A lovely day for a walk – clear blue skies and sunshine was a real November treat. The walk started from Newbridge Park and Ride and, after crossing the A4, went along footpaths to Newton St Loe before going through the grounds of Bath Spa University. One of the lakes provided a quiet spot for lunch before returning across the A4, under the railway line and along the cycle path to the start.

A 5.2 mile walk starting and ending at Newbridge Park-and-Ride

Thie highlight of this walk was the gnarly trees in all their Autumn glory

These woolly brown cows seemed happy with the mild sunny weather

walnuts?

The air was clear and fresh and the views were lovely

Somone mentioned sandwiches …!

The mistletoe was in abundance

gorgeous colour contrasts everywhere

more lovely old tree shapes

November sunshine – it was suprisingly warm

A nearly 6 mile walk starting and ending at the Ring O Bells pub in Hinton Blewett.

This circular walk started in Hinton Blewett on a gloriously warm morning. The fields were brown and the mud had solidified which made for interesting walking. Fortunately there were also some shady lanes and wooded paths. The walk went through the lovely little village of Litton where the reservoirs provided a good lunch stop and the opportunity to watch the birds on the water.

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Gargoyle on St Mary’s Church in Litton

Hot sheep huddled in a shady corner

Buzzards gliding over the reservoir

Pine woods are less common than deciduous woods in this area so it was nice to walk through one for a change

Litton Reservoir

A family of diving ducks a little too far away to identify – could be Coots or Cormorants

An easily identifiable bottom

A familiar site – cows and bulls are generally harmless but can give you a stare that makes your blood run cold!

Some people do feel nervous when walking in fields with cattle.  Between 2000 and 2015 the Health and Safety Executive reported 74 human deaths in the UK caused by cattle.  56 of these were farm workers. Of the remainder 17 were accompanied by a dog and 17 were lone walkers.  So walking in a group with no dogs is very safe as long as you’re calm and sensible.  Here are some helpful tips from Countryfile to maximise safety:

1. If you’re with a dog you should keep it on its lead, particularly during calving season. By law farmers are entitled to destroy any dog that injures or worries their animal.
2. Stay well clear of calves, and resist temptation to pet them.
3. If you feel threatened by a herd when you are with a dog, let go of its lead so you and it can get to safety seperately.
4. Move in a careful, calm way, if you sense a threat, keep moving with your body facing the cow; don’t turn your back to the animal or run.
5. Tell the landowner and highway authority about any attacks or frightening incidents and contact the Health & Safety Executive and Police if it’s of a serious nature.

Rolling hills and views for miles

The continuing heatwave has made the landscape look more Mediterranean than Somerset!

This 4.2 mile circular walk started from Victoria Park and slowly ascended to Weston village and onwards and upwards to Primrose Hill for a well earned lunch break. A glorious day for a walk with clear blue skies, warm sunshine and wondeful views across the city.

enjoying the views over Bath and beyond

Primrose Hill Community Woodland is described on their website as ‘a place for walking, talking, picnics, spiritual reflection and just having a good time, with easy access from Fonthill Road, Weston Village and Beckfords Tower.’

A lovely way to walk back into town taking in the Royal Crescent

dappled sunshine on the woodland paths

midsummer blue skies and green fields

This is a walk we have done before here and here.  It’s 5 miles with lots of hills (and views on a good day) and woodland.

This walk started from Ebbor Gorge car park and went down to the reserve by a steep flight of steps before levelling out for the walk to Wookey Hole village. At the end of the village a path led across fields to Arthur’s Point – good views in all directions. After a stroll through woods another series of hills gave spectacular views across the Somerset levels before returning to the reserve and back to the car park. A lovely spring day with primroses, anemones, bluebells and lambs aplenty.

We prewalked this on 2nd April so here are some comparison photos of the two visits:

bare mossy woods | spring green woods

bears | tigers

lambs in raincoats | lambs under the trees

cows in the barn | cows set free

suddenly the woods and fields are full of wildflowers

This walk starts in the village of Buckland Dinham then heads into the Somerset countryside through Great Elm and on towards Mells where the hills above the village give good views of the historic manor house and church. A good variety of walking with open fields and meadows, riverside paths and bridleways thick with mud. Signs of spring everywhere with snowdrops, daffodils in bud and wild garlic starting to appear.

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the walk started from The Bell Inn – recognisable by the pygmy goats and flying bicycle in the car park

Don’t forget to say hello to the goats

The views are still wintry out there …

… but you know Spring is on the way when the woods start to smell of garlic

Lunch stop by the Mells River

Scarlet Elf Cap Fungus

The deep dark mossy woods

This cute little waterfall is actually a water outlet from Whatley quarry which features in our Nunney walk.  You can see both walks on this map below, today’s walk in red and the Nunney Walk in blue

A 4.8 mile walk starting and ending in Marshfield Village 

This walk started in the village of Marshfield and after crossing the A420 it followed lanes and footpaths across very muddy fields to reach the village of West Littleton with its very attractive church with a 13th century turret and bellcote. The return to Marshfield passed Castle farm with its turreted farmhouse – very unusual. The views over the rolling Cotswold hills were something of a teaser given the mist and low cloud but on a clear day would have been spectacular.

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Browne’s Folly Revisited – 7.1.18

A cold but very sunny morning made the ideal conditions for this walk. Starting from Bathford, a steep climb led through woods to Browne’s Folly before descending through the reserve and heading back to Bathford. A slight variation in the route from the previous walk here avoided the very muddy bridleway and was a pleasant, shorter path. The clear skies gave excellent views.

The map below shows today’s route in blue including the shortcut – the extra red bit is the part of the original route that can be circumvented if the path is particularly muddy.  You can see details of the last time we did this walk here.

Monkton Farleigh – a repeat of the 2016 Spring Walk here It’s interesting to note that the pub mentioned in the previous post has changed – read all about it here

This walk, starting from Monkton Farleigh, was a repeat of that done on 20 March 2016 so much of the detail remains the same. It was however good to see the autumn scenery rather than the spring version. Many of the trees still had their autumn leaves but those which didn’t revealed their structure against the clear blue sky. One bit of excitement was entering a field of cows and calves and then realising the bull was close to the path. Fortunately he seemed more interested in chewing the cud than attacking an innocent group of walkers.

A 5.8 mile circular walk starting and ending at Monkton Farleigh

A 4.5 mile walk starting and ending at Batheaston Carpark.

This walk started from Batheaston car park and after a brief stroll through the village, the countryside was soon reached. A steep uphill climb led to the top of Solsbury Hill which gave extensive views of Bath and the surrounding countryside. Back down the hill and a gentle walk down to Bathampton Meadows – noting the Tin Church (a listed building) at Bailbrook on the way – and along the River Avon back to Batheaston.

A 5.5 mile walk starting and ending in Doynton

This walk started from the car park of the sadly closed pub in Doynton and went through woods and fields before skirting Dyrham Park and heading back to Doynton. The steep hills were well worth the effort as, combined with glorious weather, the reward was far reaching views stretching as far as the Severn bridge.

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