came to the large mast and associated generator station at the far end, which is no doubt responsible for our mobile phone signal in this area. We dropped onto the track and as we did a few sheep who were safely behind an electric fence came to investigate us. Ralph was well taken by them especially when they started bleating in response to his noises. No doubt if his friend JB had been with us, he would have whispers something back to them!

It was not only Johns first time along Coneygore Ridge but also Ralph’s, and I spent a couple of minutes trying to get him to identify the houses in Greenway Close. He was convinced he had seen my house but was a bit disappointed when we worked out he couldn’t quite see his own at Riding Gate. As we dropped down to the gate onto the road the sheep followed us as far as they could.

We were now around thirty minutes of our breakfast booking and hoping the Parish church of Stoke Trister and Bayford would be open for a very quick visit, we walked up the road to try and get in. Unfortunately the door was locked but we did spend a couple of minutes in the church yard looking at the war memorial and a couple of graves, not a bad spot to be laid to rest! We dropped down the hill and past the old school and turned left into the underpass below the A303, another first for JS and Ralph. At the far side the wide steps proved a challenges for those with little legs to get a good stride pattern going but once out at the top we passed the Bayford stables and the family home of the latest recipient of the great honour of the Freedom of Wincanton, friend to many Colonel Lucy Giles.

At the end of the lane we walked by the newly refurbished Bayford Inn as we turned left onto the main road heading back into town. By now we were all pretty warm and the climb up Bayford Hill only added to the internal temperatures. With time very short we opted to stick together and cut through the new Terry Pratchett’s Discworld named estate to pick up the car and drive up to the Dolphin. Our waitress was waiting for us in the yard and as we were the only ones dining was quick to take our orders, giving us just a few mi utes to sort out our drinks and toast before the food arrived. A fairly basic breakfast but with free top ups of fruit juice and hot drinks and an unlimited supply of toast, it was very good value for money.

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