On Foot
THE SHERBORNE COUNTRY WAY
“Y
Bill Brown
ou can see for far enough.” I remember my father saying as we stood on a hill top. I’ve always liked that rather quaint sentiment because it suggests that there is no need to be able to see any further! Anyway you’ll certainly be able to “see for far enough” this month as I take you up over four high hills on the next four sections of the Sherborne Country Way. Last month we finished up in the Rose and Crown at Trent: it is from there we shall resume our circular walk around Sherborne. However, before hitting the hills, there is something we really must do, and that’s to visit St. Andrew’s church, just opposite the pub. Like St. Mary’s back in Bradford Abbas, it is superb. Before entering, ‘remove any pattens or clogs’ you may be wearing: inside you will be greeted by beautifully carved pew ends, a fine screen, glorious stained windows and much, much more. Continue through this splendid village, past the Manor House where Charles 11 hid whilst ‘on the run’, turn right at the corner where there is a cottage with amazingly tall chimneys stacks. Where the road turns left, continue ahead and take to the hills. At the top of Charlock Hill cross over the B3148 and follow the lane opposite to Sherborne Golf Club. Here turn left down the side of the golf course to the hamlet of Holway. As you leave Holway there is a fine life-sized wicker bull looking up to the Corton Ridge, and what an excellent ridge walk it is. You’ll certainly be able “to see for far enough” from up here. The views are exhilarating: don’t rush, enjoy picking out the landmarks: Corton Denham church stands out magnificently down on your right, but what about the distant hills – surely that must be the unmistakeable Glastonbury Tor? In another direction, are they Polden Hills, The Mendips or even the Quantocks? As you near the end of this walkers’ delight your eye will increasingly be drawn to the isolated hill in front of you, the fabled Cadbury Castle. I tell the story of this
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hill, so steeped in Arthurian legend, in the full guide to the SCW (details on how to obtain a copy are at the end of this article) so I won’t go into it here. All I will say is that in order to escape the sound of the thundering herd of traffic on the A303 walk around the rim to the far side and sit on the peaceful ramparts overlooking the little village of Sutton Montis. Here is a delightful place for a picnic: you can trace the route that brought you here along the Corton Ridge and look forward to the next section up over the Sigswell plateau. Should you doze off and dream of King Arthur don’t worry, but do make sure you are fully awake when you descend the steep track down to South Cadbury. To reach Sigwells, walk a short distance back towards the Corton Ridge, climb a stile on your left and make your way up towards the head of a truly magnificent valley. On your way you will pass close by mounds that are all that remains of the medieval village of Whitcombe. At last, after a really sharp pull up through a wood, you finally come up to Sigwells, a small hamlet and the highest point on the whole of the SCW – 188 metres, or if you prefer, as I do, 616 feet. It was up here that the first evidence of bronze being made in this country, was discovered. There are also ghosts of a more recent past: HMS Heron was an airfield established up here in World War Two to take the pressure off the Royal Navy’s airbase in Yeovilton. There are now vast views ahead as you cross the plateau and make your way down into a deep grassy valley to Charlton Horethorne where the King’s Arms awaits thirsty walkers! I do hope you will join me next month as we complete our journey back to Longburton. You can buy a copy of the Sherborne Country Way at Winstone’s and the Abbey bookshops as well as the Tourist Information Centre in Sherborne for £2.95. As well as full details of the route, it is packed with information to aid your enjoyment. At least £1 of every booklet sold will be given to the Macmillan Cancer Unit in Yeovil Hospital.