Length: 23.3 km (14.5 mi) [longer or shorter options available,
see below]
Ascent/Descent: 561 m; Net Walking Time: ca. 6 hours
Toughness: 7 out of 10
09.20 Exeter St. Davids & Bath Spa train from
Waterloo (Clapham J. 09.27, Woking 09.46), arrives Tisbury 11.06
[You have to be in the front part of the train, as it splits at Salisbury, and
in Tisbury you have to be in the front three cars of that front part of the
train due to a short platform].
Returns are at xx.01 (basically), last
train 22.02 [trolley services are back!]
This walk explores the Upper Nadder Valley (also known as the Vale of
Wardour) in the south westerly parts of the West Wiltshire Downs Area of
Outstanding Natural Beauty, which is spectacular walking country with some
breathtaking views. It heads west from Tisbury along the valley and through
Wardour Park with its large mansion. After lunch at a gastro pub in Donhead St.
Andrew, some serious ascents take you all the way to the Nadder Head in another
large country estate. Looping back the route passes a Neolithic hill fort site
on a ridge right on the boundary with Dorset, with occasional views through
trees to surrounding steep downs.
An exhilarating descent and an equally
exhilarating route through the wooded Barkers Hill lead back down to the Nadder. The return route then leads right past the romantically ruined 14th
century Old Wardour Castle and through High Wood back into Tisbury, a
remarkably unspoilt village.
A shorter version of the walk, rated 4/10, and allowing enough time to
visit Old Wardour Castle (English Heritage), exists in
a separate file.
I shall endeavour to investigate a possible extension of the route
at its SW end, from Windwhistle Corner via Higher Wycombe Park and Round Hill.
Lunch: The
Forester Inn in Donhead St. Andrews (7.0 km/4.3 mi, food
to 14.00, table booked for 13.00), it has been awarded the Michelin Bib Gourmand for many years running
now.
Tea: Plenty of options in Tisbury, see the pdf
or the webpage for details.
For summary, map, height profile, walk
directions, photos and gpx/kml files click here.T=swc.252
2 comments:
cheap Advance tickets are still available, if you can commit to a defined return train
n=9 in w=grey-quickly-turning-sunny-and-very-fine weather.
A pretty uneventful walk today, with the group staying close-ish together to lunch, which comes after 1/3 of the distance. 4 had (a rather brilliant) lunch at The Forester, 1 even having 3 courses and a coffee, so the non-lunchers moved on. 2 walked an improvised shortcut mid-afternoon, all others the full route. 5 (including teh shortcutters) were on the 18.01, the others presumably on the following train.
The Black Swans were there again, on the ponds just after Donhead St. Mary, and plenty of photos were taken of them. Lots of butterflies were out and about and some irridescent blue stick-dragonflies (if they were dragonflies at all?). And there was quite a bit of mud in the woods, but never un-skirtable.
All in, a very fine day in very fine company.
Post a Comment