B2B Day 14 Wells to East Harptree--Enjoy the Moment

For an OS map of today's walk (10.5 mi; 16.9 km; 1,297 ft total ascent), click here.
 
Today's walk took us uphill out of Wells. We met a woman walking her dog, and we chatted a bit about the weather and the expected rain, and she parted by saying, "Enjoy the moment!" So we did.

We came upon some walkers named Sarah and Will (and their dog, whose name we didn't get) who were coming in the other direction. They were fun to talk with. They are much tougher than we are--they are on a month-long walking trip and they are camping, with a tent and a compressible sleeping bag. We are too soft for that, and appreciate staying in B&Bs with a hot bath or shower after a long walk. It was nice to meet other walkers (which has happened more often on this trip than some of our others), and to compare notes.

We had decided we weren't going to go to the caves at Wookey Hole, since it looked rather amusement-parkish which (at least on this trip) didn't really appeal to us. We did decide to go through Ebbor Gorge, which is a nature reserve. We had hardly got onto the path when we heard a commotion ahead, and saw a huge bird of prey drop a small rabbit onto the path. The bird went up a tree as we came along, and the rabbit was struggling helplessly on the path. It made us sad, but we also recognize that this is what happens in nature, and we hurried past so that the bird could end the rabbit's struggles. 

The rest of the walk through the gorge was absolutely beautiful. There was a narrow bit through some rocks that was a bit of a scramble, involving both hands and feet. We were grateful it didn't rain while we were scrambling, as the mud would have then become a river.

Sara in Ebbor Gorge

Ken in Ebbor Gorge

Sara in Ebbor Gorge, just before the "scramble"

Soon after, we enjoyed the amazing view after having gained quite a bit of height after climbing through the Gorge.

Ken heading for a good viewpoint under a darkening sky

We went on several paths until we arrived at Priddy. Men were working outside the Queen Victoria pub there, and afterwards we realized that they were changing the pub signs and putting up new ones, that looked very sharp.

The new pub sign, installed while we ate inside

It was a really nice pub, and the food was excellent. We especially enjoyed sharing a bowl of warm chips, cooked just right. It poured outside while we were inside, and it was still raining when we set out again. 

It rained hard about three times while we were walking, and rained more lightly off and on for the rest of the day's walk, though we did have several "clear" periods. We went through a moor-land type of place with old mine spoilings that was kind of interesting, and then through a muddy forest path with deep ruts. We were following the Monarch's Way for part of the time, and it took us onto a busy road which was rather terrifying to navigate, but we made it safely to the next part of the path. 

Waymark for the Monarch's Way

After several more fields and a bit of difficult pathfinding, we made it to our Harptree Hideaway, a beautiful annex of three rooms. It was so restful and inviting, we wished we could stay there more than one night. Sara went down to the community shop in the village and got some rolls, Somerset ham, and local cheddar cheese (we are after all near the Cheddar Gorge), and we had a simple dinner at home. Our hosts had left us some things for breakfast, but we really enjoyed the shortbread biscuits they left to have with our tea!

Our cozy Harptree Hideaway

B2B Day 13 A Slightly Rainy Rest Day in Wells

In the morning, we heard the dog whining again. As Sara was headed to the bath, the host brought up the milk for tea and asked if we had spent the night with one of her dogs, because it was missing. Sara said we had heard a dog whining in the bedroom next door--it turned out it was not a bedroom but a storage cupboard, and the dog had been there all night. The host gave Sara the key, and Ken unlocked the cupboard; the dog seemed happy enough to go through our bedroom and down the stairs.

The cupboard door

Sara then made the unpleasant discovery that she had a tick on her leg. Ken had also had a tick when we were at Porlock, but he removed it (we think) quite soon after it attached. Sara's looked like it had been there longer. We went down to ask our host's advice, and she kindly loaned us some tweezers and Ken removed the tick perfectly. We are aware of what to watch for when it comes to Lyme disease, and the majority of ticks do not bear this disease with them. Still, it was a bit worrisome that we have both had ticks this trip, and we are now frequently checking to make sure we haven't picked up any more.

We went to the Wells museum, and could have spent much longer there. There were various things, from prehistoric bones to a display about the caves at Wookey Hole, to a library, to young girls' sewing samplers, to a World War I display, to a series of information panels on Samuel Taylor Coleridge's poem "The Rime of the Ancient Mariner."

We had a brief look at the Bishop's Garden, and then went to St. Cuthbert's to have a proper look at it. It rained hard while we were inside. 

The interior of St Cuthbert's Church, with painted roof

 We had a late lunch/tea at the Market Cafe, and then went to the Cathedral. We took the 3:00 p.m. tour with Malcolm, and he was an excellent guide, very enjoyable and enthusiastic. 

The interior of Wells Cathedral

 After the tour we waited for the evensong service at 5:15. It was beautiful, with works by Tallis and Byrd, two of Ken's favourites. We sat with Patsy at the service, since it was easiest to meet us there in order to take us to their home for dinner. 

We had a wonderful time talking with Patsy and Graham, and had a delicious dinner of lamb, vegetables, and strawberry-rhubarb crumble for dessert. We could have talked and talked, and ended up leaving around 10:00 p.m., Graham driving us back to our B&B. It was a lovely conclusion to a day of rest in Wells that had begun rather strangely.

B2B Day 12 Catcott to Wells: Across the Slough of Despond Part II

For an OS map of today's long, mostly wet walk (13.4 mi; 21.6 km; 333 ft total ascent), click here.

Our morning began with a wonderful breakfast left on a tray at the foot of the stairs leading up to our suite, including fresh berries and warm croissants.

Our amazing breakfast

We knew that today's forecast was for rain, especially in the afternoon, but we were hoping that it would not be as bad as our 2013 experience, which was 17 miles of rainy road walking across what we nicknamed the "slough of despond" (click here for an account). At least today's walk was several miles shorter and started out without rain. After walking out of Catcott, we came to a field with a footpath through chest-high grain. 

Sara on the path through the grain

We later saw a woman walking on a farm road parallel to us, and she said that it was easier--local knowledge we didn't have.

We entered a Nature reserve with several hides for watching birds, and one of the farms was Canada Farm.

After some road walking, it started to rain. We were surprised to come upon the Avalon Marshes Centre, which looked quite new (link). We ordered two slices of quiche and sat inside the cafe/information centre/craft centre. We were at a table next to two ladies who were cyclists, and we had a good chat with them. The heaviest rain of the day fell while we were inside talking. 

After we resumed our walk on the road, we passed a plaque indicating a helicopter speed record had been set there (link). Further along the road, there was a group of tractors from various eras going before us and turning down the driveway where we were headed: Sweet's Tea Shop and Peat and Science Museum. There was a "crank-up" event held by the Wessex Stationary Engine Society.

Because it was raining, we didn't really look around, but we did rest and had some cake. Then it was more and more road walking. At first there were some interesting things to see, like the Red Devon cattle who saw the farmer's tractor go by, and they all rushed to the fence closest to him and started bawling as though they were begging for food. 

The bawling red Devon cattle

We also saw a field with Exmoor ponies, who had been imported to graze for a specific purpose. 

Because we took a road that was parallel to the one we took in 2013, we eventually reached the "exit" of the worst footpath we experienced, where the nettles were so bad we had to climb the gate rather than go through the stile. The exit still looked bad, though maybe not as bad. We were glad that we hadn't come that way. 

It rained some more. We couldn't take many pictures because of that. We again passed a water pumping station with a bench that we couldn't sit on because it was too wet. Further along the road, we were just talking about how in 2013 two young women on horses had ridden past us, looking down on us literally and metaphorically. One minute later, two girls on horses rode by, and they gave us really nice smiles when we said hello, so that felt like an improvement on the previous trip.

In 2013 it rained almost the whole time we walked, and the road walking nearly did us in. We were (at least Sara was) literally crying when we got to Wells because the road walking had been so painful. We were close to a repeat experience this time. 

We knew we wanted to visit St. Cuthbert's Church, and we thought it would be a chance to rest before arriving at our B&B. There was a clergyman inside, and Sara asked him if there was going to be a service. There was, in five minutes. We decided to stay for the service. It was beautiful, involving going to three different stations to think about Christ's resurrection. When we were asked to stand and walk to the different places during the service, we were both pretty stiff and sore but managed to remain upright! We chatted for quite some time afterwards with the small group who had attended, and a couple named Patsy and Graham invited us to dinner the next night, which was a very special invitation for us to receive.

When we got into Wells proper, we had a difficult time finding our B&B. Ken knew which building it was supposed to be in, but it was a medical building at the front. We walked up and down both ends of the street and couldn't find it. We finally walked down a side alley and found the owner coming home after walking her dogs. She took us up to our room, but seemed distracted. One of the dogs came into the room, and she shooed it out. She also closed a small door leading from our bedroom to what we thought was the bedroom next door. When we were in the room after she had left, we could see that there was a wet spot on the bed made by one of the dogs, and the bedding generally didn't seem very clean. 

We went for dinner after 6:30, and we decided to go to Ask, an Italian chain restaurant. We really liked our oval pizza, and we also had dessert--white chocolate mousse and a chocolate "Etna" that had hot sauce poured on it so that it "erupted." On our way home, Ken took several photos of Wells Cathedral.

Wells Cathedral

We found that we could also see the cathedral from our bedroom window.

The view from our window

We were quite tired from our challenging day of walking. We could hear a dog in the bedroom next door whining a bit and scratching, but it soon settled down.

B2B Day 11 North Petherton to Catcott--Blocked at Every Turn

For an OS map of our (frustrating!) walk from North Petherton to Bridgwater (2.9 mi; 4.7 km; 20 ft total ascent) click here.

For an OS map of our (much happier but much hotter) walk from Westonzoyland to Catcott (5.3 mi; 8.5 km; 375 ft total ascent), click here.

Sara at the bus stop

We had a lovely breakfast of fruit and granola before leaving Kate and Richard's and setting out on the day's walk. Ken had pored over the map trying to find a logical place to cross the River Parrett to get to Westonzoyland. There were very few crossing places, and we planned to make our zig-zaggy way across. One of the most direct routes was to use the A-road from North Petherton to Bridgwater (which had dedicated walking and cycling lanes), and then cross the Bridgwater-Taunton canal and the Parrett in quick succession before heading east to Westonzoyland, a village with a notable church and battle site. The forecast called for lots of sun and heat, and it was already hot as we walked out of North Petherton. Along the way we heard a gentle "beep" of a car horn, and it was Kate in her van driving to work. That was fun.

We attempted to walk to where we would cross the river, and the road was closed. We looked to see if pedestrians could cross through, but it didn't look like it. We walked back down that road and tried to cut through a medical centre parking lot to the other side, but were blocked from exiting the facility. We then walked around the block to the next road, tried to walk down it, got as far as the "canal side" businesses, looked towards where we needed to walk and saw heavy machinery digging. We started to venture towards one of the workers, but he motioned us back and said, "Sorry!" So we knew we weren't getting across.

Having tried three times, hot, and frustrated, we decided to give up and take the bus to Westonzoyland. We caught a bus nearby to the Bridgwater bus station, where we had a 45 min. wait for our next bus. We went to the store right there, which was an ASDA, basically the same store as WalMart. Somehow it felt surreal.

The bus got us to Westonzoyland, where we went into the church there.

Inside, there was a man named John who was fixing the dishwasher in the little kitchen that had been installed at the back of the church. He was an interesting person: he was a retired engineer who was commissioned to inspect church towers in Somerset, was a bell ringer, and helped set up the Battle of Sedgemoor exhibit in the church among other things. He offered to take us up the tower--we've learned to always to accept such unique offers--and he showed us the bells and the clock. It was a tight spiral staircase, and made our legs a bit stiff going up the 131 steps.

John and Sara on top of the church tower

We enjoyed the view, and went down and took a break for lunch at the Sedgemoor Arms pub, which was serving "light" lunches. We then went back to the church and looked at it, including the amazing carved ceiling.

The amazing carved ceiling of Westonzoyland church

We also looked at the informative and well-crafted display about the battle of Sedgemoor, the last civil battle fought on English soil during the Monmouth Rebellion. Sara found it helpful for understanding a bit more of the politics behind the eighteenth-century poet John Dryden's "Absalom and Achitophel," which is an allegorical account of the rebellion. We concluded by singing "Amazing Grace" in the church and agreeing with the rector Chris that "It's all about grace," before setting out again.

We started out along a road near a small airfield, then found the footpath. A few fields later, the footpath wasn't evident, but Sara thought she could discern one through the middle of the field. The grass was incredibly long, and it was like wading through water to get to it.

Ken wading through grass to get to the footbridge (on the right you can see the tall reeds where the ditch is)

The landscape in this area is crossed with ditches and drains (rhynes, which we found were pronounced "reans"). We got to the centre of the field only to find that there was no footbridge across. We waded through grass to the side of the field to find the footbridge, and later Ken discovered that there was an actual path which Sara had assumed was yet another ditch! Walking was much easier after that.

We crossed a footbridge over a larger body of water, and rested on the bank for awhile before continuing. We passed through a field of friendly cows who were almost cute, and they followed Sara for awhile.

Friendly cows

We walked on the road after that, crossed an A-road to a public footpath, and had to climb the gate to get out at the end because the stile was so covered with nettles that it was impossible to navigate.

We arrived at our absolutely lovely B & B, which was a self-contained suite, to be greeted by a bouquet of fresh flowers and a restful atmosphere. We relaxed before walking to the Crown pub in Catcott, which we had loved before in 2013. It was still a great place to eat.

Sara and Ken in a cozy corner at the Crown

We had a friendly publican who chatted with us and took our photo, and people came to sit in our area who were also friendly. We talked a long time with a couple who were camping nearby. When it came time to say goodbye to them and leave, Sara almost walked out the door without paying for the meal! All in all, it was a satisfying conclusion to a challenging day.

B2B Day 10 Crowcombe to North Petherton--A Fyne Day on the Quantocks

For an OS map of today's walk (13.2 mi; 21.2 km; 1,514 ft total ascent) click here.

Our day began with a lovely breakfast at Puddies Meadow B & B.  The breakfast was particularly good. There were fresh berries, and we especially liked the thin toast which was toasted with a grid pattern. Our host Trish offered to make us some sandwiches because we wouldn't find any at the village shop, and we gladly accepted. Her husband Rob showed us the way to the path, and Olive the dog demonstrated how we should leap over a short fence onto the path, but we left the leaping to her, and we more sedately stepped over the fence and began our uphill walk.

We walked through several fields and then through moorland, and came to The Drove, a wide dirt path through the trees. On either side, there was an old stone wall with trees growing on it, their old roots twisting down to the bottom of the wall.

Ken on the Drove

We set out onwards to Wills Neck (the highest hill of the Quantock range), and there were several people on horses who rode by. One woman said that the views ordinarily weren't that clear, but today you could see Wales. 

The horses (as you can see, it was a grey and sometimes rainy day)

One of the views from Wills Neck, with Minehead in the distance

We walked down one hill, then on the back of Lydeard Hill, overlooking the Vale of Taunton Deane. It was quite chilly, and we approached a car park thinking that we might find a bench to sit on and eat our lunch. Sara said she felt she must be hallucinating, because she smelled chips cooking. We were hoping that the smell meant there was a refreshment stand or van at the car park. There wasn't. It was a family with a camp stove cooking just on the side of the hill. We sat on a bench parallel to them, and when the woman cooking doled out the food and said, "Sausage, sausage, sausage" as she gave each person their sausage, we were hoping she would keep going to give us a sausage as well, mainly because we were so cold. That didn't happen. Instead, we really enjoyed our tomato and cheese sandwiches, which were delicious. We were surprised that we had two sandwiches each, so we ate one and a half for lunch. 

We carried on downhill, and a little later decided to take the (more direct) road instead of the Macmillan Way, which went far down, then back up the hill. The road was much more level but quite busy and tiring on the feet after a couple of miles. However, at a junction we were surprised to come upon the Pines Cafe.

The Pines Cafe, at a busy intersection

We stopped there, and shared a slice of lemon cake, which was fine but not outstanding. We continued on a less busy road till we got to Fyne Court, a National Trust property. It was very busy, but in a nice way. It was near the end of the day for their cafe, and the cafe had run out of some things (like scones). We were glad we had opted for an ice cream each because it was warm by this time. We sat at a picnic bench outside and watched the families. The little kids in one family were having a great time with some strands of what we call sticky weed--the weed that is long and stringy and sticks to you, and if you let it keep growing, it later forms burrs. The kids were playing a kind of tag by throwing the sticky weed onto their dad and trying to make it stay. 

Fun at Fynes Court

After resting, we set out again and came down to a valley Ken really liked.

A pastoral view as we started our valley walk

After the valley, we went on a forest path which went on for several miles. At first it was nice, but after awhile we got really, really tired, almost as tired as if we had been walking on a road (the path surfaced hardened more and more as we went until it was almost as hard as asphalt. Finally we came to the end of the forest, got to an actual road, took the second public footpath we came to, followed the path . . . and ended up at a locked gate even though we thought we were on a public footpath. We had to climb the gate, and the road didn't seem quite right after that, but Ken got us oriented and eventually to our B&B in North Petherton. Our hosts Kate and Richard were friendly and welcomed us into their home, and I got to do laundry. Ken went to a store to supplement our dinner of the sandwiches we had left from lunch. We ate in the garden and enjoyed seeing all of the plants and hearing the birds sing. Kate is an artist, and we really liked the style of their home.

B2B Day 9 Luxborough to Crowcombe--Leaving the Coleridge Way

For an OS map of today's walk (13.23 mi; 21.3 km; 1,943 ft total ascent) click here.

Today we were both tired and wondered if we would make it to our night's destination, but we did. We had several uphill and downhill parts to the day's walk.

The host at the Royal Oak had kindly dried our boots, stuffed with newspaper, by the radiator. Ken asked if people still took newspapers, and the host said that they did take two newspapers that came once a week. The inside of our boots were nice and dry, though the outside looked still wet with bits of grass and other things. Walking through the fields today cleaned them up somewhat.

We began going through fields which had thankfully mostly dried from yesterday's rain. We encountered many, many sheep, including a field of rams.

A shorn ram

It seemed to take a long time before we got to the forest path.

One of the views, showing the reddish soil of the ploughed fields

Crossing one field, it looked like there were two cows guarding their fort from intrusion:

Cows defending their hill fort

We went through Longridge Wood, which was well-waymarked (always a comfort, since forest paths can be deceptive, as we've found!).

We arrived at Roadwater and stopped at the Valiant Soldier pub, where Ken had a pint of lemonade. The publican was really nice, and we liked the feel of the pub. We then went to the Roadwater store, run by volunteers from the community.

A bench outside Roadwater Stores

We bought two sandwiches, one of which we thought was ham and tomato. When we got outside the store to a bench outside where we were going to eat (with a nice garden beside it), we found that it was cheese and tomato. I went in to mention the incorrect labelling, and they kindly gave us a ham salad sandwich and let us keep the cheese and tomato sandwich. We enjoyed seeing people come and go to what seemed like a very busy community shop.

As we were leaving Roadwater, we saw thatchers newly thatching a roof, which was fascinating to see. On one side of the house, the workers were taking handfuls of straw out of large bags and fitting them onto the roof. On the other side of the house, one worker was using what looked like a hedge trimmer to trim the straw roof, and the other one had what looked like a flat toothed instrument with which he whacked the roof to pack things down and comb out loose bits.

Thatchers at work

 Instead of going up on the official Coleridge Way, where there was a friendly horse waiting at the path entrance,

we decided to walk along a trail that was formerly the West Somerset Mineral Railway. Sara took a photo of the mineral railway waymark.

We don't watch Dr. Who, but doesn't it look a bit like a tardis?

We walked through a tunnel that took us under the railway, and up a steep uphill farm track. When we got to the top, there were dire warnings about how impassible the road was. Having walked from bottom to top, we believed it! No car or truck could get down there and return to tell the tale.

After we reached the top of this dire farm track, we decided to take a different (and we hoped, more level) path than the Coleridge Way. We began by opening a gate in a garden's fence that was like entering wonderland. It was beautiful, and the pathway was mown. The next path was nice as well: though without a path, it had a good meadow.

Ken walking through the meadow

The next field, however, had no discernible public footpath, and where the footpath should have been was full of brush, fallen trees, and other obstacles. We thought we saw a faint trail in the grass, walked along it, and came to the other side of the field. No gate or outlet. We went down a slight slope through ferns and other plants to see if we could find the path or gate, but there was nothing. We ended up turning right and walking along the fenceline to find an outlet. We ended up trespassing through a farm with quite a posh-looking manor house, up on a red muddy path to the farm road and then out. We lost a lot of time doing that. Farmers are obligated to keep the public right-of-way open, and we were not too happy that the one in whose field we found ourselves had not done so.

Once back on a path, it took us through several fields, including one of grain that felt soft to the touch if you waved your hands over it while walking:

Walking through waist-high grain

We arrived in Monksilver and stopped at the Notley Arms for a pint of lemonade. It was a beautiful pub, and the people were friendly. We sat out in the garden and heard the bell-ringers practicing. We really liked that village, and as we walked out we chatted with a woman who was one of the bellringers.

The village of Monksilver

After walking through two fields with the path bounded on one side by an electric fence, and on the other side by the ever-present nettles, we walked through a sunken lane and then on to Stogumber walking on the roads. 

At one point, we were heading uphill on a road, and we saw a man driving several cows down the road. We asked him what we should do, and he said just to talk to them as they walked down. The cows were extremely skittish, and they balked and didn't want to go past us. We were worried they would hurt themselves, because at certain points they were almost climbing over each other to turn around and get away from us. The man behind them in a vehicle managed to coax them past us. We discovered later that the cows had "lost it" in their excitement and that our trousers had been somewhat affected by the encounter.

At Stogumber, we stopped at the shop but there were no sandwiches.We went on to the pub where Ken got a pint of lemonade, and we walked along the road to Crowcombe. When we arrived in the village and were heading down the street leading to our B&B, it was a bit surreal to experience a teenager going down the street on a segue playing loud rap music. We've been out in the countryside so much it seemed out of place. We met our host Trish on her way to Yoga class, who greeted us and told us that her husband would make us at home. He did. We ate our dinner in the garden, and Rob brought us some tea. Olive the lovely black lab kept us company, and we enjoyed seeing the birds and flowers. It was nice to end so peacefully what was a long and sometimes painful day of walking.