On Saturday 15th October, twelve of us (including three guests from other groups) plus a dog called Wellington turned up for a walk that the leader, Mike had graded moderate+. It seems he thought the word challenging might discourage people who would be perfectly capable of doing the walk. As it was, the walk contained a mixture of level walking and some hills, but nothing that gave any of us any difficulty.
We started from Great Bedwyn and followed the Kennet and Avon Canal towpath north-east to Little Bedwyn. Here we crossed a double bridge over the canal and the railway line into the charming hamlet of Little Bedwyn. We left it via a field and then crossed the railway again, this time at a pedestrian crossing and then the canal again at a road bridge.
Our first bit of uphill took us past Jugg's Wood and into Stype Wood, where we followed the Long Walk, a clear path through the wood, leading to Stype Grange. Not stopping for tea at what turned out not to be Mike's country house, we continued through Bagshot and Eastcourt Farm before reaching the village of Shalbourne. Here we stopped for our picnic lunch on the green outside The Plough pub. A couple of the group went in for a quick pint while we ate our sandwiches.
After lunch, we had another stretch of uphill, past Carvers Hill Farm and up to the A338, which we crossed into a field of maize, and the hiding place of numerous pheasants. Wellington, the dog, had to be kept on the lead as we passed through woodland and more fields, all occupied by pheasants.
Eventually we were out of pheasant territory and making our way (uphill again) into Bedwyn Brail, a mixed woodland in which we found some interesting carvings made from the trunks of trees. One of these was of a great head, in the style of the ancient stone carvings found on Easter Island.
Next we stopped off to see the Wilton Windmill, a five-floor brick tower mill located on a chalk ridge near the village of Wilton. The sails had been taken off for winter but it still looked quite impressive. From there we walked into Wilton, where we stopped off at The Swan Inn for a drink.
Suitably refreshed, we headed back to the Kennet and Avon Canal by the Crofton pumping station, which keeps the canal topped up at this, its highest point. The Crofton Beam Engines museum wasn't open so we didn't get to see the original pre-Victorian pumping station.
We followed the canal towpath back to Great Bedwyn, passing several locks on the way. The weather was now on the turn, with the promised rain just starting to make its presence felt. As we approached Great Bedwyn, we diverted from the towpath to walk through the village and then back to the car park, just as the rain was getting going. See our route on Bing Maps.
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