We had picked the perfect day for our team walk in March. It was a beautiful spring morning, bright sunshine and not a cloud in the sky. Starting at a village shop in a wonderfully rural Wiltshire village, there was a definite spring in all of our steps as we set off. The air was fresh and clear, birdsong echoed overhead and the verges were full of primroses, snowdrops and daffodils, all adding wonderful splashes of colour everywhere we looked.
We walked out along quiet country lanes and past a grand country manor house, built in the late 1880s by a renowned Arts & Crafts architect (and furnished inside by the famous textile designer William Morris). Forking off the road, we entered a woodland, where we could already see the green shoots of bluebell plants emerging from below ground. In just a month or so’s time, this forest floor will be awash with indigo-blue flowers. The birdsong was noticeably louder among the leafless trees, and we soon spotted squirrels shooting up and down trunks, birds flitting between the branches, and, beyond the woods, a red kite wheeling in the sky above the fields.
We descended into a hamlet, past traditional thatched cottages and up onto a local lookout point offering breathtaking views of the Blackmore Vale. We rested for a while on a bench, soaking up the silence, the spring sunshine and a view that would not have changed much from Thomas Hardy’s time – it wasn’t difficult to imagine Hardy’s tragic heroine Tess driving the family’s horse and cart on the narrow lanes below us.
Having taken our fill of the sunshine and landscape, we headed north into more woodland, pausing briefly to watch a small group of deer bound up a ridge off to our left, before dropping down onto country lanes that took us back via a different route into the village where we started our walk.
The settlement is home to a remarkable church dating back to Norman times. Inside, we marvelled at the plasterwork in the chancel, which was designed in the 1700s by Dr Christopher Wren, father of the famous architect Christopher Wren. Even the magnificent yew tree in the graveyard has an impressive pedigree having officially been recognised as being at least 450 years old. It never ceases to amaze me how much history and what fascinating artefacts can be seen in these ancient, humble buildings.
Finishing our walk with a hot drink and a tasty treat from the village shop, we paused again to take in the peaceful setting before heading off back to Foot Trails HQ.
Emma
If you’d like to explore this wonderful part of South West England, simply send us a message. We’d love to discuss your walking plans.
