Due to holidays, illness and hot weather it was a reduced number of the walking group, plus one guest walker that set off from Bradford-on-Avon central car park on a warm and thankfully breezy July summer’s day for a 10.5 mile walk led by David Barker.
Walking along the riverside towards Avoncliff, the group then crossed the canal footbridge by the sewerage works and climbed up through the woods and back lanes to St Mary’s Church at Westwood. Crossing the road they continued across a number of fields, where the farmer had kindly left clear paths through the barley, to Stowford. From there the group climbed up and across more fields of barley (but sadly this farmer had not left a clear public footpath through the crops) to turn left into the lane that runs between Lower Westwood and Farleigh Hungerford. From between the two humpback bridges at Farley Hungerford, they turned right and followed the course of the Macmillan Way to Iford. Crossing the road the group continued straight ahead to climb up through the woods to the hamlet of Friary, so named for its close association with the medieval Carthusian monastery, the 13th century remains of which lie just outside Hinton Charterhouse. From there, the walkers continued on to Middle House where they turned left to walk up almost to the A36, before hair-pinning back on themselves to Sharpstone. Turning first left uphill then right just past the old Community Hospital building, they made their way through the cemetery at Freshford to the village memorial hall.
Here, a lunch stop was made in the shade of the trees, before continuing on up to another St Mary’s Church. From there they crossed the road and made their way down a steep and narrow footway which would have been very slippery in wet weather to Crowe Hill then turned left to the railway bridge in the bottom that allows access the river. From this point they walked along the fields parallel to the river and passing yet another sewerage works, reached Freshford Railway station and crossed over the footbridge. Walking along the roadway to the Inn at Freshford they crossed the river bridge and turned left to follow the riverside path to Avoncliff then the canal tow path, which by then was busy with families and cyclists all enjoying the fine weather, back to Bradford-on-Avon. It was an exceptionally attractive and varied walk.
Report by David Barker.
