Our first guided trip of the year started on Monday of this week. David and I (Alison) are spending the week guiding guests around the stunning landscapes, villages, scenery and sites of South Wiltshire and North Dorset on our Kings & Kingdoms hiking trip.
David and I welcomed the guests on Monday evening with a drink in the bar followed by a delicious dinner of fish and chips or pearl barley risotto. Understandably some guests were concerned by the forecast heatwave. But we discussed staying cool by drinking water every half hour, avoiding excessive exertion, and resting in the shade. We also had a backup plan: Foot Trails team member Alastair, would take any guests who didn’t want to walk in the afternoon back to the country inn after lunch each day.
Our first day’s walk (Tuesday) was ‘The Deverills’ (9.5 miles). David and I greeted the guests at 09.15 am ready to jump aboard our transport with Kevin and Andy driving us to our drop off point in Brixton Deverill. We walked five miles during the morning. Stopping regularly to rest in the shade and drink water and also to admire the view. From the top of Cold Kitchen Hill we had 360-degree panoramic views over sweeping countryside and the surrounding hills. Gorgeous!
A keen breeze accompanied our climb, helping to cool us. Overhead, kites and buzzards soared on the thermals. And we saw a field of blue flax growing in the valley below. We identified beautifully coloured wild flowers en route including pyramid orchids, poppies and purple thistles.
We then descended towards our lunchtime country pub where the team was on hand with plenty of water to cool us down! We enjoyed a delicious lunch of roast gammon with greens and new potatoes and, after lunch, we set off on our 4-mile walk to return us to our inn.
We called into a church and admired the clear glass window over the altar with a view towards the trees outside. The afternoon walk offered shade with a tree lined avenue that led to the Duke of Somerset’s estate and then a mile and a half through beautiful green woodland.
We arrived back to the country inn with a cheer! We had made it, despite the heat.
It was a wonderful day, full of laughter and chatter!
If you’d like to explore this idyllic corner of South West England, take a look at our Kings & Kingdoms trip or send us an email. We’d love to share our corner of England with you!
