Saturday 16th December ‘23. DH, AC, PCL, JB
With only a week to go to the big day and with many of the team being engaged in other activities (shopping, family, pre Christmas get away), there were only five signed up for todays walk although a last minute drop out due to illness left us with just four at the start. There was no point travelling too far and so having not been this way for a good long time and having found a route predominantly on roads, I opted for a start at Cadbury Castle car park and an anti clockwise loop around the base of the ancient hill fort which is one of several sites proposed as the location of Arthur's capital, Camelot. John and myself arrived first, with Adrian and Phil pulling in within a few minutes of each other. There was a brief exchange of Christmas cards before Adrian realised he forgotten John and Anne’s , then as soon as Phil got out of the car he was subject to another first class ‘put your foot in your mouth moment‘ question from Adrian. Thankfully we all know what Adrian is capable of and of course no harm intended, but it did start the day off with a good laugh.
We headed out of the car park and past the lovely thatched cottage opposite the track which leads up to the hill fort of South Cadbury, (not to be confused with Cadbury Castle in Devon) No doubt we have all walked the track before and are aware that the site has been previously occupied for an extraordinarily long time. Excavations have revealed Neolithic pottery, as well as later Bronze and Iron Age settlement patterns. Around 500 BC an elaborate system of defences was erected atop the hill, including upright wooden barricades, which were re-erected several times over the following centuries. Within the barricade, there is evidence of houses, a forge, and a temple. The fort was overrun and occupied by the Romans in about 50 AD. After the Romans deserted the site it was occupied from about 470 - 580 AD. This is the time period associated with King Arthur. At that time there seems to have been a large Great Hall on the site, and remains of pottery from the Mediterranean indicate that the inhabitants had a well-established trade system. The size of the fort during this post-Roman period would make it one of the largest known settlements of the time, a fact which might lend some credence to its identification as Camelot, the capital of a great leader. From 1010 - 1020 AD a Saxon mint was established at South Cadbury.
At the Camelot pub we turned left down Folly Lane, and past some more new builds adding to the length of the residential area before we headed out across fields and under the terraced hillside of the old castle with it defensive banks and hollows covered in large trees which had mostly lost their leaves for the year by now. The grassy sides of the field were a bit soft in places and in areas there was clear evidence of flood water having run down the hillside in the recent rains, causing large areas of silt deposits which would certainly have grabbed our boots had we ventured into them. The views across to our north stretched as far as Glastonbury Tor, which in itself was a hilltop of much significance many years ago, and it was whilst looking in that direction and with the hill behind that we posed momentarily for this weeks photo.
With the village of Sutton Montis, or more specifically the church tower creeping into view we left the fields and turned right along a minor countryside lane taking us across the end of Weston Village. Last time we walked this same lane we passed a horse out for its morning exercise but this time we kept moving without seeing anyone or anything until we came to a gateway in which we paused to see if our friendly Alpaca from last time was still around. It was good to see it in amongst a gaggle of geese but with a slow and deliberate lean on the gate, John slowly and calmly took up a slightly leaning stance on the gate and encouraged it closer, in a very distinct Dr Dolittle style. Rex Harrison would certainly have had competition for the part facing up to the ‘push me, pull me’ had John been around looking for a film role in those days.
Hard as it was to pull John away from the gaze of the large brown eyes, we eventually persuaded him it was time to go and continued along the road towards Weston Bampfylde where we would later come back to for breakfast. On the left side a large set of gate posts led to a long driveway to the substantial 17th century Western Bampfylde manor. We walked along it to the first bend and headed into the field on our right towards the quaint village church. We have previously passed close to this grade II listed 13th cent church with its small octagon western tower, but today was our visit to the churchyard and having found the main door to be open we headed inside for a quick look. Underneath the tower area four bell ropes passed through small holes in the wooden ceiling whilst at the alter end of the church were a 17th century pulpit and a 12 century font. A dark wooden sign on a side wall listed the charges for marriages and burials, although I couldn’t see for what year the sign was valid. Time was getting tight so we didn’t hang around too long before leaving the churchyard through the southern side and across a pathway amongst a field of sheep. unfortunately the stile out of the field was not in good repair and we could see would be a challenge for Adrian. Although there was s small dog flap to one side, which Adrian initially liked the look of squeezing through, we managed instead to assist him climbing the gateway and successfully crossed into a small lane. A quick map check and we were soon on the road which would take us around to Sutton Montis. Deciding to stay on the lane instead of taking the footpath across through fields, we were at a sharp bend when a group of cyclist appeared in the opposite direction, and Phil managed a fleeting glimpse of Claire as she peddled along mid group.
The pace was good as we entered Sutton Montis and walked through the village in its entirety for the first time. With some very nice and substantial properties on both sides we split into 2 pairs as Adrian and myself pushed ahead whilst Phil and John obviously taking in more of the scenery filled some 50 metres to our rear. This continued as we climbed out of the village and underneath the southern slopes of Cadbury Castle as Adrian was determined to ensure he didn’t get beaten back to the cars.
Safely back at the car park we had completed the 4.1 miles in just under two hours and were all looking forward to getting to the cafe. It was only a 5 ish minute drive back along the road and through Sutton Montis and we pulled into the yard at the Old Parlour Farm shop just a few minutes later than planned. There were a few others inside the wooden hut but our table was ready and waiting and it wasn’t too long before our orders were placed. As usual here the tea came out in a very odd transparent pot with the tea bags suspended in a small cage like holder which barely allowed them space to ‘mash’. However we made the most of it and soon the breakfasts, complete with black pudding extras were delivered. Overall a good tasty breakfast enjoyed by all Which rounded of another enjoyable December morning.
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