Priddy

Mendip plateau near Priddy

We were in Somerset for the day, and having completed our business, finished the day with a late afternoon walk at Priddy - east along the Mendip scarp from Cheddar Gorge, where we walked only two weeks ago. Priddy is famous for being the highest village in the Mendips at 800 ft and also for its 600 year old Sheep Fair.

We hadn't realised it was on today! So we had to park on the edge of the village, rather than in the centre as planned. But quite by chance the farm used for temporary parking for the Fair was on the return route of the walk, so it all turned out quite nicely.

We walked into the centre of Priddy against a swelling tide of returning fair-goers and heard the appalling sound of "Yesterday" being sung as if it was a traditional folk song. We walked along the side of the famous village green, today covered of course with side shows and entertainments. We didn't see any sheep, but doubtless they were tucked away somewhere.

But soon we had left the village, heading west and already views of the plateau were opening up. We then turned south onto a path across a series of fields. It was already very windy, as you might expect on a high plateau, but we saw some butterflies (including, aptly enough, a Wall) sheltering from the wind and taking the sun on the stone field wall.

There were soon lovely views away to the west ...



... and then the path reached the edge of the Mendip scarp and there were simply fabulous views over the Somerset Levels.



You turn left (east) at this point - and walk along a wide grassy track along the edge of the scarp towards the Deer Leap viewpoint. The views looking across in that direction are even better, and you can see Glastonbury Tor just below the horizon.



After a short walk up the road from the view point, you turn left onto an old sheep drove, Dursdon Drove, and after following this for a while, left onto a farm track which eventually leads to the Wells road on the outskirts of Priddy. This is all very pleasant, but nothing compared to the earlier part of the walk.

Distance: 5.25 miles.

From: More Mendip walks by Sue Gearing (Cromwell Press, Trowbridge).

Map: Explorer 141 (Mendip Hills and Cheddar Gorge West).

Rating: four stars.


Flowers of the day

We saw a lot of this Corn Mint in the early part of the walk.



And several examples of this Wayfaring Tree (viburnam lantana) along Dursdon Drove. It is apparently characteristic for the berries to ripen unevenly from red to black.