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.