Saturday 15th June ‘24. DH, RW, TO, Scrumpy & Maisie
On what would have been my Father-in-laws 100th birthday and with only a few days to go until midsummers day you would expect it to be shorts all round and sun hats and sun cream, but the summer of ‘24 doesn’t look like being a normal summer. As such the very depleted group of just three met in Wincanton for a short sharp dash hopefully between the showers. It had been raining overnight so I opted for long trousers but Rich & Trevor were braving it in shorts. All of us were either wearing or carrying raincoats as we set off up Common Road and then the slow climb of Ireson Lane.
As we reached the top of town at Windmill Hill we could see rain showers running through the Blackmore Vale and dark skies heading our way. Turning off the track and heading northwards through the field we were quite shocked to see the state of the lonesome tree which used to stand tall and proud on the ridgeline looking a lot worse for wear. Most of it looked pretty dead although there were a few green leaves on a some small branches putting up a fight for life. The view as always towards Alfs tower was pretty impressive and with all the recent rain the fields and hedgerows and woods were looking exceptionally green. We dropped down the hill and got the dogs back on the leads before crossing a stile into the lower field full of sheep and their newborn lambs. They were obviously used to walkers and dogs as they didn’t scatter too far although a few bleats from the ewes soon had their offspring running back for safety of mum. A couple of the adults unfortunately didn’t look in the best condition and wandered away with a distinct limp, whilst others looked pretty dirty and ready for a trim.
As we crossed over another stile into the short stretch towards the river that is usually thick with mud, the heavy clouds were directly overhead and rain started to come down, gently at first but sufficient for Richard to get his waterproof coat out of his back pack. By the time we reached the bridge over the River Cale the intensity had increased significantly so much that the view up to the racecourse buildings was slowly being obscured. Rather than taking a route straight through some long grass we followed around the edge of the field as our legs got soaked from the combination of grass and the rainfall whilst Maisie continued to be exceptionally playful’ with Scrumpy. We passed across the top side of a pond and looking out towards Charlton Musgrove church we stopped to contemplate our next stage of the route.
The original plan had been to walk out along Rectory Lane before heading back up a very steep hill into the very far end of Bayford, but with the lack of enthusiasm for a longer walk-in the rain we opted to turn for home sooner and headed down the far side of the pond back towards the river on a new section of path for us all. As we dropped down a couple of young bouncy dogs came up to us to investigate us before taking a different track through the woods as we made our way across a very narrow footbridge back over the river. Maisie was initially reluctant to walk across but once she had made it to the far side, ran all the way back over again just to prove she had overcome any initial fear.
The track running between high hedgerows continued to gently climb as we started to see a bit of brighter weather at last.
Through a gap in the hedgerow we could see the grand Bayford Lodge and also the pond to the front of Lodge Farm. In the grass a group of 6 to 8 Canadian Geese sensing our presence stood up and starting making their way to the safety of the water. At the top of the track we turned right onto Love Lane and followed it around to come out on the main Bayford road opposite the village hall. It was then just a short climb up Bayford Hill and through the weirdly named roads of Terry Pratchetts Discworld and back to Greenway Close.
Todays shortened walk had taken just 70 minutes but we had covered almost 2.5 miles (the purple line indicates the planned route had we not where we cut it short). A short drive down to Cale Park cafe where despite the blue skies we opted for an inside table to select our breakfast from the slightly updated (and more expensive) menu. As usual the service was quick and I certainly enjoyed my smoked salmon and scrambled eggs whilst apart from a scouple of grumbles about the sausages, the English options went down a treat. All in all a good day out considering the summer weather and nice to have limited political discussions although we did have s snigger at the result of the Scottish game last night and the over confidence going into the first game of the tournament against the host nation. Maybe the flower of Scotland will have been replaced by a good old lament as the bag pipers woke up in Munich this morning. Hopefully the English squad will do a bit better tonight and also the T20 cricketers make it through to the super eights. All we need now is some better weather and a few more walkers!
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