Andrew Swift oct.qxp_Layout 1 23/09/2021 11:38 Page 1
THE | WALK
Looking down on Wellow
On the trail of the Ruralists
Andrew Swift wanders in Wellow, enjoys a view of the Cam Valley and Wellow Church, encounters the Roman Fosse Way and discovers a steam mill, richly decorated tombs and a medieval wall painting.
W
ellow is one of Somerset’s hidden gems. Less than seven miles from Bath, it lies in a deep valley, approached by winding lanes, and yet it contains a wealth of ancient buildings, as well as one of the county’s most historic churches, a medieval packhorse bridge and a splendid country pub. You could once catch a train to Wellow from Green Park, and, although the rails have long been lifted, the station survives, having been converted to a house by the artists Peter Blake and Jann Haworth, who used the signal box as a studio. They came to the village as part of a group of artists called the Brotherhood of Ruralists, who sought to re-engage with the English pastoral tradition, and this seven-mile walk explores some of the landscapes that inspired them. It starts, however, in another glorious but much smaller village, Combe Hay, which is signposted from the Odd Down Park & Ride roundabout. After following a narrow lane south for 1.5 miles, turn left into the village and after a third of a mile, as the lane starts to drop downhill, you should be able to park – considerately – beside the high wall on the right (BA2 7EG; ST734599). Walk on down the lane, which bears left and then right before starting to climb. After 300m, turn right down a stony bridleway signposted to Hen & Chicken Court. Just before a bridge over the Cam Brook there is a muddy section. Once across it, however, the going improves as the bridleway starts to climb. Carry on through a gate and after another 225m, when you come to two gates, go through the metal one on the left. As you continue to climb, the way grows steeper and rockier, with water coursing down, but this soon gives way to something gentler, and the views start to open up. Go through a wooden handgate, continue along the edge of a field and, when you come to the corner, bear left to carry on alongside the hedgerow. After 450m go through a handgate and carry straight on 60 THeBATHMagazine
|
ocTober 2021
|
issue 224
through another handgate with a footpath waymark (ST748597). Up to your right is Upper Twinhoe, while to your left is a view over the Cam valley. At the end of the field, carry on through two more handgates and bear left. Go through a five-bar gate by a barn at the end of the field, turn right along a lane for 20m and then left along a drive to Middle Twinhoe Barns. After 50m, go through a KG on the right and bear right alongside the hedgerow. In the corner of the field, go through a KG and turn left alongside the hedgerow. After 150m, when the hedge swings left, carry on along a track heading straight up the field. When you come to a metal handgate, go through it, turn left along a lane and almost immediately go through a metal handgate on the left (ST748591). Carry on with the hedge on your left, but after 250m, when the hedge curves left, follow a signpost straight on towards a KG with a view down to Wellow Church. Head steeply downhill, continue down a track through the undergrowth and, after going through a KG, follow a track winding between gates marked private (ST742585). Carry on through a KG and, when you come to two KGs together, go through the one on the left and after 65m turn right into the churchyard. Wellow Church has an unusual dedication – to St Julian the Hospitaller, whose statue is above the porch door. For a village church it is also unusually large and contains some real treasures, including richly decorated tombs in the Hungerford chapel, a medieval wall painting of Christ and the Apostles and a 15th-century rood screen. Head west out of the churchyard and carry on along the pavement past a succession of ancient houses, chief among which is the manor house, dating from 1634 and once the home of the Hungerfords. A little further on you come to the heart of the village, with the Fox & Badger pub looking out over the square where Wellow Fair was once held every October. There was once another pub opposite – the George, which closed in 1925 and became George House.
