Saturday 22 July ‘23. DH, BFS, PCL, AC,DL, JB, Albus
Another week and another last minute chance of plan! Due to the wet forecast it was decided mid week to postpone going back to Brian’s for breakfast after todays walk although we would keep with the route as planned and go for an indoor cafe option for afters. As such the word was put out on Wednesday that the RV was the previously used location of the hairpin on the Pen Selwood to Stourton road at 0830. Following a request for clarification from those coming from Cary & Bruton, the exact location was sent on the group WhatsApp using the much used phone app What3words (humid.sifts.shadowing) as well as the locations postcode - BA100LB.
Thinking no more about it, and with a car full of Wincanton based walkers, it was not until we were closing in on the RV along the Pen top road, when the phone rang and on the other end was Phil who immediately explained that they had arrived at what they thought to be the correct location, before realising that actually the Alfred’s Tower car park was not the correct spot after all. A quick decision was taken to reverse the planned anti-clockwise route and instead head clockwise straight from the hairpin parking area to the tower to join the two groups for the rest of the walk. With mobile signal very intermittent it was impossible to get another call to go through and so having parked up at the very end of the track, the southern group of four headed northwards as quickly as possible towards the tower side of the woods. Unfortunately this meant there was no time to get warmed up before the steep climb was upon us and so it wasn’t long before the legs were burning and the lungs working overtime. Thankfully the path levelled out and it wasn’t long before the cafe caravan was in sight and two familiar looking walkers were spotted on the side of the road.
Obviously once we had all had a bit of a laugh about it, the next question was to establish who was to blame for the navigational blunder. Adrian and Phil had clearly spent their waiting time wisely ensuring they had a consistent story to tell as they happily shared the blame. It turns out that they were both unclear as to where the hairpin RV was and without the app on his phone (still) Adrian as driver had used the postcode and set in into his cars SatNav. Unfortunately as we (all) know, postcodes cover a large area and the one given has both the hairpin RV and the tower in it, so in essence Adrian was in the right place - but not! However there was then a confession that he still hasn’t installed the what3words app despite been told about how useful it was on previous walks. Maybe it will be this weeks job!
Having established it was just a matter of bad luck we set off along the top track heading away from the tower. The wind was blowing and it certainly didn’t feel like a July morning as we took a right turn and onto a track leading alongside a large open field. The track entered the woodland and we strode out down a long straight track as the first signs of rain appeared. Not being heavy enough to create a problem just yet we pushed on before being halted in our tracks at a closed gate across the track, just on the outskirts of Park Hill Camp, one of the many old forts in these woods.
The Iron Age hillfort survives as a rectangular enclosure with an interior of approximately 2.3ha clearly defined by a rampart bank of up to 10m wide and 1.8m high in places and with an outer ditch around 8m wide and 2m deep. Unfortunately today we were directed around the edge of the fort and on passing the south eastern corner we continued on a good path through a selection of old oak trees and slowly started descending. Through the gaps in the trees we were able to see the obelisk which stands in the ground to the north west of Stourhead House and as we dropped further the glint of the lakes appeared at various points. As we neared the bottom of the track the rain started to come on a bit heavier and so a brief halt was called to don jackets again and fearing the worse, in some cases waterproof trousers. It was also an ideal opportunity for Dereyk to produce his bags of treats.
At this point we must have only been a few metres behind and above the Pantheon before we turned and started heading back towards the cars. Exiting the woods into the large open area that lays to the west of Stourhead gardens, Adrian started heading down the hill, and was immediately met by words of advice as to the right direction he should be going, along the lines of ‘not that way’, ‘up not down’, ‘don’t get lost’. I think he might have got the message about what3words!
We passed through a field of recently peeled sheep and before too long we’re back into the woods, at which point we needed to make a decision of how to get Phil and Adrian back to their car at the tower. Should they come back with us and then follow the route we took to them so 90 minutes earlier, or should they strike out for the tower earlier, along paths they didn’t know well in the hope of not getting too lost? In the end having had a quick explanation of the tracks and junctions ahead, they left us and headed into the unknown, having placed their breakfast orders with us, hoping to be at the cafe before it all got cold. The four of us made good time along the bottom path and arrived back at our vehicle just before 10.30. An initial assessment of the distance provided by the trusty app proved well wrong and after closure inspection, it appears I perhaps started the app accidentally when Phil first phoned me, so it showed we had completed over 6 miles, where in reality we had done just over 4 miles today.
A short drive to Kimbers Farm shop and our reserved table was waiting in the corner in a very busy cafe this morning. A quick call to Phil established that they were just back at the car, and we were safe to order their breakfasts and drinks. Thankfully we had remained pretty dry throughout the walk, but as we looked out of the window towards the tower and woods, we could see the rain had increased and the trees were being shrouded in low cloud. The speed of service has improved significantly since we started coming to Kimbers and just after the stragglers arrived our breakfast were delivered. All in all a different day, the first time we have walked from split starting points, but maybe it won’t be the last. The only think left to say is ‘Download that app’ and hope there is some phone signal when you need to use it!
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