A walk around Malmesbury

This month’s walk by Andrew Swift centres on the ancient hilltop town of Malmesbury. This three-mile walk takes in the abbey, the foundry, the 14th-century courthouse, the 15th-century market cross and the tomb of King Athelstan, grandson of King Alfred

High on a hill in a loop of the River Avon, surrounded by water on three sides, Malmesbury seems almost like a last outpost of the middle ages. When King Alfred established a fortified borough here in 878, its abbey was already over two centuries old, and it would grow to become one of the grandest in the land, with a spire taller than Salisbury Cathedral. The spire collapsed in the late 15th century and soon afterwards the abbey was dissolved by Henry VIII. The town walls went a century later, torn down by decree of parliament after the Civil War. The nave of the abbey survives, though, as one of the most evocative parish churches in the country, and the course of the walls – with views across open country – can still be traced today.

This three-mile walk around the town starts in Station Road longstay car park (SN16 9JT; ST932875). Few car parks are so attractively sited, with a picnic area alongside the river, and the abbey high on the hill above. As for the station, that closed in 1951, and all that survives of it today is a converted engine shed.

To start the walk, head towards the south end of the car park and turn right across a bridge. On your left are the gardens of Abbey House, largely 16th century, but built on the undercroft of the 13thcentury Abbot’s House. When you come to two signposts, bear right to take the step-free route. At the road, cross over to look out from the walls across open country. The strips in the pavement to your left mark the site of the town’s West Gate.

Turn right along Abbey Row towards the Triangle – originally Sheepfair. Keep to the left and a few metres further on turn left down Burnivale. The spire dominating the view along this narrow street is all that remains of St Paul’s, Malmesbury’s original parish church, which fell into disuse in the 16th century.

After 250m, when the lane ends, turn right along a bridleway. After crossing a bridge, turn right alongside the river and follow the path as it curves to cross a clapper bridge over a mill leat.

Turn right alongside the river – although not before making a short diversion to the left to take in the classic view of the town, with the abbey rising above its rooftops. After following a path across the meadows, cross a stile at the end and turn right across Truckle Bridge. Turn right at a T junction and right again at the main road, before taking the first left along West Street past weavers’ cottages which narrowly escaped redevelopment in the 1970s.

After 100m, when you emerge in Horsefair, head for the far corner to carry on along Foundry Road. The foundry, which you’ll find 100m along on the right, was founded in 1870 and is still in business today. From there, retrace your steps a little way and turn left (opposite Piglet Cottage) down a lane between high walls.

At the bottom, cross and turn right. After 125m, as the street curves right, turn left down a path running between gardens which then leads alongside the river. At the end, cross the path you walked along earlier and climb a flight of steps with an inset timeline of Malmesbury’s history. At the top, bear right past the north side of the abbey to emerge by the Old Bell Hotel, built around a 13th-century abbey guesthouse.

Turn left along Gloucester Street and left again by St Paul’s spire, to emerge by the 15th-century market cross at the top of the High Street. The gateway leading to the abbey, with a lock-up or ‘blind house’ on either side, is 18th-century, but the building next to it, now Rajah restaurant, was a 14th-century abbey guesthouse.

Head east along Oxford Street towards Tower House, which also dates from medieval times and is said to have been visited by both Henry VIII and Charles I. Its tower, which was built as an observatory, was added in 1834.

Turn left and follow the road as it curves down Holloway, passing the remains of the East Gate and running along a causeway at the bottom. Just before the bridge, turn right down steps to follow a footpath which may be muddy in places, but is well signposted.

After 225m, just before a stile, you pass the abutments of a bridge which carried the railway. Veer left across the next field, cross a footbridge at the end and turn right along a lane. As you cross Goose Bridge, look to the right to see Tower House silhouetted against the sky – and to appreciate how well defended the town must have been, with steep slopes encircled by the river and topped by high walls.

A little further on, after passing a flight of steps leading up Back Hill, the street widens to reveal an eclectic ranges of ancient buildings. The unassuming hall which lies through an archway on the left was the 14th century courthouse. At the end of St John Street, turn left to see a 12thcentury arch of St John’s Hospital incorporated into 17th-century almshouses.

Across the river are Avon Mills, built in the 1790s by a clothier from Bradford on Avon who relocated here after his workforce rioted when he introduced new machinery. Cross into the memorial gardens and turn right along a path with the backs of houses in the High Street to your right, their gardens running down to the river.

After passing a play area at the end, cross a bridge and head uphill. Turn right along King’s Wall, which after 40m leads past King’s House, one of Malmesbury’s grandest buildings, although, like so many of them, stripped of the render which once covered its rubble stone.

King’s Wall ends by the site of the South Gate. Turn left up the High

Street and take the first right along Ingram Street. At the end, turn left along Silver Street which leads into Cross Hayes, once the site of the cattle market. At the far end is the Town Hall, where you will find the Athelstan Museum (entrance free), the tourist office and a cafe.

On the left-hand side of Cross Hayes was the George Inn, one of the largest in town, but now a veterinary hospital. An alleyway just beyond it leads to the High Street, where a right turn will take you past the market cross to the abbey.

Look out, as you tread the path to its entrance, for an unassuming gravestone on the right, recording, in faded lettering, the fate of Hannah Twynnoy, killed by a tiger from a travelling menagerie in 1703. And then, as you enter the porch, some of the most sublime Norman carving in the country confronts you in all its glory. There is much, too, to see inside this extraordinary building – not least the tomb of King Athelstan, the grandson of King Alfred, as well as a welcoming, dogfriendly cafe.

And from here it is but a short walk downhill back to the car park. Many more walks can be found in Andrew Swift’s Country Walks from Bath published by by Akeman Press; akemanpress.com

Fact File

Length of walk: 3 miles

Although this is a town walk, a fair part of it lies through water meadows, and there are several stiles, as well as steps. It is also reasonably dog friendly, and dogs are also welcome not only in the museum but also in the town hall and abbey cafés.

True colours

As the weather begins to brighten and temperatures rise, now is the time to start thinking about colour, says Elly West, who shares her top tips on how to acheive the perfect palette.

One of the many pleasures of gardening is the opportunity to experiment with colour, and to enjoy the countless combinations that occur. Sometimes these are carefully planned, such as Vita Sackville-West’s white garden at Sissinghurst, full of whites, creams and greens, or the more vibrant ‘hot borders’ at Hidcote, but I also love the surprises that spring up in nature, such as the medley of colour in a summer meadow, or something self-seeded in the perfect spot in the garden. With the weather starting to warm up and the garden springing back into life, now is a good time of year to assess your borders, think about colour, and make some choices about what to include and exclude.

It might just mean moving some plants around, or restocking a whole border, but a bit of planning and perhaps limiting the palette can make all the difference to the overall feel and style of your garden, and whether it has harmony or discord.

In terms of our senses, colour is perceived immediately and directly, with the power to affect our mood, so what we choose to grow in our garden can have a huge impact on our enjoyment of a space. It’s also a chance to personalise your plot, so don’t be afraid to experiment.

Looking at a colour wheel is a good place to start. Sir Isaac Newton created the first known circular diagram of colours in 1666, with seven main colours to fit in with the colours of the rainbow. A modern colour wheel groups colours into three categories, primary, secondary and tertiary colours. The three primary colours are red, blue and yellow. These are unique as they can’t be produced by mixing other colours.

The secondary colours are those that sit between the primary colours: orange, purple and green. Mix a secondary and a primary colour together and you get the tertiary colours, such as blue-green or red-violet. One side of the wheel then has warm colours (reds, oranges and yellows) while the other has the cool colours (blues, greens and purples).

Harmonious colours are those that are similar and sit next to each other on a colour wheel. Blues, purples and pinks will create a beautifully calming colour scheme with a soft ‘modern-cottage’ feel, while vibrant oranges, reds and magentas together are invigorating and intense, but still harmonious. Complementary colours are opposite each other on the wheel, such as blue and orange, yellow and purple, or green and red. These can create some of the most striking of colour combinations with one making the other ‘pop’ in contrast. As the artist Marc Chagall said: “All colours are the friends of their neighbours and the lovers of their opposites.”

Vibrant yellow daffodils work in spring alongside red tulips and blue muscari, giving a fresh burst of primary-coloured zing

Then there are paler and darker shades of each colour as you add white or black, adding up to the 17 million colours thought to exist. The Royal Horticultural Society has also put together a colour chart, first published in 1966, as a way of standardising and recording plant colours. This has since been used extensively by growers, horticulturists and registration authorities to identify and describe plant colours precisely. This chart has 920 colours with unique letter codes and numbers, as well as a name, and the colours are all based on the natural world, so can be matched to flowers, fruits and other plant parts.

Light also plays a big part in how colours look in the garden. Reds have the longest wavelength, looking best in bright sunlight, and maintaining impact and visibility over a long distance. Blues on the other hand have the shortest wavelength in the visible spectrum, and readily blend into the background as you move further away, particularly darker blues. Whites and yellows brighten dark corners, and can be seen for longer in the evenings as the light fades.

Sticking to a colour scheme makes it easier to create a successful design. A good starting point is to find images in a magazine or on the internet, or even a piece of artwork that you like, and create a mood board of plants, borders and colours. Take it with you when you’re plant shopping as it’s easy to be distracted once you’re there. Any given colour palette will change through the seasons as well. Vibrant yellow daffodils work in spring alongside red tulips and blue muscari, giving a fresh burst of primary-coloured zing, while your summer palette could be more harmonious pinks and purples, giving way to russet browns, whites, pale beige and orange in autumn and winter. The colour of a fence can also make a difference to how your plants look. Painting fences dark grey or black is a good trick to make the colours of your plants really stand out. A dark green yew hedge is also a perfect foil for most plants.

Generally speaking, strong, bright colours will create excitement and vibrancy while pastels and muted colours will bring a sense of relaxation. Greens and whites are cool and sophisticated, and perhaps the ultimate in simplicity and calm.

Creating a border can be like painting with plants, but more fun as your palette is ever-changing depending on the light, weather and the time of day. Plants present their colours in different ways as they grow; flowers open and fade, giving way to pale seedheads or vibrant berries. Leaves that unfurl fresh green in spring may turn red and golden in autumn. Their diversity of form is also unlimited. A blowsy pink dahlia will have a different impact to tiny sprays of pink dianthus. Nature presents us with an almost unlimited spectrum to play with, so have fun trying things out and see what happens. n ellyswellies.co.uk

Plant of the month: Cornus

The complementary colours red and green are seen at their best as the new leaves of Cornus alba ‘Sibirica’ emerge against the vivid winter stems. Cornus, otherwise known as dogwood, is grown mainly for its colourful winter stems, in firework shades of red, orange, green and yellow. These deciduous shrubs are good planted in groups with early spring bulbs, or as fillers in a border. They aren’t particularly exciting in summer, but have good autumn colour and come into their own once the leaves have dropped and their colourful stems are revealed. Plants prefer moist soil and some sun. Coppicing produces the best winter colour –cut all the stems back to ground level in early spring at around 5cm from the ground. The new stems will then spring up from a permanent low framework. ‘Elegantissima’ has attractive green and silver-white variegated leaves and red stems, while ‘Midwinter Fire’ has unusual red, orange and yellow multi-toned stems.

An exquisitely presented, stylish 4 bedroom, 4 storey Grade II listed period townhouse, located in a highly desirable residential area within 5 minutes’ walk of Bath Spa station and the city centre.

This handsome property has exquisitely presented, stylish accommodation which benefits from a beautifully secluded southwest facing well stocked garden to the rear, enjoying lovely views.

The accommodation, which has retained a wealth of period detail is entered at street level into an attractive formal hallway with original exposed floorboards. To the rear, enjoying beautiful views, there is an impressive bay fronted formal drawing room with an elegant period fireplace and intricate period cornicing detail. To the front there is a generous study, also with a pretty fireplace which could also be used as a snug or occasional bedroom 5.

The first floor accommodation comprises a stunning master bedroom to the rear with wall to wall bespoke wardrobes and a lovely ensuite shower room, along with a large well-appointed family bath and shower room, with a feature roll top bath. In addition, there is a mezzanine level guest WC. On the top floor there are 3 further bedrooms, 2 lovely spacious doubles and a smaller single which would make an ideal nursery or further office.

At garden level there is a beautiful open plan bay fronted dining and family room, which leads directly to the garden and is linked to the well-fitted contemporary kitchen to the front.

Externally to the rear there is a charming southwest facing paved sun terrace that spans the width of the property with steps that lead down to a beautifully stocked walled garden with a level lawn and a central wooden Arbor, which leads through to a pretty rose garden.

Cobb Farr, 35 Brock Street, The Circus, Bath; Tel: 01225 333332

Clarendon Villas, Widcombe

•Exquisitely presented stylish accommodation

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£1,500,000

Mill Lane, Beckington

Guide Price £1,200,000

A stunning and simply individual barn occupying an elevated position affording brilliant, west facing countryside views, all finished to an extremely high specification.

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Lansdown, Bath

OIEO £650,000

An attractive, beautifully presented, sympathetically extended and comprehensively renovated 3 bedroom mid terrace family home, located in a highly prized residential address on Bath’s sought after northern slopes.

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• Bi-doors leading onto the sun terrace