Strawberries for breakfast

Saturday 22nd June ‘24. DH, TO, DL, JB, CH, Albus & Maisie

With the Sumer solstice now behind us and the weather looking like we might get some summer warmth after all it was just the five of us today who met up at Pen village hall. Trevor had to come through Wincanton on route (did he really have a parcel to collect or had he forgotten where the RV was)? So we all arrived and were ready to go just before 9.00. Parked alongside us were a couple of younger gentlemen who had an immediate flashback when they saw their old school science teacher emerge with stick in hand. John was sorely tempted to join them as it sounded like they were on a good ten mile stroll, but quickly realised that he would miss breakfast if he did, so we all set off on a route last walked in this direction in May ‘21, from where I will unashamedly be copy and pasting some of the route description.

Leaving the church In a northerly direction we headed off down country lanes towards Pear Ash, past a beautifully restored barn and we soon heading out across fields towards the woods of the Stourhead estates. In a couple of fields were sheep with their young lambs who took absolutely no notice of the two dogs, on leads of course. The track followed the edge of the wood line of Bottle Hill and dropped down past some of the Pen Pits. It was only at this point that I realised that we had not yet enlarged the group in May ‘21 to include three of todays group and that to them this was all a totally new route. The vegetation along the lane as it dropped down was very high and totally obscured any pits in this area, and with the overnight rain the track was slightly damp in a few areas as we came out at the bottom by the beautiful ford on the top reaches of the river Stour, where not wanting to break with tradition, the obligatory groupie was taken.

For those not aware of the origins of the Pen Pits, again copied from a previous walk - The Pen pits are a series of old Iron Age and later Roman earth workings found in 2 areas of Pen Selwood. (See diagram). A particularly gritted stone, a type of Greensand found in this area was excavated and use for the crushing of cereals and other tough foodstuffs for making into flour or other consumption. The stones known as querns were placed one on top of the other, the bottom one ideally having a concave shape, and the top one was then rubbed to crush the seeds into a fine dust. The pits are pretty unique in that there have been no further excavation since the end of the Roman times in the fifth century so are still in good condition. Other tools such as mortars and whetstones were also manufactured at the quarries. The sites are now designated scheduled monuments.

Maisie and Albus were certainly not as keen to be in the water as Sully was when we came this way so after just a short break for lollies we set off up a residential drive keeping an eye out for the diverted right of way branching off to our left, which is part of the Stour Vally way walk. Continuing our walk with the Stour to our left, we worked our way though some woodlands over some large log stepping stones in the damp areas and below another of Selwood Forest old Motte & Bailey, although unfortunately this one is no longer accessible as it is now in private hands. Reaching the edge of the wood which crossed a stile and at the same time the county boundary, crossing back from Wiltshire into Somerset. Opening up in front of us was what I think is one of the most picturesque coombes in this part of county and which was a totally new discovery to our newer members. I think it’s fair to say there were a couple of chins dropped at the wonderful sight.

A small stream in the bottom provided no obstacle to Maisie as she happily jumped across to the far side. But before anyone could stop her, she turned tail and ran back down the hill for another go at crossing the river, only this time after making a good take off she landed with a big splash in one of the small pools on the stream. I don’t know who was most shocked!

We climbed up the far side of the Coombe and over a stile with a unique dog flap and then around the side of a building against which was a series of memorials to members of the Silk family from as earlier as the Boer war and more lately the Great Wars. It would appear they all survived their respective wars and would appear there were relatives in the area as recently as 7 years ago as I have found records of an Elijah Silk who passed away in 2018 at the age of 90.

Above the stones is a plaque depicting the last supper with the The Latin text below the scene, "AMEN DICO VOBIS QUIA UNUS VESTRUM ME TRADITURUS EST." translated as "Truly, truly, I say to you, that one of you will betray Me." (Brian - if this is not quite right - blame Google)!

Our route took us back into the woods and past another area of pits to our left and with a slow, steady climb we made our way up the edge of the Coombe. At the end of the woods we turned right and onto a pathway between newly constructed fences which lead out to another section of the Monarchs Way. It was then just a few minutes on the narrow roads of Pen before we were back at the parish church of St Michael and the village hall. Todays walk was a bit shorter than normal at only 2.8 miles and with few stiles and a smaller group had taken us just 90 minutes to complete. Once we had changed back out of our boots it was then back into the cars for a ten minute drive into Mere for our reserved table at the Hillbrush cafe. The menu has changed significantly since we were last here and so various options were discussed.

Trevor wishing to maintain the Satus Quo opted for the smaller of the full English breakfast on offer whilst three of us went for the Shakshouka, a North African and Middle Eastern dish of eggs poached in a sauce of tomatoes, olive oil, peppers, onion, and garlic. Dereyk was undecided for some time and contemplated the eggs Benedict, but with the waitress hovering for his order and thinking of not having to share his breakfast with Albus this week, decided to go rogue and order the breakfast pancakes with Strawberries. All our meals were quickly served and the table fell silent as we all got stuck in. A bit pricier than normal but it has to be said the quality was noticeable against some of our cheaper locations - no names! And of course they don’t all offer strawberries!