An Autumn Ramble
Lesley and Trevor’s Midweek Ramble 10 November
Ramblers:
We met on a damp and misty November morning in the lovely Cotswold village of Notgrove, at the village ‘Hub’ car park. Following a short introduction to this nine and a half mile walk and welcoming Janice Larner, a guest, we set off uphill passing the Old Post Office and Telephone Kiosk, now an Emergency Defibrillator Station. We joined the Diamond Way into the valley bottom before following fields and tracks, climbing gently uphill to the outskirts of the Salperton Park. Here we enjoyed a pop-up coffee and cake stop before moving on to visiting the small Norman Church of All Saint’s which stands beside the Jacobean Manor House of Salperton. The most compelling reason to visit is the wall painting on the south-west tower arch. As you can see from the photograph it depicts a skeleton grasping an arrow in its right hand and standing on a coffin. The scythe at its feet suggests that it might be an early depiction of Father Time. We then retraced our steps and crossed the cattle grid turning right, to follow the clearly defined track which sweeps up and down into the village of Hazleton (sometimes spelled Haselton). Here we visited the twelfth-century church of St Andrew’s, noting how different time periods have left their mark on the church, from the Norman features to the 14th century porch and Perpendicular tower, up to the largely Victorian interior. Our attention was drawn to the graffiti on the door jamb of the outer porch arch along with the crosses carved into the stone seats. During the medieval period when Hazelton lay close to a pilgrim route to Hailes Abbey, the roads were beset by thieves and cut-throats. Before setting out, travellers would cut votive crosses, hoping it would lend good fortune to their journey. We settled for crossing our fingers! Rejoining the Diamond Way/Sabrina Way we enjoyed big skies and wonderful autumn colour before dropping into the valley, passing Lower Barn Farm and eventually traversed a steep field and out onto a lane. Here the track took us across a ford and up a steep scramble into the village of Turkdean (Valley of the boar), taking its name from a combination of ‘Twrch’, an ancient term for boar, and ‘dene’, a Saxon word for a valley. Here we visited the Norman Church of All Saint’s. The most interesting feature is a 14th Century wall painting on the south face of the nave arcade. When the nave was rebuilt in the 15th century the builders reused a piece of the carved masonry for the earlier Norman church. In the north wall of the tower you can see part of a Romanesque arch, and on it a frieze of grotesque carvings. Leaving the church and turning right, uphill, to the green we joined the Macmillan Way/Sabrina Way. We followed the clearly defined by-way downhill and then up past Bolton Ring to Aston Road Wood opposite a field called the Apiary (many questions posed about this field name) where we enjoyed a relaxing lunch stop un-troubled by bees. Once replete we continued on the track into Cold Aston. Interestingly, the village name has varied over the years; in the Domesday book the village appears as Enstone and by the mid-13th Century it was known as Cold Aston, believed to be due to its high, exposed position within the Cotswold hills. By 1535 the village name had changed again, to Aston Blank – however, this proved unpopular with the locals and in 1972 the village reverted to Cold Aston! Here we decided not to venture into St Andrew’s Church but to continue on our way back to Notgrove. This turned out to be the right decision. We left the village taking the Gloucestershire Way signposted through a long break of beech trees in their full autumn colour, eventually arriving at the top of a field where the path dropped down to the bottom of a valley and up to a gate at the top of steep incline. Here we arrived at the outskirts of the village of Notgrove where the Church of St Bartholomew’s stands below the manor house. The most interesting historic feature is a Saxon carving of the Crucifixion, set in a niche on the exterior of the east wall. The niche itself is thought to be 15th century, but the Crucifixion scene is dated at least 10th century. Unfortunately we were unable to explore the church as a notice informed us that plaster had been falling from the ceiling and therefore made it unsafe to go beyond the font. However, a number of members were very taken with the wonderful stained glass windows in the south nave, depicting the four seasons. These are Victorian additions crafted by the famous London firm of Clayton and Bell. We retraced our steps to pass a barn with a pigeon loft and back onto the Gloucestershire Way, arriving at the Hub just as the rain, which had been threatening, started to fall. Pauline kindly proposed a vote of thanks for a wonderful walk and Trevor and Lesley wished everyone a safe journey home. 9.5 miles
Lesley & Trevor
The Fall in Feckenham
Alan & Pauline’s Short Ramble 17 November 2021
Ramblers:
On a dry but misty morning the largest group of the year assembled in Feckenham, having commandeered much of the available parking in the village. Approaching Mill Lane, Alan paused by Court Cottage to tell the group that in the Middle Ages Feckenham was the centre of a large hunting forest which covered most of Worcestershire. It had its own manor, courthouse, prison and hunting lodges where royalty regularly stayed. In those days, it was a large, important town, whereas nearby Redditch was just a small village. He also explained that in the 19th century it was part of the needle and fishing hook manufacturing industry. The mills that we would be passing during the walk used water from Bow Brook to power the machinery. After following the brook along a rising leafy path, we crossed the ancient Roman Salt Way linking Droitwich and Alcester, and picked up good bridleways that took us to our coffee stop near Morton Underhill. Beyond the hamlet, there was a gradual climb along a sunken track to reach a ridge with extensive views to the Malvern and Clee Hills. Gradually descending, we were treated to the full splendour of the trees along the slope, resplendent in autumn colours. We mastered several awkward stiles before arriving at the Worcestershire Wildlife Trust ‘Wylde Moor Reserve’, a peat wetland grazed by the ancient breed of Longhorn cattle. After splashing through the reserve, we soon arrived back in Feckenham, where twenty-three hungry members enjoyed the hospitality at ‘The Rose & Crown’. 5.3 miles
Alan & Pauline
Members hack it in Broughton Hackett
Alastair and Pam’s Sunday Ramble 28 November
Ramblers:
On a cold and frosty morning 13 Ramblers, undeterred by the weather, turned up at The March Hare at Broughton Hackett to walk a” Figure of Eight Walk”. It was gratifying to see so many on such a miserable day. A cautionary comment was made as to the afternoon fading light. The leader had recced two afternoon rambles, a short 2 hr ramble and a longer 3 hr one. A decision was to be made after lunch. The morning walk was varied; mostly open countryside and a little climbing west of Crowle. Then on to Crowle Green and back to Broughton Hackett. There was some concern that we might arrive at the pub too early but that was not the case. The March Hare looked after us well and everybody was ready to reassemble at 1.30 pm. Alan very wisely suggested that we should go for Plan B and the shorter walk. It was certainly the right decision. John, Andy and Emily joined us for the afternoon leg which took us across the fields down to Bredicot Lane and up to Churchill Woods, then the Marshes to Churchill Hamlet and back to Broughton Hackett past the Activity Centre. We finished the Ramble at 3.30 as the light was fading and thankfully the leader was happy that he did not need a torch on the final stage!! am 6.9 miles pm 5.5 miles
Alastair
