WALKING WITH ANDREW SWIFT

Bailbrook Church in 2001 St Marys Swainswick c.1910

Four churches walk

Andrew Swift follows an eight-mile walk starting from the city centre and visits four villages –Bailbrook, Swainswick, Woolley and Charlcombe –each with very distinctive country churches

As well as the four churches, this walk gives you much else to see, ranging from ancient manors, cottages and farms to Bath’s newest standing stone. Best of all, it features a succession of spectacular views, from which you may deduce that it involves stiff climbs and steep downhill sections – and, as these may be slippery, stout footwear is essential. It’s also a good idea, as there are no facilities en route, to carry water with you. But, if you’re well prepared, few walks will give a better sense of how inspiring, surprising and deeply rural the countryside around Bath can be.

Head north from the city centre along Walcot Street and continue along the right-hand side of the London Road. Shortly after crossing the entrance to Morrison’s car park, bear right along Kensington and take first right down Meadows Lane.

Go past the bollards at the bottom and bear left to head diagonally across Kensington Meadows towards a gate in the far corner, passing Bath’s newest-standing stone en route.

Once through the gate, carry straight on for 100m before turning left along Grosvenor Bridge Road. At the end, turn right along the London Road, and after 325m, fork right by Lambridge Stables along a shady path (ST765665). Follow the tarmac path as it goes under the bypass and curves left.

At the road, carry straight ahead across two sets of lights and turn right. Take the first left up Eveleigh Avenue. Turn left again after 225m and, at the end of the avenue, go through a gap in the fence and head up to Bailbrook’s tin church. Opened in 1892, this fell into disuse in the 1960s but in the 1970s was bought by Graham Boys, who converted it to a home. For many years it was the focal point of the annual Bailbrook Fete, with hundreds of balloons being released from its tower.

Turn left through the village for 175m, and, just past the former Sunday School, turn right up a lane. After 50m, turn first left along an unmarked track (ST765671). Follow it as it curves right alongside the bypass before climbing through woodland to emerge on a path between barbed wire fences with views over the Lambrook Valley.

At the end, continue along a lane between houses, and at the road cross and turn right uphill. Carry on past a turning under the bypass, but after another 250m turn left into Swainswick. Follow the lane as it curves left and carry on past the village green before turning downhill by Hill House.

As you head down, you pass a turning on the right to Tadwick (ST757684). Before heading along it, continue down to the 12thcentury church of St Mary’s, where both John Wood the Elder and John Wood the Younger lie buried.

After taking the Tadwick turn, you pass the 17th-century manor house and barn. Some 450m further on, look for a public footpath sign on the left, go through a gate and follow a field track towards a group of buildings. At the end of the field, go through a gate and turn left over the Lam Brook. Beside it lies Woolley Mill, where gunpowder works were established by Bristol merchants in 1722. Some of the gunpowder was used in local quarries but most went to Bristol from where it was shipped to Africa to be bartered for enslaved people bound for plantations in the West Indies.

After climbing past Manor Farm, follow the lane as it bears left through the village of Woolley. A left turn down Church Street leads to All Saints Church, designed by John Wood the Younger in 1761, with a glorious view across to Swainswick.

Head back up Church Street and turn left. After 30m, turn right to follow a footpath sign uphill (ST748684). Cross a stile beside a gate and carry on up a drive. Go through a kissing gate (KG) on the left and carry on uphill. Follow a well-trodden path into a copse running along the top of the field, continue through two KGs and carry on in the direction indicated by a waymark. At the top of the field, follow a track up rough steps before turning left through a gate. As you carry on alongside a wall, the views eastward are stunning, and, as you are 30m higher than Little Solsbury, you have the curious pleasure of being able to look down on it.

Go through another gate, carry straight on and, at the end of a

John Wood the Elder’s burial slab at St Mary’s Swainswick

drive, go through a gateway (ST742679). As you continue, you will see the new Ensleigh housing development, on a former MOD site, ahead. When you come to a lane, bear left, and after 100m bear right along a footpath. The view from here encompasses much of Bath’s southern escarpment as well as the Mendips and the northern flank of Salisbury Plain, with the Westbury White Horse visible on a clear day.

After 120m, turn left across a slab stile and head downhill. After going through a KG, bear left over a stile to follow a permissive path along the bottom of a field (ST745674). The track may be slippery at the far end, and, as you go through a KG and turn down a steep path, you also need to watch your step.

At the bottom, a KG leads to the church of St Mary’s, Charlcombe. Parts of it are Norman, but according to legend it is much older, having been founded by the Abbess Bertana in 675 AD. Steps opposite the porch lead down to a quiet garden, with a holy well in the bottom left-hand corner.

A gate in the bottom right-hand corner leads down to a lane. Turn right along it and, after 400m, just past the gates to Charlcombe Manor, bear left along a rough lane which soon becomes a tree-lined path (ST747670). Before long, houses appear on the right and the path widens to a lane. When you come to a road, carry on in the same direction for another 350m. After passing Ragland Lane, when the road curves down Marshfield Way, branch right to carry straight on along Summerfield Terrace.

After 180m, when the road curves uphill, carry on down the steps ahead and bear right to head down a steep path. At the bottom, turn right along a footpath for 125m, before bearing left down a narrower path. At the road, cross and head down Gay’s Hill. At the bottom, turn right past Hedgemead Park, cross at the zebra crossing, head down steps and turn right to walk back alongWalcot Street to the city centre.

Fact file

n Distance: 8 miles

n Approx tme: 4 hours

n No facilities on route

n Level of challenge: Largely straightforward, although with a stiff climb and steep downhill sections which may be slippery. Stout footwear essential. Livestock may be encountered on the climb from Woolley to Lansdown. There are also narrow lanes where you need to watch out for traffic.

n Map: OS Explorer 155

More on the details of this and many more walks can be found in Andrew Swift’s Country Walks from Bath, published by Akeman Press; akemanpress.com.

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