Pewsey

After a longish gap, Merv and I are back on the walking trail. We start our walk at Pewsey Wharf, just catching a view of a rapidly disappearing rainbow.

We head west under the road bridge and along the Kennet and Avon Canal. A surprisingly large number of boats are moored on the right bank.

We leave the canal after a short stretch along the canal and head towards Wilcot. This proves to be a small but very interesting village. The church of the Holy Cross has been altered several times since its foundation in the 12th century.   According to Pevsner it was much restored after a fire in 1876.

Opposite is a fine house ...

... with a pretty cottage next door.

The manor house, close to the west end of the church, dates from the early 17th century with remodelling in the 18th. It is very well concealed however. We continued along the path away from the village and were delighted to at least get a snap of this delightful circular stone dovecote dated 1737.

We tramped through Mannington Abbots and Charcott to reach the edge of Pewsey. We followed the rear fence of a line of houses and were intrigued to spot this lovely plant which had spread out beyond the fence. I wish I knew what it was.

Arriving in Pewsey we passed the Court House in Church Street. It dates back to the 16th century.

Turning left into River Street we passed a rather handsome brick building which could pretty much only be a former school. It was.

Further into the village we passed The Old Fire Engine House.

After a sandwich break we continued along the road, passing the railway bridge. The interesting thing was that we walked steadily uphill to return to Pewsey Wharf and the canal. I had always imagined that canals were at a low level relative to the surrounding terrain, but this is plainly not so.

Great Bedwyn & Crofton

The lock on the Kennet & Avon Canal at Great Bedwyn

This walk overlaps with two other walks we have done from Great Bedwyn: one to Wilton and the other to Crofton. It was still very enjoyable.

We started from the car park by the Canal and headed southwest along the tow path to the first lock where we left the tow path and climbed up a grassy hill. I paused after a while to take a different picture of the church of St Mary the Virgin than previously.

We headed across a field and entered some very muddy woodland to meet a broad path where left came from Bedwyn and right was signposted Windmill (i.e. Wilton). Soon we passed through a delightful stand of beech wood ...

... and soon after, the first concentration of bluebells we have seen this year. There would be several more.

We continued along this main path until we reached Bedwyn Brail and these two interesting wooden sculptures.

We turned right here and headed towards Wilton Brail, going downhill, across a quiet road and then up again. This is the view looking back.

We turned left in Wilton Brail and continued along the track emerging into a large field on the edge of Wilton.  On our left was surely the largest haystack I have ever seen.

A bit further along there was a nice view of the Wilton Windmill. It dates from 1821, after the Canal was opened. It continued in operation for a hundred years, but by 1931 it was derelict. It was restored in 1971 and now produces stone-ground wholemeal flour.

We reached a lane and turned right along a track leading to the canal and the railway.

It remained only to walk about a mile and a half along the tow path to return to our starting point in Bedwyn.

Conditions: grey, but pleasant enough.

Distance: 5.5 miles.

Map: Explorer 157 (Marlborough & Savernake Forest)

Rating: four stars.

Pewsey Wharf and the Giant's Grave

 

We started this walk from Pewsey Wharf on the Kennet and Avon Canal and walked east along the tow path, to soon pass under Pains Bridge. The still water provided a nice reflection.

Just beyond the bridge was a World War II pill box. They are scattered all along the canal and I recently discovered that their specific function was to provide a second line of defence in the event of a German invasion. It is just as well they didn't invade as it seems unlikely that a line of pill boxes, tank traps and blown up bridges would have provided much of a barrier.

In the background can be spotted the long ridge which ends in the Giant's Grave.

At first we didn't spot the Heron standing quietly on the opposite bank.

We left the canal at the next bridge - below is the next stretch of canal ...

... and headed north along a lane passing a few houses and walking along a delightful avenue of trees leading to West Wick. A little further on there was a glimpse of the House, with the Farm behind it.

We continued on the same line and began a steep climb which brought us to a ridge, where we admired the view of the ridge that lay ahead.. 

and shortly afterwards the view back ...

We continued along the ridge, part of the Mid Wilts Way (a new discovery, which we hope to do in its entirety). Walking along the ridge was exhilarating and soon we reached the top of the fancifully named Giant's Grave, more prosaically an Iron Age promontory fort, according to Pevsner.

We looked across towards the village of Oare and spotted to the left what had to be Oare House. Pevsner describes it as "an impressive townish house built in 1740 by Henry Deacon a London wine merchant".

 

As we descended we spotting this intriguing building over to the right ...

... and soon afterwards we had a great view back to the Giant's Grave

A series of field paths led us back to Pains Bridge where we turned right along the tow path to return to Pewsey Wharf.

Conditions: bright and windy.

Distance: 5.5 miles.

Map: Explorer157 (Marlborough and Savernake Forest).

Rating: Four stars. An excellent and varied walk.