Walking Sue Gearing

Enjoy autumn colours around Stourhead

A BEAUTIFULautumn or winter walk from King Alfred’s Tower down to Stourhead to enjoy the changing colours in the woodland and estate. Go from the tower down through woodland to the waterfall, grotto, temples and the Bristol Cross at Stourton and then go by the main house, past the sun obelisk and down into the open green valley of Six Wells Bottom. It’s a moderate circle with no steep hills –just two or three modest climbs and only two stiles. Walking is mainly good underfoot. In Stourton there is a great little snack outlet and the pub. You could also go up to the main cafe at the NT visitor centre (membership not needed). It’s not the first walk I have done from here but this is a variation and well worth doing. Expect Stourton to be very busy on a sunny day at the weekend during the autumn!

PARK: At the NT Trust car park for the tower on Kingsettle Hill, East of Bruton, or park somewhere at the roadside between there and the tower. There are two lay-bys right by the tower. Cross the road onto the wide grassy swathe and turn right to the magnificent tower.

1. TOWER

King Alfred's Tower, a 160 ft (49m) brick folly was designed by Henry Flitcroft in 1772 for Henry Hoare II in 1772. It is believed to mark the site where King Alfred the Great rallied his troops in 878. The tower commemorates the accession of George III to the throne in 1760 and the end of the Seven Years War. The tower is usually open on Saturday and Sunday afternoons, but check before you go.

Go on past the tower, to the left of it, and straight on nearly to the end of the grass, soon joining a path going into the woodland. This is a quite small, windy path and there may be some mud in places.

2. WOODLAND

It may not always be a very clear path, particularly if buried under autumn leaves, but just keep along it. The path bends left. Reach a crossing track and go left. You are now walking along near the edge of Kingsettle Hill with some views down through the trees. Ignore side turns. Reach a junction with a broad crossing track and here go right only a few yards and then take the first right downhill. It bends round. Ignore a track joining from the left.

3. TRACK CROSSROADS

Near the bottom arrive at a crossroads of tracks and turn left. Along here you are soon on the edge of the woodland with fields on the right. It drops down and then levels out, gradually going a little deeper into the woodland. At the next T-junction, turn right on a track, stony at first. At a fork, follow the yellow arrow straight on with open ground on the left.

4. GATE

Reach a five bar gate with a stile alongside which takes you along a path, next to a fence into the open – a pleasant contrast with the woodland. Follow this and reach a point where a track joins from the left through a gate, but you just keep straight on along the yellow arrowed path. Woodland is now on your left and grassland estate on the right. Pass a cottage over left in this parkland on the Stourhead estate.

5. LAKE

Soon reach a pretty inlet on the Stourhead Estate’s Garden Lake. Follow the main track on through a gate by a cattle grid. Pass a poem by Virgil exalting the open countryside. A large bank on your left supports the main lake and a smaller area of lake is on your right. Soon ahead on the right is a waterfall right and an old water wheel. An information board here is helpful. Carry on past the 19th century

6. ARCH

Turn left and immediately go under a dramatic grotto arch. Up right is the Temple of Apollo.

Like others on the estate it was designed to give beautiful views over the lake. The architect was Henry Flitcroft, a friend of the Hoare family.

7. STOURTON

Arrive at Stourton village at a very picturesque spot with the Bristol Cross.

This was known as the Bristol High Cross –a monumental market cross erected in 1373 in the centre of Bristol at the crossroads of four main streets. It was built on the site of an earlier Anglo-Saxon cross to commemorate the granting of a charter by Edward III to make Bristol a county, separate from Somerset and Gloucestershire. It became the site of special events – not always happy ones –in particular a number of beheadings. In the mid-18th century the cross was moved to the Stourhead Estate.

Here is a magnificent view over the lake and bridge to the Pantheon and the landscaped gardens. Over right is the church and on the left some of the estate cottages. Continue on to the Spread Eagle and courtyard. There is a snack and ice cream bar (great paninis) and of course the pub itself.

Go through the courtyard and parking area and along the path ahead which climbs uphill. After two bends, reach a signpost. Go left over the bridge across the road towards the main house and into the walled vegetable garden of the estate. Before crossing the bridge, you can make a short detour here up right and soon

OS Explorer 142 Shepton Mallet & Mendip Hills East, grid ref: 749 357, postcode BA10 0LB • 5.6 miles, about 3 hours walking.

come up to the main visitor centre and cafe. No membership needed.

Turn right in the walled garden and come out on the main drive to Stourhead House, with the castellated gatehouse entrance on your right. Turn up the drive left, passing three venerable sweet chestnut trees surrounded by hoop fencing. One of them is thought to be about 500 years old. Pass the stable yard on the left.

8. STOURHEAD HOUSE

Reach the magnificent Palladian mansion of Stourhead House. The Stourton family owned the estate from before the Norman Conquest. In 1717 the family sold it to Henry Hoare I (1677-1725), a wealthy banker from London. Henry Hoare replaced the Stourton home with a Palladian-style country house and started to develop the lake and landscape gardens. This Palladian mansion was home to eight generations of the Hoare family of bankers. In 1946, triggered by the tragic death of his only son and heir, Harry, in WWI, Henry Hoare gave the house and most of the grounds to the National Trust. The house itself has limited opening hours but visitors need to be members or pay. You can, however, go down steps into the basement to see the exhibition which is free to all.

Pass in front of the house, go through a gate and then left on the Stour Valley Way. There is a gate ahead with a cattle grid. If you want to avoid this take the pedestrian path on the left and then, once through, rejoin the track through Stourhead Park.

Over left soon see the Sun Obelisk.

This was first built in 1746 as an Egyptian symbol of the ever shining sun. It has been restored twice – once after crumbling and later when it was struck by lightning in 1853. A memorial plaque on the side facing the house was placed there by Colt Hoare 1815, in memory of his grandfather, Henry Hoare.

The track leads to a gate by a lodge house. Go through and immediately left on the Stour Valley Way, over a stile and onto a path in woodland. It takes you down quite steeply to a crossing path.

9. SIX WELLS BOTTOM

Turn right and a gate leads you into the grassy valley of Six Wells Bottom. This valley has springs which are the source of the River Stour. Turn right up the valley for about half a mile to St Peter’s Pump.

10. PUMP

Originally built in the 14th century this pump house marking the source of the River Stour dates back to1786. Previously it was in Bristol for over 300 years and formed a major part of the Bristol water supply. Here at the base of the pump is the only remaining one of the original six wells.

At the pump go left over to a stile into woodland and follow the path up. At the junction at the top, with a signpost, go more or less straight on in the direction of Alfred’s Tower. This track takes you out of woodland and all the way along towards the road at the top.

Just before the road, turn left on the grassy swathe. Cross two tracks and then reach an information board about the tower. Here go out to the road with the car park opposite or find where you parked along the road.