The rain held off just long enough for the 20 members of the Westbury Walkers to complete their traditional New Year’s Day walk on 1st January.
The walk took them from The Downlands, Warminster up past the golf course over Arn and Cradle Hills. Despite all the previous rain the footpaths were manageable and the fine views across to Battlesbury and Middle Hills could be appreciated.
The six mile walk led by Paddy Yerburgh, took the members across the A350 and into Upton Scudamore where a sheltered grassy bank provided a suitable place for an early lunch before they continue through the village and down again over the main road and followed the old road into fields bordering the railway line.
Several tricky stiles and a level crossing later they were in Portway from where they took the clean option of taking the road back to The Downlands where mulled wine and mince pies were awaiting them.
Later in the month on a sunny Sunday, 21 walkers set out for a nine mile walk led by Judy Hosegood from the car park at Stourhead.
They passed the beautiful and ancient sweet chestnut trees on the drive in front to the house, then crossed the fields to go over the road and then east along The Drove and up to Beech Clump, pausing to reflect at the memorial to more than 20 Air Force personnel who were killed in February 1945 when flying from Zeals to Lincolnshire because the beech trees were shrouded in cloud.
The walkers went on to White Sheet Hill passing through a disused chalk quarry and the Pillow Mounds which were made for rabbits when they were introduced as a source of food in the Iron Age.
They then walked up on to the hill itself admiring the views over three counties, Stourhead House and Alfred’s Tower, and where radio controlled ‘planes flew overhead and along the edge of the hill crossing the causeways of the Neolithic Enclosure.
They then came off the hill and along the bottom past Rodmead farm and up onto Rodmead Hill and back along the top and so back to Stourhead. They were in time to end the walk just as it began to rain.
Report by Paddy Yerburgh
