Having spent a delightful evening with our friends, part of which was spent scrutinising the map for today's walk, we set off for the village of Moreton, last resting place of Lawrence of Arabia. We had been before, but that was in my pre-recording gridsquare days. Today would be different. I would have to multi-task even more than usual in that I would have to talk, look interested whilst secretly looking at my GPS every few minutes to ensure we weren't in a new gridsquare. It was a tough order, so it was just as well the walk wasn't that long!
Our departure coincided with that of a carriage and four. The horses had been champing at the bit whilst we had shod ourselves and sorted out our backpacks. They shot off like a bolt as we passed them.
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| Horse and cart at Moreton - SY8089 |
St Nicholas Church at Moreton is well worth a visit for its association with Lawrence of Arabia. His funeral was held here in 1935 after his fatal motorcycle accident. His grave is not actually in this churchyard, as T E Lawrence was buried a few hundred feet away in another cemetery. The funeral bier can still be seen in the nearby Moreton tearooms, where there is also a photographic display about his life.
But it is the windows in this bright church which are eye-catching. The church suffered extensive bombing during the Second World War, when all the glass in the windows was lost. The church was repaired and a man called Laurence Whistler was commissioned to make new engraved windows which combine natural scenes with biblical verses. The effect is one of light and beauty and is well worth seeing.
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| Engraved windows in St Nicholas Church, Moreton - SY8089 |
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| St Nicholas' Church, Moreton - SY8089 |
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| St Nicholas' Church after it had been bombed in October 1940 - SY8089 |
After spending some time in the church we joined the Jubilee Trail at the ford across the River Frome, where there were plenty of other people and dogs enjoying the fresh water. I assume it's a favourite place for dogs as a garden on the south side of the river has dedicated a small wooden shed to canine creatures with a selection of treats for them, including a special dryer after bathing in the waters of the Frome. We weren't brave enough to wade through the river and crossed via the footbridge instead.
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| Dog heaven by the banks of the River Frome, Moreton - SY8089 |
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| Crossing the River Frome, Moreton - SY8089 |
The second bridge over the Frome is a vehicular one leading from Moreton Drive which then takes a different route southwards than the one we took over the ford.
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| Vehicular bridge over River Frome - SY8089 |
The footpath now divides into Moreton Drive to the east (which would be our return route) and the Jubilee Trail to the west. Despite the very dry spell during April, some of the ground was still boggy. We crossed a small tributary and went through a gate into more wet fields.
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| Gate and bridge over Frome tributary - SY8090 |
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| Skeletal silhouette - SY8090 |
The path crosses a busy road and continues through woodland at Oakers Wood.
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| Footpath in Oakers Wood - SY8091 |
My plan failed here; I forgot to photograph a gridsquare, so intent was I on conversation and photographing a Siskin, which remains my sole contribution for gridsquare SY8191.
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| Siskin in Oakers Wood - SY8191 |
I was back on track for the next gridsquare. This was the part of the walk I remembered as it had reminded me of Scotland when we last walked it, with its bogland and heather.
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| Rimsmoor Pond - SY8192 |
We were beginning to look for somewhere to eat our small picnic and decided to cross the road first and look for somewhere in the next part of the woodland.
A small black beetle caught Paul's eye. Sadly it was dead, but it was my first Minotaur beetle and the closest I've yet got to seeing a Stag Beetle.
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| Minotaur Beetle (male) |
The village of Briantspuddle is very attractive, containing mostly thatched cottages with gorgeous gardens.
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| Briatnspuddle - SY8193 |
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| Overgrown sign at Briantspuddle - SY8193 |
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| Briantspuddle - SY8193 |
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| Briantspuddle - SY8193 |
One of the delights of this walk is that you encounter two major rivers - the Frome and the Piddle. The other delight is of course the hilarity surrounding the name 'Piddle'. I haven't been able to discover the origin of its name, except that the Victorians changed Piddletown to Puddletown on account of the former's perceived rudeness!
We headed north, crossing the River Piddle twice and spying a Grey Wagtail en route.
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| Grey Wagtail on the River Piddle - SY8293 |
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| Oak Tree - SY8293 |
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| River Piddle near Briantspuddle - SY8293 |
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| River Piddle near Briantspuddle - SY8193 |
We were now approaching Throop, a tiny hamlet with a silent donkey guarding its southern entrance.
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| Donkey at Throop - SY8292 |
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| Throop - SY8292 |
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| Beautiful tree at Throop - SY8292 |
We were now walking along the road and diving into the verge whenever a car passed so it made for uninspiring photography for my next gridsquare and the one after that I forgot about altogether!
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| Throop Heath - SY8291 |
That meant we were now back at the ford and watching the glee of the horses and their riders cantering through the waters of the River Frome before we headed on to see T E Lawrence's grave and enjoy a cream tea.
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| Horses crossing the ford on the River Frome at Moreton - SY8089 |
Number of new gridsquares: 7
Number of potential new gridsquares: 9
Number of donkeys:1
Number of horses seen: 8
Number of miles walked: 7.3
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