The Twelve Crossings - Evershot to Frome St Quintin - 9th March 2017

Having moved house and been without the internet for weeks, my project had moved quite a bit down the priority list. But we're in and settled now and last week the sun made a welcome return from its holiday and so I set off for a solitary ramble along quiet west Dorset lanes.

Parking at the familiar Three Sister Standing Stones, made attractively into a bench at the Village Common, I walked back through the village in search of a footpath south. This was not at all obvious and I wandered up and down the south side of the street looking at my map and then at the houses in search of a footpath sign. Two villagers were looking on bemused so I explained my quest and one, I think she was the Post Office assistant, said 'Oh, you've just walked past it; it's between the two houses there, underneath the arch.' So I returned to this unlikely, unsignposted spot and walked boldly through the arch, boldly past an inquisitive horse and onto the minor road which leads south to Holway.

I nodded a 'Good morning' to a horse rider, but otherwise nothing passed me on this short stretch of road before I turned left onto the footpath and headed south to Higher Coombe Farm.

Near Higher Coombe Farm with the Rampisham aerials just visible in the distance - ST5604

 I wasn't in this gridsquare long before entering ST5603, another square dominated by farmland.

Hedge and field in ST5603

Approaching Rampisham, I crossed a tributary of the River Frome and passed a good stash of firewood at what I discovered was Pugin's Hall.

Tributary of the River Frome at Pugin's Hall, Rampisham - ST5502

Firewood and bridge over tributary of the River Frome at Pugin's Hall, Rampisham, - ST5502

I bade someone good morning (probably the gardener) and joined the road between Uphall and Rampisham, pausing to take a photo of the impressive Pugin's Hall on the way.

Pugin's Hall, Rampisham - ST5502

Pugin's Hall is a  Gothic Grade I listed building designed by the famous Victorian architect Augustus Pugin (1812-1852). Formerly known as Glebe Farm, it was built for the Reverend F. J. Rooke and his family between 1845 and 1846. He was rector at Rampisham from 1845 until his death in 1894.

I walked past the old school, now converted into a house, and then into the centre of the attractive village of Rampisham.

Old school, Rampisham - ST5502

Old stone bridge over tributary of the River Frome, Rampisham - ST5602

Old stone bridge over tributary of the River Frome, Rampisham - ST5602

St Michael's Church, Rampisham - ST5602

Signpost, Rampisham village - ST5602

After making a short detour to the church of St Michael's to see whether it was open (it wasn't) and drinking a cup of tea in its porch in the hope someone might come and open it for me (they didn't), I retraced my steps to the centre of the village and passed a Swan Lake of a garden. Someone has shaped their trees to look like ballerinas and it's really quite attractive and fun.

Ballerina topiary, Rampisham - ST5602

I turned right at the crossroads, heading south-east out of the village towards Lower Wraxall and walked along the road. I was composing poetry as I walked. (In fact I'd been doing that since the beginning of the walk and by the end of my 11 miles I'd done!) This accounted for me wandering right into the next gridsquare unnecessarily and passing my footpath. Actually, that only partially accounted for it; the other factor was the lack of footpath which I've since reported. After taking a photo of a square I would otherwise not have got today, I retraced my step and looked in vain for the footpath I thought I'd missed. I hadn't missed it; it simply wasn't there. After some dleiberationi with myself, I concluded I could retrace my steps yet again (and also make sure I'd seen everything there was to see in this tiny hamlet) and head northwards to Broomhill Farm.

Road to Lower Wraxall - ST5601

This did give me the opportunity to photograph the old cross by the side of the road.

Thatched cottage and old cross, Rampisham - ST5602

Old cross, Rampisham, ST5602

The road also provided lovely views back towards St Michael's church.

St Michael's Church, Rampisham from the north - ST5602

At Broomhill Farm, I was relieved to discover the footpath was very obviously marked and headed east to Broad Witcham, which is where the footpath I'd wanted to take initially would have ended up. There was no signpost for a footpath her either, but thankfully there was another footpath heading directly south and this was the one I wanted. The path was a little unclear as I passed a farm; i wasn't sure whether it had been diverted or not, but opted to walk through a field of sheep rather than right by the farmhouse and I walked south to yet another tributary of the River Frome which i was able to wade through and then head eastwards towards Inkpark Farm.

I was walking in glorious sunshine and had been in my T-shirt since Rampisham. Now I was delighted to see my first butterfly of the year - a Peacock - enjoying the warmth of 2017's first rays of sunshine. Inkpark Farmhouse is an attractive building nestling on its own amidst the hills and valleys of this delightful part of Dorset and enhanced today by a blossoming pink cherry tree.

Inkpark Farm - ST5702

I wandered lonely as a cloud and took a photograph of those famous aerials before once more crossing a small tributary of the Frome and joining what was now familiar territory at West Holway, Paul and I having walked this way on our butterfly scramble last summer.

Rampisham aerials from Inkpark Farm - ST5701

Barn at West Holway - ST5701

It had been on that occasion that the idea for this walk had been born in fact. I'd noticed a sign then for Lower Wraxall and looked it up later to discover there was a church there in that tiny hamlet and made up my mind to design a walk to visit it - and now here I was brimming with anticipation at the thought of seeing this tiny hamlet and on such a glorious day.

Sometimes anticipation and fact do not match; sometimes you discover you have just built up an event, a place, a person way too much and the reality is not as good as the dream. That was not the case with Lower Wraxall, at least not externally. It is a typical Dorset village with thatched cottages and a ford and, on this occasion, complete with thatchers at work. I enquired about the position of the church and was pointed in the right direction, although, upon enquiring whether the church was open the workers did not know.

St Mary's Church, Lower Wraxall - ST5700

The church was basking in a spring fusion of blue and yellow - blue sky and Daffodils and Lesser Celandine and my heart leapt at its beauty and at the opportunity to sit and eat my lunch, to the accompaniment of the 2017 debut of the lawn mower concerto - not an unpleasant sound! I had a quick look in the church, but thought the outside more attractive on this occasion and then I changed my mind.

Well, I changed it as I walked past the thatchers, now eating their lunch in their van. Looking at the map again, I decided against the option of risking another barbed wire cut to my wrist (which I forgot to mention earlier in my outburst of joy re spring!) I had thought I would retrace my steps  to the crossroads near West Holway and then head east to North Holway Farm, but I'd done that bit before and the pull to cross the ford was too much for me and offered a much more attractive alternative - a dawdle along the dotted line of Wraxall Lane. I don't know why I'm attracted to these green circled footpaths, but I am and this was just so delightful.

Ford at Lower Wraxall - ST5700

I wandered blissfully along this old road, composing my mournful poem as I went, relishing the new territory and wondering if this would make a possible walk for the meet up group of which I am a member.

Wraxall Lane - ST58000

Wraxall Lane - ST58000

I was actually quite sad when I crossed the River Frome via a ford for the twelfth and last time on this walk. 

The final crossing of the River Frome - ford on Wraxall Lane, near Sandhills - ST58000

I joined the MacMillan Way briefly at this point and walked along the dappled road north to Holway Farm.

Holway Lane - ST58000

This was also back to familiar territory as I had walked this way twice before so didn't need the gridsquares, but enjoyed the warmth of spring and panoramic views over the rolling hills and tranquil farms of west Dorset.

View from North Holway Farm - ST5801

North Holway Farm - ST5801

The old Police Training College at Chantmarle provides an eerie contrast to the lushness and vivacity of its environs. Closed since 1995, the centre was allegedly haunted and the grounds bear poignant testimony to their erstwhile purposeful life. The manor house, meanwhile still looks lived in and in good condition.

Part of the old Police Training College at Chantmarle - ST5802

I'd been watching butterflies all day and paused to watch a Small Tortoiseshell on the croci in Chantmarle grounds.

Croci at Chantmarle - ST5802

I crossed the railway here via an attractive bridge and headed along Chantmarle Lane to the village of Frome St Quintin. It is about now that you realise how close to the A37 you really are as the sound of the Go Karts suddenly become louder.

Whilst we had walked through the village before, we had not taken the detour to the quaint little church here and I walked the gauntlet of the masked terrier in order to view this little gem.

St Mary's Church, Frome St Quintin - ST5902

It is then necessary to walk uphill past  Dawes Barton Farm to a crossroads and turn left towards Ladymeade Cottage, now derelict, to cross the railway again - look both ways - and walk through fields back to Evershot.

What a glorious walk and one I'm looking forward to revisiting with the group.

Number of hazardous gates: Innumerable

Number of times I crossed a tributary of the River Frome: 12

Number of gratuitous crossings of tributaries of the River Frome: 2

Number of miles walked: 11.8

Number of gratuitous miles: 1.5

Number of new gridsquares: 6