Walking DPS:Layout 1
2/16/17
MENDIP TIMES
12:01 PM
Page 46
Abbey circle is full of surprises
THIS quiet, ideal end-of-winter walk starts at impressive Downside Abbey at Stratton-on-the-Fosse and winds its way around with great vistas. It uses part of an old railway path, follows the River Somer and also visits an Iron Age hill fort. To finish, we follow a quiet lane which allows good views across country. This whole area was once a bustling centre of coal mining, but now it is a tranquil and green landscape great for a walk and probably an area you may not have explored before. I’ve designed this circle so that
With Sue Gearing PAGE 46 • MENDIP TIMES • MARCH 2017
walking is mainly on dry tracks and lanes with several stiles (but these are ok for dogs). There are no major hills. You can go to the welcoming visitor centre at the abbey to start or finish and have a coffee or tea but there are no pubs en-route. The King’s Arms Stratton-on-the-Fosse is only open for lunch on the weekend. However, the Holcombe Inn is only a short drive away.
PARK: Thanks to Downside Abbey we can park there. The entrance is on the A367 in the centre of Stratton-on-theFosse. Go up the Abbey drive passing buildings and come to the bookshop and visitor centre on the right. You can park anywhere up here. If full go on and turn up right into the coach turning area. The centre will give information about the abbey and is also well stocked with religious and spiritual books. The small cafe there offers tea, coffee and cakes (donations only, so please be generous).
START: It is well worth going into the magnificent main abbey church (the entrance is at the end of the building). As one of only four minor basilicas in England, it is an English Heritage Grade I listed building. The nave, the gate to the Lady Chapel and woodwork of the quire are just some of the highlights to see. The abbey church is at the heart of Downside which is a large monastic community and home to a leading Catholic school and sixth form. Walk back down the drive and before
you get to the road, at a house, Mogg Hill, turn up left on the marked public footpath through a wooden kissing gate which goes along the side of the abbey and grounds. This hard surfaced path gives great view of the abbey and views across Somerset to the right. Follow it on for about half a mile, through a small piece of woodland and then a more open park-like area and on. 1. SCHOOL Pass Chilcompton primary school at the end. Cross the road and follow the footpath ahead over a low stone stile. This leads to another road and turn right. On your left pass Fry’s Well, an early source of water for the village.
2. RAILWAY At the railway bridge go up onto the old line, once part of the Somerset and Dorset Railway serving the coal fields of this area and closed altogether in 1966. The former Chilcompton station is currently overgrown but the line between here and Midsomer Norton South two miles away is being rebuilt by the Somerset and Dorset Heritage Railway as part of several projects to reopen most of the line. Turn right and go along the old embankment. When you reach a bit of a cutting with a bank and hedge on each side go left on the well marked footpath through a wooden kissing gate, part of the Mendip Ring, round Mendip path. Go down the field, cross a footbridge and head diagonally across the small