That’s one big pothole!

Saturday 21st February’26. DH, PCL, DL, JS, Tilly & Ralph

I think we’ve all had enough of this wet weather and walking around the roads so for this weekend I decided to try a route that I’ve been looking at for a couple of years. The biggest issue has been finding a suitable place to park so with just four of us in for selection this week, I thought we could squeeze a car into a tight space easily. What I had forgotten is that with it being half term, my eldest granddaughter would not be doing her normal Saturday morning dance class, and walking with Grandad was a better option than shopping with her mum and sister. Of course Ralph also wanted to come along and so having picked up Phil on Bruton High Street, there were two car loads who met at the Whatley Quarry top entrance for a walk around the quarry perimeter.

We parked at the very end of the exit slip hoping that there would be very little traffic using the road and even less turning left out of the gates today. We waited for four large trucks to enter and one depart before we crossed the wide gateway and headed down the hill into the bottom dip. There was a loud diesel engine running to the left side and as we crossed a stone sided bridge we could see the train tracks and a couple of empty ballast trucks passing underneath - thanks to JS for lifting Ralph up to see - he found out the hard way that Ralph’s not as light as you think!

The freight only trains are run by Mendip rail along part of the former Bristol and North Somerset railway. The line from the quarry runs east to meet the Taunton to Westbury line near Frome Station.

The Whatley Quarry Circular Walk route was signed off to the side of the road up a flight of very steep steps. At the top we entered a wooded area and could make out the large towers of the train loading area through all the branches. After only 100 meters or so we hit a Y-junction, with two new signs explaining the options. To the right, the hard route with steep steps whilst to the left the more accessible option and pram friendly. Although getting a pram up the first flight would have been quite a challenge. As you probably guessed, we chose the pram friendly option which took us through the woods, where the undergrowth was already showing signs of new spring life. Looking at the map the other options drops a good twenty meters into the bottom before following a small stream up the valley. We continued on a bit further and then made a steady decent to Fordbury Water. The stream was in full flow and naturally Ralph was keen to get as close to it as possible.

It was obvious early on that a lot of work has recently been carried out on the footpath. There were lots of new fences and gates and t plenty of gravel had been laid to make the path far better than I expected. We followed it up towards the Chantry road and cut across the stream which originates in Chantry Pond, on the inside of Railford Bridge. As we slowly climbed alongside a smaller stream the woodland on the side of the hill was full of many different types of ferns and mosses, testament to the effective management of the Whatley Quarry Biodiversity Action Plan - available to read here. At one gateway we came across a large Sentry Posistion board, no doubt used to check walkers before any blasting. On the hillside by the former schoolhouse our colleagues Dan & Terry Bull lived in, was a lovely looking green single decker bus. I wouldn’t have minded a closer look at that!

As we followed the track westwards we came to a small stile that had a footpath diversion sign on it, so crossed into the field. It was only a couple of hundred metres, if that, across but the ground was soaking wet and every step through the grass was a squelch. At the far side a moss’s covered stile provided a route back to the track. In my defence the stile was a bit wobbly but everyone in front of me made it look so simple, however as I tried to put my second foot onto the plank at the far side, I slipped off of it and ran my shin down the end of the plank. Adding to that my gloveless hands broke my fall, straight into a patch of small young nettles. picking myself up gently, I was never more pleased to take breather on a bench opposite. Thankfully no one was quick enough to get their cameras out!

We reached the highest point of todays route at the south west corner of the quarry and as we started a steady decent along a good track we caught our first glimpse of the quarry walls through the trees. A short while further on we came to a purpose built observation area which gave us a tremendous view along the whole length of the second largest quarry in the United Kingdom behind the Gelnsanda quarry near Oban in Argyll.  I think we were all rather shocked and amazed at the whole site stretching out for over two kilometres in front of us. It was probably the most dramatic group photo we have ever taken.

Whatley quarry has been operating since the 1930s and supplies crushed limestone aggregate to local markets by road and to depots in London and South East England via its dedicated rail link. There is also an on-site plant for making asphalt and ready-mixed concrete. The site extends to 173 hectares, of which 120 hectares comprise the limestone extraction site, with limestone reserves of around 100 million tonnes.

In 2021 a staggering amount of 7.53 million metric tons per annum was extracted from the big hole in front of us.The next largest is the Torr Works quarry just a few miles down the road near Cranmore. Formerly owned by Hansons, the site which extends down some 60 metres into the ground is now run by HeidelburgCement AG. Limestone extraction in the East Mendips has a long history and provided the stone for the Georgian crescents in Bath, to more recent projects such as Hinkley Point C power station and HS2. The latest figures show that its currently producing around six million tonnes of aggregate a year.

We moved on around the northern side , through a pretty muddy farm with some young calves in the sheds, before a gate onto another purpose built track. The whole perimeter was extremely well secured although having no dogs with us today probably made it a bit less of a worry that they might just find a hole through the fence. The track ran parallel to the road running into Wells and we had to safely negotiate our way around a bright yellow tractor that was cutting the inside line of hedges. We continued through lightly wooded area and after jumping a low gate we spotted another observation platform off to our right.

We were now high up above the mid-way wall along the northern side and could look down and see a couple of diggers working at the bottom and dumper trucks coming down the steep access roads.

We obviously made a little bit too much noise for one of the local residents as a bird took off from a roost to our left and flew right in front of us, about 20 metres away. I’m no ornithologist but I’m 100% certain that from the colour of its underbody and the shape of its wings and it’s streamline shape, that we had disturbed a perigrine falcon. I did manage to get a photograph of it as it flew further away , but I’m afraid the quality does not prove one way or the other. They are certainly known to nest on high cliff faces and of course at the top of high buildings in the city, where they feed mainly on the domestic pigeon. Capable of stooping at great speeds to grab their prey they are considered one of the fastest creatures on earth. They vary in size and colour throughout the world, but this was most likely the European Falco peregrinus peregrinus.

Moving on awe found the only suitable parking spot for for future reference and continued across fields on the final leg around the north east corner of the quarry, with views down to the village of Mells and the land around the church which we walked along only last year. Again the path was well off of the roads making this a really safe route for youngsters and dogs. As we completed the final turn to head south again, the thoughts of Tilly and Ralph turned to breakfast. As we arrived back at the cars I stopped the clock at three minutes over the two hours, having covered a fraction over four miles. Without a doubt it had been one of our best walks of the last six years, a far better maintained path than I expected and with the stunning views from the two viewing platforms it’s going to take some beating in the future.

All that was left was to take the five minute drive back towards Frome and our regular stop at the transport cafe of Nunney Catch. Parking was a bit tight so JS went to the far end of the truck yard, but I managed to find a space closer to the cafe. There were a good few tables spare as we entered and thankfully not too long a queue to order. Tilly and Ralph went for a sausage sandwich, most of us had the normal ‘main’ breakfast but JS decided to try the Big Breakfast. Generally it was all to the normal standard apart from the margarine on the toast which was pretty rancid today. A disappointing end to an otherwise great morning out.

Cyclemeter.