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THE GREAT | OUTDOORS park. But as to what it looked like, that too is a mystery. Its most notorious resident was Sir Thomas de Gournay. Indicted for his part in the murder of Edward II at Berkeley Castle, he fled abroad, but was captured. Despite orders from Edward III to bring him back alive, he died in mysterious circumstances on the voyage home. Englishcombe, along with the rest of his estates, was confiscated by the crown, and passed to the Duchy of Cornwall, which still owns it today. The castle was razed to the ground and its stones were used by the prior of Bath Abbey to build a tithe barn, which still survives. So, despite the tranquillity that characterises Englishcombe today, it has seen turbulent times. And there can be few places whose history is so imbued with mystery, legend and conjecture. The two short walks described below – one a mile long, one 2½ miles long – explore some of the byways of this fascinating village. Both start at the churchyard gate and can be combined in a figure-of-eight circuit.
THE SHORT WALK For the first walk, turn left out of the churchyard and walk downhill along a lane thought to follow the course of the Wansdyke. As the lane starts to rise, you pass the old vicarage on your right and a cottage called Yeomans (said to have been a beerhouse in the
19th century) on your left. At a T junction, with the old school up to your right, bear left, and after passing the Old Forge turn left down Washpool Lane. Just before a row of redbrick cottages, look through a gate on your left to see the site of Culverhay Castle, neglected and overgrown, and on private land, so from here it is difficult to get any sense of its layout. Carry on as the lane dwindles to a narrow track and heads steeply downhill before crossing Padley Brook on a narrow footbridge. Carry on uphill and after 150m follow a footpath sign through a gate on the left. A little way along, you can look across to the site of the castle, whose profile – especially if raked by the late-afternoon sun – can now been seen more clearly. After joining a tarmac lane, bear left downhill at a T junction. When you come to the old stables, turn left through a gate and head down through an avenue of beeches. Cross the brook at the bottom and head uphill through a field where there may be cows. Keep close to the hedge on your left, and when you come to a gate with a footpath sign, go through it and head up a drungway. A right turn at the top leads to steps up into the churchyard.
THE LONG WALK This will take you mostly on quiet country lanes, with far reaching views across open country to the heights of Lansdown. It starts though with a walk along a green lane to the
hamlet of Inglesbatch. From the churchyard, head uphill to Rectory Farm, beyond which is a 14th century tithe barn, that was restored in the 1990s. Turn right and carry on past Manor Farm, which bears the crest of the Duchy of Cornwall. Tarmac soon gives way to a muddy green lane. After about after 500m it drops down a dark and rocky way, running with water, to a causeway across a brook, before climbing and continuing southwestward. The return of tarmac signals your entry to Inglesbatch (batch being a local word for a tump or hill), past more Duchy properties. When you come to a T junction, turn left and, after 700m, turn left at a crossroads. Ignore a turning to the right a little way along, and carry on, with views ahead to Twerton Round Hill and Lansdown. After 1,500m, turn left to return to Englishcombe. ■ More on Englishcombe, Twerton Round Hill and the Wansdyke can be found in Andrew Swift’s Country Walks from Bath, published by Akeman Press, £12. For information, including a comprehensive history of the village visit: englishcombe.net. Limited roadside parking is available in the village, but please park considerately.
THEBATHMAG.CO.UK
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Feburary 2018
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TheBATHMagazine 91