Andrew Swift nov.qxp_Layout 1 21/10/2021 13:20 Page 2
THE | WALK
The track is well walked, but rough and slippery as it meanders across the hillside. As you near the end of the field, follow it as it curves left through the hedgerow, where it turns even rougher. Bear right and you will soon find yourself walking alongside a green fence. On the other side – far below – is a bungalow in an old quarry. After passing a gate in the fence, follow a path bearing off to the left. Carry on in the same direction and, when you come to steps leading down to a hoggin path, carry on along it. These shelving woods, known as the Tumps, are said to have been ramparts protecting an encampment on the plateau above, but they have been so scoured by quarrying it is impossible to be sure. Follow the path as it heads down steps and at the end carry on down to squeeze past a gate onto the road. Cross and turn left uphill. Carry on past the beehive-topped gateposts of Bloomfield Crescent and turn right along Bloomfield Drive. After 40m, bear right to follow a rough track alongside the wall. At the end, a kissing gate leads into Corston View Open Space. Carry on in the same direction, go past a 7-bar gate at the end, cross a drive and head down a steep, slippery track curving past a quarry face. When you emerge in Rush Hill Open Space, head across to a gap in the fence, go down steps and turn right along the road. Take the second right along Ambleside, and at the end turn left along Kingsway. When you reach Englishcombe Lane, turn right. The Orangery, which you pass on the right, is the old Englishcombe Inn – opened 1934, closed 2008. After another 350m, turn left through a gateway into Englishcombe Lane Open Space. Follow a path diagonally downhill and after passing a play area, look to the left to see the Moorlands, with its six-storey tower, once home to Anna Sewell, author of Black Beauty. After crossing a drive, turn left down a footpath. Follow it as it curves left beside a fence, and turn right when the fence ends. Turn right along the road, and then left through Willow Green. At the end, cross and head along Hillside Road opposite. Go under the railway bridge ahead, bear right, head right up steps and
THE
KI TC HEN PAR TNER S DESIGN STUDIO
turn left along the Two Tunnels Greenway. Carry on under a bridge, but before you come to the tunnel turn left into Bloomfield Green. Head diagonally uphill and at the road turn left. Cross at the pedestrian lights by the Bear Inn, turn left across the bottom of Bruton Avenue and follow the pavement as it curves into Beechen Cliff Road. After 175m, just past Stanley House, turn left along a footpath and right at the end. After another 75m, turn left down a flight of steps. When you come to a signpost, turn right through woods. At the end, head down steps and bear left past a play area. Cross the road, go down steps to Calton Walk, and at the bottom turn right along St Mark’s Place to return to the starting point. n
Fact file
n Distance: 8 miles
n Level of challenge: Several flights of steps and rough and slippery paths n Refreshment stops: Cross Keys Inn, Midford Road BA2 5RZ (www.crosskeysbath.co.uk) n Map: The OS map includes few of the footpaths mentioned; a better option for checking out the route can be found at www.openstreetmap.org.
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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november 2021
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TheBATHmagazine 57
