ON FOOT IN FRAMPTON

The Orangery from Wicks Pool

An avenue of trees

Frampton Churchyard

Frampton on Severn has the rare distinction of featuring two rivers in its name. Curiously, though, neither the Severn nor the Frome – which gave it its original name of Frometon – flows through the village. There is another waterway, however – the Gloucester and Sharpness Canal – which passes much closer to Frampton, and it is along this towpath that we set off to explore what is widel y hailed as one of England’s most beautiful villages.

Such plaudits are due not to Frampton’s setting, but to the way it seems to have grown slowly and organically over the centuries. It has its architectural showpieces, to be sure, but for the most part it is more modest buildings – some dating from the middle ages – that catch the eye. The overall impression is one of spaciousness. Nothing seems crowded, and, with so much room to expand, old buildings were, as long as they remained fit for purpose, generally left alone. And with such continuity, echoes of the past seem to linger. The village green, one of the largest in England, is known as Rosamund’s Green, after Rosamund Clifford, Henry II’s tragic mistress, whose family have been lords of the manor since the 11th century. It is, however, only fair to wa rn you that, as well as being spread out, Frampton also has lots of muddy paths, so stout footwear is e ssential. By the same token, if you are thinking that a walk round a village sounds a little tame, think of it as a country walk with more than the usual quota of interesting buildings.

As for getting there, public transport is sadly not an option. The start point, however, is a mere 2.5 miles from Jun ction 13 of the M5 – although a more pleasant option is to head north from Bath along the A46 for 20 miles before cutting across country through Frocester.

As you enter Frampton, turn right, following a sign for Saul Junction. After 900m, turn left, cross a swing bridge and turn right into a car park. Saul, incidentally, got its name from the sallows or willows that are so abundant hereabouts. The canal op ened in 1827 and at the time was the widest in the world.

Head south along the towpath past the swing bridge. The factory you pass on the opposite bank as you approach the next swing bridge was built by Cadbury’s in 1916 to blend cocoa beans and sugar with milk from local farms before they were shipped to Bournville for further processing. As you pass the swing bridge, look out for the bridge-keeper’s cot tage – one of several along the canal – a miniature Greek Revival gem. A little further along the towpath is Saul Lodge, built for the canal company’s chief engineer. Beyond it, views open up westward across the Severn. After another 1500m, cross the canal at Splatt Swing Bridge, follow the lane ahead and turn left at a T-junction. After passing a converted 18th-century malthouse, turn left. Timber-framed C hurch C ourt Cottage, set back behind gardens on the right, dates from the 17th century. Beyond it is St Mary’s church, with elaborately carved gravestones in the churchyard and a giant processional figure of St Blaise inside.

Just past the church, go through a squeeze stile, turn right alongside the churchyard wall and follow the path as it leads through an avenue of trees. On your right, as you emerge thro ugh the lych gate at the end, are B uckholt Cottages and Buckholt House, both of local brick. Notice, as you turn right along the lane, how Buckholt House has been extended south not once but twice.

Although many of the houses along the lane are modern, some are much older –cruck-framed Wild Goose Cottage on the left, for instance, or the Old Thatch, with a boarded gable end, on the right. Both probably da te from the 15th century. As the lane curves right, carry straight on past 17th-century Oegrove Farm – looking to the right as you do so to see a 400-year-old wattle-panelled barn.

Just past Denfurlong Farm, turn left along a footpath. After 250m, when you come to a pair of metal gates, cross a stile and carry straight on. The lakes bordering the path here are flooded gravel pits. There was quarrying here as early as the 17th century, but large-scale extraction only began around 1900, when much of the Andrew Swiftfollows the towpath in Frampton to explore a country village: he discovers a village green named after the tragic mistress of an English monarch, a chocolate factory, a malthouse and a woolbarn

gravel went to build Avonmouth docks.

Go through a kissing gate and carry on in the same direction. After another kissing gate leads into a field of boats, head to the left of the converted barn ahead. Cross two stiles and follow a permissive footpath sign pointing diagonally left across the field ahead.

Carry on across another stile. After the next stile, you need to turn left along a rough lane past a cottage. Before you do, though, y ou may want to carry on into the next field for an uninterrupted view across parkland to Frampton Court, built in the 1730s.

At the end of the lane you emerge onto Rosamund’s Green. Turn right and carry on alongside a wall. As you pass the court’s main gates, you can glimpse an octagonal dovecote. The court can be glimpsed behind the high wall a little further on. The piè ce de r ésistance, though, lies behind the next gates. The Orangery is an exuberant mid-18th century Gothick folly, described by Country Life as “the prettiest garden building in England”, which is now a four-bedroom holiday let.

Beyond it is Frampton Lodge, built in two stages, as you can tell from the brick – the four bays to the right first, the three bays to the left later. From here, cross to the Bel l Inn, in front of which is the ground of the village cricket team. It is hard to imagine a finer setting or anything more quintessentially English. A s you walk along the west side of the green, you pass a couple of 18th-century buildings before coming to the 17th-century Red House, with walls of local brick, tiles of local stone and a wooden dovecote. From here, look across Wick’s Pool, choked with bulrush es and marsh marigolds, for a s plendid – if distant – view of the orangery. Just past the Red House is the gloriously evocative Manor Farm, dating from the 15th century, with a 16th-century wool barn alongside. The barn can be visited on request, and the gardens are open between 2.30pm and 4.30pm on Mondays and Fridays from 20 April to 24 July.

Carry on along the green and you come to Frampton’s other pub, The Three H orseshoes, and The Ley Bistro, after which the green ends. More timber-framed cottages await discovery here, until you turn right by Church Farmhouse along Whittles Lane, passing the last of them – 16th-century Tulip Cottage – and crossing a stile at the end. Carry on into a soggy field, head for a metal gate in the far right-hand corner and cross a stile beside it. Head up to the canal bank , turn right and carry on in the same d irection as the track drops down into a field. A stile at the end leads back up onto the bank at Fretherne Swing Bridge, which you cross to head back along the towpath to Saul Junction. n

Andrew Swift’s Country Walks from Bath is available from bookshops or direct from akemanpress.com. Andrew is also co-author, with Kirsten Elliot, of Ghost Signs of Bath

FACT FILE

n Starting point: Saul Junction pay and display car park, GL2 7LA (facilities include café and toilets)

n Distance: 5 miles

n Map: Ordnance Survey Explorer OL14

n Terrain: Several stiles and muddy field paths

n Refreshments: The Bell Inn (thebellatframpton.co.uk), The Three Horseshoes; (threehorseshoespub.co.uk); Ley Bistro (leybistro.co.uk); and Stables Café (thestablescafe)

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For information on the Orangery a nd Frampton Manor Garden, visit framptoncourtestate.co.uk