“Last year rain, this year floods!”
Ann, Kath and Marian’s Short Ramble – 11 April
What a surprise when 22 people turned up for our walk! It was wonderful to see you all. We had changed the start point from Birlingham to Woollas Farm because of flooding which meant for a slightly chaotic start, but we soon got into true ERC mode and everything was fine. The walk was a familiar one, but that didn’t detract from its beauty. From Woollas Farm we walked along the Wychavon Way, before descending to the edge of Great Comberton. We stopped for coffee just beyond there and looked towards the steep slopes of Bredon across the green pastures of the narrow valley. What a wonderful view! Lambs gambolling, still keeping close to Mum, happy to be alive, even though they must have seen precious little sunshine in their short lives. As we approached Nafford, Frank told us about the John Bennett Wetland Nature Reserve, created when hundreds of tons of earth were excavated from the site and transported along the Avon by boat to make the flood defences in Pershore. An ecological triumph! We made a short detour to have a peek at Nafford Lock and to peer down from the Bridge to the turbulent Avon below. I did a bit more research when I got back and found that Nafford Mill was burnt down in a catastrophic fire in 1909. Its loss was much lamented at the time and the Evesham Journal described the place as a mecca for “artists, campers-out and other lovers of the picturesque.” Pictures of the Mill with Bredon in the background “have been hung at the Royal Academy and the spot has been generally acknowledged to be one of the most beautiful of its kind in the country.”Kath
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