Length:
22.7 km (14.1 mi) [Longer Walks possible, see below]
Ascent/Descent:
490m
Net
Walking Time: ca. 5 ¾ hours
Toughness:
6 out of 10
From Westbury and Frome, take the Weymouth train at 10.22/10.32, arrives
Bruton 10.43.
From Castle Cary, take the
London Waterloo train at 10.07, arrives Bruton 10.12 (and start walking or wait).
From London, take the 08.51
Penzance train from Paddington (09.18 Reading), change at Westbury
(10.00/10.22), arrives 10.43.
Return trains to Castle
Cary: 17.20 (via Westbury), 18.58, 19.12 (via Westbury), 21.59.
Return trains to
Frome/Westbury: 17.20, 19.12, 21.19.
Return trains to
London (change in Westbury): 17.20 (long wait), 19.12, 21.19.
This excursion is centred on the small remote
Somerset town of Bruton, with its honey-coloured stone-built cottages, a large dovecote on a
mound overlooking the townscape and a fine selection of tea options. It leads
along the vigorous River Brue and through bucolic pastures up to the wooded
range forming the boundary between Wiltshire and Somerset, with the dominant
local landmark Alfred’s Tower, a folly, on top of it. From there you drop down through enchanting
woods to the heart of the Stourhead Estate at the source of the River Stour, with its breath-taking 18th
century landscaped garden with lakeside walks, grottoes and classical temples
(National Trust, ticketed entry, although large parts of the garden and most
notable buildings are visible from the walk route).
After lunch at the estate pub or an NT restaurant you circle back past the
large Palladian mansion with views, then through a U-shaped grassy valley (by
the source of the river Stour) and up through hanging woods to continue high
above the Brue Valley with fine far views across the South Somerset landscape.
Towards the end the route passes the renowned art gallery Hauser & Wirth
Somerset with its fascinating bar and restaurant, and an
optional loop routes up to Bruton’s dovecote and through town.
Walk
Options:
An
out-and-back to the Bronze Age Bell Barrow site Jack’s
Castle adds 550m.
A loop through the wooded Park Hill and via its Iron Age hillfort site
adds 900m.
A loop at the end up to Bruton’s dovecote and through town past
most tea places adds 1.5 km.
Lunch:
The Spread Eagle Inn (11.0 km/6.8 mi, food to 19.00) or The Stourhead Estate
Restaurant (11.4 km/7.1 mi, food to 16.00), both on the
Stourhead Estate.
Tea: Plenty options, including a Hauser & Wirth-managed pub just off
route, 4.5 km from the end. See the webpage or the pdf for details.
3 comments:
All the people already in the area will start no later than whenever the train from Castle Cary arrives (10.12 if on time).
The same walkers as yesterday out today, only that 13 of those partook in driving close to, or all the way to, the Stourhead Estate and doing only a part of the route, namely the core. Some added the ticketed house and garden, others then walked back to Bruton, the majority of the 13 seem to later have gone to lunch in Zeals, and then partly driving back to Bruton for a quick visit to Hauser & Wirth.
As for the others: 3 walked the whole route, 1 walked from his accommodation in North Brewham. The 3 passed Alfred's Tower at noon, and were pleasantly surprised by the presence of a new refreshment kiosk/trailer. Cue an affogato and ice cream stop. Later we had lunch at The Spreadeagle at Stourhead, where we bumped into North Brewham man, as well as some of the car drivers.
Back in Bruton at 5, where we bumped into another gaggle of SWCers at Hauser & Wirth.
17.18 train for all trainies returning today.
Some overgrowth in the pm, especially around stiles and gates, unfortunately. We did survive...
Temperatures topped out at 28 degrees, mostly with a breeze, not really much of one though mid-afternnon, making for pleasant to strenuous walking weather.
N=17 on a w=very-warm-day-with-some-breeze
No Bruton return train w/o serious delays, it seems: heat-related speed restrictions and emergency services attending a situation at Twyford Station meant we arrived 40mins late at Paddington, where the Circle/H&C lines were in scheduled closure and the Bakerloo was closed due to an incident. Off to Lancaster Gate then, which was closed due to staff shortages...
Post a Comment