Sunday Walk - Bruton Circular (via Stourhead) [Somerset Trip]

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 

 

Meet at Bruton Station at 10.45. 

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 18^th 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. 

 

For walk directions, maps, height profiles, photos and gpx/kml files click here. T=swc.342

Saturday Walk - Eastbourne to Seaford (& a swim or two) [swimming walk]

Eastbourne to Seaford (book 2, walk 28 in reverse) t=2.28

Distance: 13.6 Miles or 21.9 km (with a shorter 10 mile option available by catching a bus at Exceat)

Difficulty: 9 out of 10

I'm away this weekend, so a request from Stargazer:

This is a challenging walk with lots of ups and downs but can be shortened to about 10 miles by catching a bus at Exceat to Seaford. You can find more information about the walk and download the walk instructions and map here. For instructions from Eastbourne station to Beachy Head, the instructions for SWC 60 may also come in hand....High tide at Eastbourne is 1400. Swim options are Eastbourne, Birling Gap and Cuckmere Haven.

Trains: This weekend there are no Southern Victoria trains. Get the 0925 Eastbourne train from London Bridge (platform 11 according to Network Rail planner) (East Croydon 0942) arriving 1050. Return trains via Lewes are xx55, xx27 to London Bridge. Buy a day return to Eastbourne

Lunch: With the forecast hot weather, best go for a picnic.

Saturday Walk Wivenhoe Circular Walk - Postponed from 02 July to a non-strike day - a circular walk on both sides of the River Colne, linked by a ferry crossing [hopefully sea breezes]

Book 1 Walk 30 - Wivenhoe Circular Walk

Length: 14.8 km (9.2 mile)

Toughness: 2 out of 10

London Liverpool Street:   09-18 hrs    Greater Anglia service to Clacton-on-Sea   Stratford 09-25 hrs

Arrive Wivenhoe:   10-23 hrs

Wivenhoe Ferry operating times today: 13-00 hrs until 16-30 hrs

Return

Direct service at 24 mins past the hour  

Service changing at Colchester at 32 mins past the hour

Departure times from London have to link in with the Wivenhoe Ferry operating times, in order that both legs of the walk can be walked and lunch taken on one or the other sides of the River. Today, the ferry times suggest a slightly early start from London and early(ish) arrival in Wivenhoe, to allow the Wivenhoe  loop of the walk be taken first, with time for lunch in Wivenhoe before taking the ferry across the River Colne to Rowhedge. 

The Wivenhoe leg sets out alongside the River on a raised - and exposed - path.  It then heads inland and over fields back to Wivenhoe. You should be back in the village circa 12-15 pm. The pub on the riverfront, The Rose & Crown, is OK, but the pub back uphill away from the front in the village (five minutes walk) The Greyhound is better. Other luncheon options are noted in the Walk Directions. Picnickers enjoy their sandwiches on the riverfront, opposite the Rose & Crown pub.

After lunch, you take the small ferry (fee £ 1-50 each way- cash only) over to Rowhedge, to undertake the Rowhedge loop of the walk - and very nice it is, too, a mixture of woods and open countryside, and latterly beside the wide river estuary before you walk through a new housing development on your return to Rowhedge. There are two good pubs in the village for post walk refreshments - but do please allow plenty of time to catch one of the last ferries back to Wivenhoe. 

T=1.30

Walk Directions are here: L=1.30

Saturday Walk - Castle Cary Circular (via Camelot) [Somerset Trip] [New Walk]

Length: 30.3 km (18.8 mi) [shorter walks possible, see below]

Ascent/Descent: 602m

Net Walking Time: 7 ¼ hours

Toughness: 8 out of 10 

 

Take the Weymouth train from Westbury (09.29), Frome (09.38) or Bruton (09.50), arrives Castle Cary 09.54. 

From London, take the 08.35 Paignton train from Paddington (09.02 Reading), arrives Castle Cary 10.16, and chase the group. 

Return trains to Bruton: 17.14, 18.34, 19.32, 21.24. 

Return trains to Frome/Westbury: 17.14, 18.34, 19.32, 20.05 (change Westbury for Frome), 20.52, 21.24. 

Return trains to London: 17.14, 17.28, 18.46 (direct), 20.05 (direct), 20.52, 21.24. 

 

This is a route along the fringes of the Somerset Levels over some fine viewpoints to three magnificent hills, one of which may well be the site of the mythical Camelot of King Arthur fame. 

You rise from the station up a hillock and through quiet residential streets to the centre of the charming market town of Castle Cary with many of its buildings built in the honey-coloured Cary stone, including the stunning Market House. Climb out of the modern-day town past the site of the medieval castle (only earthworks remain) to the top of Lodge Hill with its panoramic views across the Somerset Levels to Glastonbury Tor and the Mendip Hills, and inland towards the wooded boundary ridge with Wiltshire. 

Visible ahead already are the three hills at the far end of the walk route: Cadbury Hill, Parrock Hill and The Beacon/Corton Hill, each different in shape and appearance. You continue through a scenic dry green valley and along an ancient holloway, then through pastures in the shallow Cam River valley to lunch in North or South Cadbury, from where it’s only a short while to Cadbury Hill, the ‘likeliest contender’ for King Arthur's legendary court at Camelot. Apart from being a stunning Bronze and Iron Age hillfort site, it also offers some very fine views across bucolic valleys to the other hills of the route. 

Steep ascents are needed for Parrock Hill and The Beacon/ Corton Hill, but the rewards are more fine views, back to Cadbury Hill and on to the Dorset coastal ranges. The return route passes some remains of a large WWII airfield and crosses the very large Sigwells plateau-with-views, before re-crossing the Cam River valley and approaching Castle Cary from a different angle.

 

Walk Options: 

Bus Line 1 (Yeovil – Shepton Mallet) connects South and North Cadbury, as well as Castle Cary’s Town Centre to the Railway Station. The bus runs 14.35 and 18.20 from South Cadbury back to CC (3 mins later from North Cadbury), and at 18.32 from CC down to the Station. 

Cut out the out-and-back up to and around the plateau of the Cadbury Castle hillfort site. Cut 1.8 km and 80m ascent.
Outbound and Return Route are never far from each other, so there are numerous ways to cut out some of the route, using footpaths or roads. An example would be Compton Road, between the lunch pub in South Cadbury and Compton Pauncefoot village: 

· walk it after lunch, either without or with first going up to Cadbury Castle, to pick up the return route in Compton Pauncefoot at the double asterisk **); 

· walk the route as described to Compton Pauncefoot (20.2 km/12.6 mi with 450m ascent), and turn left along Compton Road back to the pub in South Cadbury and wait for a bus (Line 1, as above).
A Shortcut in the afternoon leads through pastures along the valley between Sigwells Plateau and Parrock Hill, thus avoiding the steep ascent up onto and subsequent very steep descent down from Parrock Hill, as well as the steep ascent of The Beacon/Corton Hill, climbing up to Sigwells at a gentler gradient. Cut 2.5 km and 40m ascent.  

 

Lunch: The Catash Inn in North Cadbury (8.4 km/5.2 m, open all day ); Chapel Cross Coffee Rooms in Chapel Cross (9.7 km/6.0 m); The Camelot Inn in South Cadbury (10.4 km/6.5 mi, food to 14.30, then bar snacks). 

Tea: plenty of choice in Castle Cary (see webpage or pdf for details).  

 

For summary, route map, height profile, photos, walk directions and gpx/kml files click here. T=swc.392