This was a lovely walk with a good mix of landscape starting from Kilmersdon and quickly joining Colliers Way which still has a surprising amount of the old railway track. Much of the trackside is lined with apple trees and legend has it that these were grown when passengers on the trains threw their apple cores out of the window. The walk then headed for the grounds of Ammerdown House with its impressive column – this originally had a viewing space at the top. This is no longer accessible but the views would have been spectacular if you could manage the climb. After a brief lunch stop to take in the views it was back to Kilmersdon.

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It didn’t rain today but rain never seemed far away.

A handsome buzzard

Ammerdown Column – read more about it and see an engraving of the old viewing tower here.

Neat topiary engulfing a grave in Kilmersdon Church graveyard

Fields of unharvested corn

An inventive use of discarded toilets in a vegetable patch.

Artwork by local schools displayed under the old railway bridges – read more about the Colliers Way here.

misty views through the apple trees alongside the cycle path (which used to be the railway)

The railways used to be edged by many varieties of apple tree sprouted from the apple cores thrown out of the train windows by picnicking travellers years ago.

Local artists and schools have planted new apple trees along the cycle path and boulders are engraved with the different varieties.

gnarly winter trees

Happy New Year from Bath Ramblings – don’t forget to sign up to get an email when a new route is published.  There are lots of exciting walks planned for 2019.

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

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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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.

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.

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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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