COME WALK WITH ME

The view over Luccombe Bottom

The Slow Coach Road

Andrew Swift takes us to a place that has changed very little in 300 years - you can even imagine one of Thomas Hardy’s literary underclass heroes on the atmospheric Slow Coach Road, he explains

For over 250 years, anyone wanting to get from Bath to Salisbury will almost certainly have gone via Warminster. In the early 18th century, however, a very different route was popular enough to have a regular stagecoach service. Part of it was even turnpiked.

This route started with a stiff climb up Widcombe Hill, before crossing Claverton Down and dropping down Brassknocker. From there it continued through Limpley Stoke, Freshford and Lower Westwood, across Trowle Common and down Cock Hill into Trowbridge. You can still drive this route today, although much of it lies along narrow lanes. Beyond Trowbridge, though, the road has been downgraded to a bridleway known as Green Lane before the tarmac returns to lead south through Steeple Ashton to Tinhead, now part of the village of Edington.

From here the road climbed steeply onto Salisbury Plain and headed south for 12 lonely miles before dropping down to Stapleford, where it joined the road along the Wylye valley. This section – known as the Slow Coach Road – was never turnpiked and remains much as it was three centuries ago, a rough track across the plain, with a series of monolithic milestones marking the distance to Bath and Sarum – or Salisbury as it’s known these days.

Much of the Slow Coach Road is now off limits, as it runs through land commandeered by the army for manoeuvres, but the northern part forms part of this month’s walk, which starts in Edington.

Edington lies four miles east of Westbury on the B3098, although the quickest way to get there from Bath is to head for Trowbridge and then follow a minor road through West Ashton. There is a large car park just north of the B3098, by Edington Priory Church (ST926532) – although if it happens to be full you can park further along the lane to the east.

The priory church – dedicated to St Mary, St Katherine and All Saints – is one of the finest in Wiltshire, while the Priory, to the north of it, incorporates part of the former monastic buildings. Today, the Priory’s grounds are private, but in the early 20th century they were popular pleasure gardens, with boats for hire on what was originally the Priory’s fish pond.

To start the walk, go into the churchyard, turn left, go through a gateway and head along a path. At the end, turn left and then right by Boxwood Cottage. After passing a succession of thatched cottages, turn left along Greater Lane for 50m before following a footpath sign through a kissing gate (KG) on the right. Go through another KG, climb a few steps and turn left alongside the hedgerow. Follow the hedge as it curves along the south side of the field, and, when you come to a gate, go through a gap beside it, cross the main road, turn left and then right to follow a footpath signposted to the Plain (ST922528).

This is Sandy Lane – although mud may be more evident than sand as you climb up a steep holloway. After going through a KG, you emerge into the open, passing a reservoir on your right.

As the track curves uphill, the views open up westward over Bratton Camp and Bratton Village. The conical hill rising above you on the left is known as Picquet Hill, while the vast natural amphitheatre scooped out of the downland below you on the right has the vaguely ribald name of Luccombe Bottom.

Follow the track as it curves round the lip of the bottom, through a landscape dotted with neolithic burial mounds, to start heading south. Carry on through a gate and, 250m further on, after going through another gate, turn left alongside a fence (ST927520).

Carry straight on past two large sheds, ignoring paths branching right and left. At the end, go through a gate and turn right along a lane. After 900m, when you come to a junction, follow the lane as it bears left (ST938514). (The leafy byway winding onward, tempting though it may appear, comes up against the army exclusion zone only a little way along.)

After passing the turning to Tinhead Hill Farm, the lane degenerates to a stony track as it climbs past Tottenham Wood, at 226m one of the highest points on Salisbury Plain. As the views open up eastward, the track descends before rising to meet the Slow Coach Road at the sort of bleak spot where you might expect a character from one of Hardy’s novels to be set down at twilight from a carrier’s cart.

This lonely place hasn’t changed that much in the last 300 years, and as you turn left to head back to Edington, it doesn’t take that much imagination to visualise a rickety stagecoach appearing over the brow of the hill. Confirmation that you’re on the Slow Coach Road comes after 100m in the form of a huge milestone on the left (ST 945529). Although the inscription has nearly worn away, you may just be able to make out: XIX Miles from SARUM, XVII to BATH, 1763.

The views northward from here are superb, but, after, passing a track branching off to the left, the road soon dips down into a holloway, which grows ever steeper as it descends. It’s hard to believe stagecoaches ever struggled up here, and trying to keep control of them as they jolted downhill doesn’t bear thinking about. It’s easy to see why this came to be known as the Slow Coach Road – and why it fell into disuse.

As you approach Edington, tarmac and buildings reappear. At the main road, cross over and head up Charlton Hill, which soon dwindles to a footpath. At the bottom, head across a patch of grass and turn right for 25m to a building now called Mulberry House, but originally the George Inn, where coaches between Bath and Salisbury stopped to change horses. The road between here and Brassknocker was taken over by the Tinhead Turnpike Trust in 1752, but, when the road through Warminster was improved a few years later, it soon became clear that the road over the plain could not compete and the trust was wound up in 1768.

Head along a footpath to the left of Mulberry House and when you come to a lane carry on in the same direction for 300m. At a T junction, turn left along the lane to return to the car park. n

Many more walks can be found in Andrew Swift’s Country Walks from Bath, published by Akeman Press; akemanpress.com.

View northward from the Slow Coach Road

Fact file

n Starting point: 3.5 miles; 4.5 miles with optional visit to amphitheatre.

n Length of walk: 5 miles

n Level of challenge: Generally straightforward, with no stiles and mostly on well walked tracks

n Map: OS Explorer 143

n Refreshments: Three Daggers Inn (with microbrewery and farm shop) on the B3098 at Edington (BA13 4PG;

ST 932533)

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