Crook Peak 2

Four of us set off for Crook Peak, a six and half mile walk. Our first attempt at this walk was in September 2009. This time we decided to do the walk in reverse hoping to make it easier going. We headed off along the river towards Loxton. The sun was shining and although we feared the worst, it was a scorcher! We came off route a little for Sue to show us a cave set back into the hillside. Pete's gadget came in very hand, that is to say the torch on the end of his walking stick. We continued on through the woods that made our steep climb to Crook Peak more gradual. We were rewarded with stunning 360 degree views. Being a clear day the breathtaking views were of the Bristol Channel, Wales, the Somerset Levels and the Cheddar Reservoir. After a stop for lunch we took the steep walk up to Wavering Down , where a stone seat was strategically placed with superb views and etched into the stone were the words 'Only a hill but all of life to me'. We continued the walk through Kings Wood, downhill back to the Cross main street, and then on to the beer garden of the White Hart.

It was a good walk which took us just over three hours, brilliant weather, excellent views, another good Sunday walk for the One Step Beyonders.

Burrow Mump

It was a lovely sunny Sunday, and just the three of us decided to travel a little further to take on the 5.5 mile Burrow Mump walk. Apart from King Alfred's castle it was a very flat walk, but not without incident! About a mile and a half into the walk we were walking down a drove, hedges to the left and open fields on the right, we had just stopped to check the map when a shot rang out, then another whistled into the hedge in front of us! We retreated back a few yards to gather ourselves while more shots were fired, small metal targets were pushed into the ground about ten yards in front of us, there were no warnings or signs anywhere. We saw a Landrover drive off and the shooting stopped, quickly we walked on clearing the field, we did see people still standing in the copse where the gun shots came from.

Next crossing a farm yard we were confronted by barking dogs, we crossed a field of geese without incident tho' we did fear the worst! There was some lovely countryside but the best views were from the Mump, it was stunning. We sat on the terrace of the King Alfred pub by the river for a well earned pint. We will visit the Mump again, perhaps next time we'll take a quieter route! Definitely One Step Beyond!

Barton St. David

Our First Anniversary Walk! This was our second walk from Barton St. David but one we looked forward to. Just five of us parked up by the village hall in Barton for the 6.5 mile walk to King Weston, Copley Wood & Butleigh Cross. It was a lovely sunny day and we made good time through the fields towards King Weston, with lots of wild life to look at. As is the norm with our walks, Copley Woods was a different matter all together! Let's just say that the pathway out of the woods seemed to disappear, thanks to Brian we forged on and did emerge from the woods more or less where we thought we would! Having stopped for lunch we walked on to Butleigh Cross, the views were amazing. We crossed a hidden stream? or not, who knows! and made our way back to the quirkey 'nnI notraB' to sample a pint or two of the local ales and end a smashing walk. Here's to our next anniversary! One Step Beyond!

Hinton Blewitt - Extended Walk

Seven of us set out from the picturesque village of Hinton Blewitt, meeting in the lay-by opposite the Ring o' Bells. We decided to extend a walk we had done previously to Cameley making it over 5 miles. The weather was kind to us as we crossed the fields and the River Cam, the fields were full of mushrooms and several of us helped ourselves as we made our way to the village of Cameley! The beautiful 12th century church of St. James gave us shelter from the rain, David tested the acoustics with an entertaining song or two and we ate lunch in the porch. Rain stopped, we then skirted Cameley Lodge, and took to the hills above the lakes, passing some fine views, we made our way back round to the cars and just for a change, a welcome pint of ale at the pub.

This walk started from Priddy Green on a sunny Sunday morning, nine of us set off on a beautiful walk looking down over the Somerset levels. Bev had led us on this walk before but this time it was extended to around 5 miles, crossing Deer Leap and taking in the top of Ebbor Gorge. We picknicked with stunning views over Cook's Field Nature Reserve. With the Sun on our backs we strode out back to Priddy and the promise of a well earned pint outside the Queen Vic', unfortunately the wasps had other ideas and we were forced to retreat to the New Inn!

Barton St David

We set off on a beautiful sunny day, cloudy but warm. This was a walk that I had made up my self, so we were a little apprehensive, would be a success or a nightmare? We walked passed St Davids church with it's 15th Century Tower, unfortunately it was locked so we couldn't go inside. We headed to Kingweston, one of the main reasons for our walk in this area. We wanted to see the church that we had seen there when we first came to Somerset. It's a lovely area but the church wasn't as pretty as we remembered. We pushed on to Copley Woods; what an experience that was. Paths that led nowhere, areas fenced off and over grown paths. After walking round for about an hour we decided to stop for lunch, as some people were getting a little hot and bothered. The only way we managed to leave the woods was by using our compass. We then headed for Butleigh Cross the views from there were breath taking. We headed back to Barton, we were supposed to finish the walk along by a river, but the river had run dry or we crossed it without noticing! Returning back to the village we had a quick drink in the Barton Inn, where the locals kept staring at us. The walk had taken us 4.25hrs and we had completed about 7.5mls. Madness!! We treated ourselves to some fish and chips and a cup of tea in Knights chippy in Glastonbury on the way home and had another pint in 'The George Inn'. We thoroughly enjoyed our day and hope we can share the experience with the rest of you soon.

Chewton Woods.

On a beautiful sunny Saturday morning Pete and Shirl set off from their favourite Inn; 'The Kings Arms' at Litton. The walk took them through the village where they wished two cyclist a good morning and carried on through Chewton Woods, not a soul insight. The path came out on to a nature reserve called 'Hollow Marsh' where butterflies and bees in their hundreds covered a field of wild flowers. Two deers crossed their path and pheasants scurried away. They had lunch in a field with fantastic views towards Ston Easton. They carried on the walk to 'Hinton Field Farm' where they were forced to ask a lady riding a horse if they were in the right area? They discovered that the stile with footpath marker had been removed. Their direction was up towards 'Shortwood House' and Coley. With fantastic views of the lakes at Litton they descended down to the lake side where they spotted two fishermen in a boat. The lakes were the lowest they had seen them. Happy memories of walks gone by as they passed the fisherman's log cabin and the wall where the group had posed for a picture, on the Christmas holiday walk. They then greeted a young couple with a baby and a dog. The total number of people they saw on the walk was eight, not many on a three hour walk. Finishing in style with a drink and a bowl of chips. We must do this walk again it's a beauty.

Hinton Blewett

Our walk started on a hot sunny morning at Hinton Blewett. It was like a scene from Midsomer Murders. A beautiful looking pub 'The Ring O' Bells' with a village green and a back drop of the church steeple. No dead bodies, just a barman who didn't say much. Our walk was a short one of 3.8 mls and as it was so hot we thought we would play it safe and not extend it . We walked or should I say Sue and I dog legged through beautiful countryside to reach the village of Cameley. We took the opportunity to look around the 12th century church of St James; it's well worth a visit. We stopped for lunch at a fishing lake behind Cameley Lodge. Brian handed out some delicious chocolates to finish off our lunch. We had a lovely cold drink on our return to Hinton Blewett and I am pleased to say no chips passed my lips or should I say hips. We will definitely be repeating this walk so the rest of the group can experience it.

Stanton Drew

After a little bit of a mix-up and a late start 11.45 a.m., we set off from 'The Druids Arms' at Stanton Drew. (For the greater good). The walk was one of Sue Gearings, that we decided to do in reverse. Why? because we just like to be awkward. The walk took us along by a stream and through some fields that skirted some woods. Our stop for lunch was just before a viaduct near Pensford. After Stella had admired the sculpture that adorned our bench, we headed into Pensford, where we went to look at the 18c village lock up, but the gaoler wasn't there. Walking back to Stanton this time on the other side of the stream, we managed to lose our direction a little. We had a quick look around the stones, then back to the Druids (for the greater good) a pint of ale. It was a lovely pleasant days walk, one we hope to repeat with the rest of the group soon.

South Devon Coastal Walk

Our day started with a 1.5 hrs drive down the motorway to join the other one step beyonders at the seafront car park of Sidmouth. Eight of us set off on our third away day, we couldn't have chosen better weather, too hot if anything. This was going to be a complete different terrain to what we were used to, so we decided to ditch the boots, for the old trainers, that turned out to be exactly the right footwear. We walked along the seafront and had an ice lolly before setting off along the public foot path. The coastal paths were clear but steep in parts, but we all know that no height, no view and the views were spectacular. We followed the path down to Ladram Bay where we had our lunch and a refreshing dip in the sea, Cliff enjoyed this dip a little better this time. After Bev and Brian kitted Pete out with mosquito net, a self inflating mat and towel. We set off back with three Sherpas in the form of Tom, Peteman and Ryan. Despite suffering from a little heat exhaustion we all managed to return to Sidmouth in one piece. Our original walk was based on an 11mile one, we were hoping to complete 6miles of it, but we only completed approximately 5miles. The weather conditions and terrain made the walk a lot more difficult than it should have been. We had a welcome drink in The Anchor Inn, then off to the chippy for fish and chips and a mug of tea. It was a fantastic day and walk, one we would all like to complete on another day.

Priddy Short

This was a short walk of 3.5mls. Our leader was Bev; without any help from her male counterparts we successfully completed the walk. The views were stunning taking in most of the county, yet the walk was level. We stopped for lunch at a well known picnic area where we sampled some of Vera's home grown strawberries. The sun shone down on us for the duration of the walk, not a cappuccino in sight. We finished the walk with a couple of bowls of roast potatoes and a cold glass of lager in 'The Queen Victoria Inn'. A good time was had by all.

Goblin & Brockley Combe

Starting at the Lord Nelson, Cleeve, we walked through the picturesque Goblin Combe, sunlight filtering down through the trees. All went well until we reached the start of Brockley Combe when we found ourselves on a road to a Forestry Wood Centre! This minor detour added at least 2 miles to our intended 5.5 mile walk! 'One Step In The Wrong Direction' Undaunted we forged on and got back on track and out into the sunshine at Brockley Court. We did enjoy a well deserved pint in the beer garden, probably the best feature of the pub!

Bickleigh Devon

A good day's walk had by all from the picturesque village of Bickleigh. The walk was about 6 miles, the footpath ran along the river Exe towards Tiverton. Starting from the bridge that the locals say inspired Paul Simon to write the song 'Bridge over troubled waters', when he stayed at the local inn. We hoped to turn the existing walk into a circular one by skirting around 'Back Wood'; after climbing up steeply in the woods in the hope of finding a path, we were forced to return to the orignal path. It was still a beautiful walk with great company. Bev only managing to fall twice, Paul once, Pete once and a near miss from Lian and Brian B. We returned to the 'Fisherman's Cot ' and had a well earned drink and carvery. We sang all our favourite Simon and Garfunkel songs in the car on the way to Macdonald's for our pudding. The Mcflurrys went down very well as we discussed what a lovely day we had and how we would love the rest of the group to experience it one day. One Step Beyond Somerset!

Winford Walk

Just five of us set out on the Winford Walk on an overcast Sunday!

Brian and Bev organised the walk, we set off from Winford Church on the shorter of the Winford walks, we walked under the 19th Century pipeline taking water from the Mendips via gravity into the reservoirs of Barrow. Part of the Monarch's Way was joined to take us to Dundry, where we stopped for lunch. There were spectacular views through the mist out to Barrow Tanks and the Severn Crossings. We returned through the churchyard back to Winford and on to the Prince of Waterloo for a pint of ale or two and a bowl of chips!

Another great walk for the One Step Beyonders!

One Step Beyond On Tour - Dartmoor

The first away day for the One Step Beyonders was to Dartmoor. Two walks were arranged, the first on Saturday, followed the impressive river Dart from New Bridge, along it's banks to Dartmeet where we climbed towards Huccaby, Combstone Tor, Venford Reservoir, Holne and back via the Two Moors Way into New Bridge! This 7hr walk was approx 10.5 miles and felt much further, continually climbing rocks where the path dissappeared and then returning to the river. We stayed at the excellent Cridford Inn, a glass of Champagne and Katey Rose toasted our first extravaganza before we sat down to a lovely meal. The people at the Cridford Inn could not have been more welcoming.

The next morning with aching limbs we challenged ourselves to another walk, dealing with a different terrain out into the moor and a shorter distance of 6.5miles. After a cracking breakfast, we started out from Saddle Tor taking in Haytor and the Granite Tramway to Holwell Tor. Crossing Becka Brook via a clapper bridge we climbed to Greator Rocks for lunch. We picked our way through Hemsworthy Mire and climbed again to Saddle Tor. Cream Teas in Widecombe completed a great weekend. Good walks and good company, what more could you ask for?