TEN hardy souls ventured out for Westbury Walkers’ traditional New Year’s Day walk led by Paddy Yerburgh.
The 7.5 mile walk started from Folly Lane, along Cannimore Lane into Bucklers Plantation before crossing the Crockerton Road and dropping down to do a wide circuit of Shearwater through Aucombe Woods, skirting Centre Parcs.
The rain, which had been falling gently, suddenly become torrential as they paused to have a very brief lunch stop before climbing up from the lake to again cross the road and follow a footpath to Botany Farm.
After a short stretch along Bradley Road the walkers turned left towards Ludlow Farm, they then took a footpath which led back to Cannimore Lane where they retraced their steps back to the cars.
The now rather damp walkers were rewarded with hot mulled punch and mince pies at the walk leader’s house. The Walkers had been very lucky with the weather in 2016 and hope this was not an indication of what they would encounter in 2017!
On Sunday 8th January seventeen members, led by Philip Lock, set off on the regular monthly walk – an 8 miler – starting from the car park at Knap Hill north east of Devizes.
Climbing Walkers Hill they were soon engulfed in thick fog which made the path very difficult to locate, but by a combination of modern technology and good luck they managed to find the White Horse hill figure and then carry on up to the Wansdyke.
The mist cleared as the group descended to Stanton St. Bernard and then along the rather muddy canal tow path to Honeystreet. As they entered Alton Barnes they could just make out the very grey White Horse on Milk Hill. The walkers then returned to the car park by way of Alton Priors where they paused to look at springs in a field that are purported to be the source of the Wiltshire Avon before taking a look inside the now redundant village church.
Reports by Yerburgh and Philip Lock
