Chesterblade - Sheep, Steam Engines and Squaddies

Almost a month has passed since we set off on our weekend adventure to Somerset, in pursuit of yet another Chester, this time Chesterblade, a hamlet just a few miles south of Shepton Mallet, the main town in the Mendip hills.

This was our second trip to Somerset, having visited the more famous Roman settlement of Ilchester in April 2014.  As with our last trip to Somerset, it was more convenient to get the bus than the train, so we found ourselves at Hammersmith bus station, after work on Friday evening, queuing up eagerly for Berry's coaches and our great journey to the West!

We've become very fond of Berry's coaches - the staff are really friendly and the bus driver kept us entertained as we trundled through the dark and barren landscape of Salisbury Plain.  We arrived in Shepton Mallet around 9pm and then followed the High Street towards the busy Bath Road and our accommodation at Mendip Lodge campsite.

Shepton Mallet High Street

Lodgings and victuals

I've stayed in yurts before, when I travelled to Mongolia in 2015, so I was quite excited to stay in a yurt again, but this time in England.  Mendip Lodge campsite was very quiet, because of the time of year, so there weren't actually any campers (quite cold to be in a tent).  We had some difficulty finding it in the dark, but the friendly owner, Maureen, guided us by phone until we found the entrance to the farm and our lodging for the night.

Candlelit lanterns at the yurt in Shepton Mallet

Maureen's husband Colin had prepared a fire in the yurt's stove, so it was very cosy when we arrived and the yurt looked absolutely magical in the flickering candle light.  We didn't have any victuals, as such, as we'd both eaten earlier, but we shared a bottle of wine and caught up on our respective lives, before preparing our beds and settling in for a good night's sleep.

Shepton Mallet inside the yurt

We absolutely loved the yurt, although it's by a busy road, so not as tranquil as we imagined it would be.  Yet, waking up in the morning, with late autumn sunlight streaming through the top 'window', then preparing breakfast in the nearby kitchen - it was a great adventure and brought us close to nature, whilst maintaining a level of comfort that is important at this time of the year!

Shepton Mallet yurt

Mendip Lodge campsite to Newman Street Farm (2.6 miles/4.2 kilometres)

We set out on our walk directly from the campsite - picking up a public footpath that brought us into a field which had some cows, lurking menacingly in the distance.  Rather than engage with the cows, we followed the footpath to Yellingmill Lane, then followed this lane way until it met up with Bolter's Lane.  We could see Beacon Hill and the Mendips, not far to the north, but we turned off Bolter's Lane at the curiously named Wagon and Horses Hill, before following the King's Road and then turning off on a track leading to Newman Street Farm.

Farmhouse near Shepton Mallet

Our path crossed the Fosse Way, a major Roman road from Exeter to Lincoln and one we've met, not only in Ilchester, but also in Leicester, when we walked there precisely four years ago.  The name fosse comes from the Roman word for ditch and it is little more than a track now, so it was barely noticeable, as we focused on the route I'd mapped out on my Ordnance Survey app.

Somerset countryside

As we walked, we talked about the recent visit of BAM (Best Aussie Mate)'s relatives from Australia and how wonderful it was to spend time with them.  Australia seemed like a very long way away, as we turned down the King's Road, with a picturesque corner of Somerset spread out in front of us and grey clouds scuttling overhead.

Sign post for East Mendip way

Newman Street Farm to Cranmore (3 miles/4.8 kilometres)

At Newman Street Farm we picked up the eastern part of the Mendip Way, a 50-mile walk from Weston-super-Mare to Frome.  We spoke briefly with a very friendly farmer at Temple House Farm, who pointed us in the right direction and we crossed a small lane and headed up along a slight incline in the direction of Cranmore Tower, a 19th-century folly, that was built on the site of a Roman settlement.

View towards Cranmore Tower

We didn't actually make it to the tower, as our path turned downhill again, along Dallimore Lane (more of a ditch really) to reach the houses at Dean, on the busy A361 road, the longest three-digit A road in the country.  As I have my fear of cows, so BAM has her fear of walking along busy roads, so it took a little bit of persuasion to get her to follow the A361 for 50 metres, until we picked up another public footpath on the far side of the road, which led us over a small hill, through a field, until we reached the village of Cranmore.

Walking towards Cranmore

Cranmore to Chesterblade (1.7 miles/2.7 kilometres)

We had a rather pleasant lunch in the churchyard of St Bartholomew's at Cranmore.  The name Cranmore means 'crane lake'.  We didn't see any cranes as we ate our lunch, but we could hear the huffing and puffing of the East Somerset steam railway, not far from the church.  By the time we'd finished our lunch and made it to Cranmore Station, the steam engine had vanished, like an illusion and we were left standing on the bridge, peering into the distance and wondering whether or not it had all been a figment of our imaginations, or a ghostly echo of times past.

St Bartholomew's Church in Cranmore

Cranmore railway station

From Cranmore, we followed the country lanes to Chesterblade and had another quick break in the churchyard of St Mary's Church, a very still and tranquil place that has a long history stretching back to the 12th century.

St Mary's Church in Chesterblade

Tree in churchyard of St Mary's Chesterblade

Chesterblade is one of the smallest Chesters we've ever visited and it seemed like a pleasant enough place, although there wasn't much going on there.

Commandment on Church wall in Chesterblade

Sign post for Evercreech

Chesterblade to Chelynch (3.2 miles/5.1 kilometres)

From St Mary's Church, we headed downhill along the Chesterblade Road, in the direction of Evercreech.  Less than a half a mile down the road, we reached the floor of a very small valley, where we looked for an ill-defined public footpath, taking us through some wildly overgrown fields until we reached Holcombe Farm and Holcombe Lane.

Countryside near Chesterblade

As we followed Holcombe Lane, across Brottens Road and under the railway bridge along Merryfield Lane, I told BAM all about my latest writing project.  We paused all conversation, as we carefully crossed the A361 again and made our way to Chelynch village.

Chelynch to Shepton Mallet (2.4 miles/3.9 kilometres)

At Chelynch, we picked up the Mendip Way again and followed this all the way back to Shepton Mallet, over Ingsdons Hill, where we could see Glastonbury Tor in the distance.  Not surprisingly, given its name, Shepton Mallet was famous for its wool industry, although we didn't see any sheep on our walk, just another herd of cows, who huddled in the corner of their field and looked at us wearily, as the rain came on.

View towards Glastonbury Tor

By the time we got to the railway viaduct at Shepton Mallet, it was raining heavily and we were keen to get back to our yurt and into some dry clothes before heading out for dinner. Someone stopped us in the street in Shepton Mallet to have a chat about life, travel and Northern Ireland, which would have been lovely, except for the fact he was quite drunk and it was raining heavily.

BAM walking towards Shepton Mallet

We also saw three rather drunken squaddies, getting soaked, as they were wearing only T-Shirts, but happily singing their way through a damp late afternoon, as they queued at the Co-op ATM, getting more money out to continue their revelry.

Myself and BAM had a rather less raucous, but arguably more pleasant evening, stuffing ourselves at Blostin's - a slightly expensive, but endearing restaurant on Waterloo Road.

115 miles to London

Access for wheelchair users

Sign post for Batcombe

The country roads and lanes around Shepton Mallet are fairly traffic-free, but this walk, in its entirety, would not be practical for a wheelchair user.  Probably the most interesting route for a wheelchair user would be from Chesterblade to Evercreech, then along Holcombe Lane and Merryfield Lane to Chelynch, although crossing the A361 might be a bit of a challenge.  

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