Thorncombe Circular - 6th April 2017

A shorter walk was on the cards for today - and I can't for the life of me remember why! Neither can I remember just a couple of weeks later why I chose Thorncombe for the start and finish of my walk, except perhaps because there were a few squares there that I wanted to 'fill in'.

At any rate I parked near the church on a steep downhill street and set off down the hill, which is actually going north towards Sheldrick Hill.

Thorncombe Church - ST3703

It was a glorious day as I walked across the fields, admiring the wiggly lines opposite.

Wiggly lines near Thorncomeb - ST3703

I crossed a footbridge across the River Synderford near Oxenbridge Coppice and then emerged by a nameless pond/lake with Canada Geese, a Moorhen and little else. As it is near Shedrick Hill, I named the pond Shedrick Hill Lake, but am prepared to be corrected by anyone who knows better!

Footbridge over River Synderford - ST3704

Canada Geese on Shedrick Hill Lake - ST3804

Shedrick Hill Lake - ST3804

I disturbed some sleeping Roe Deer in a field. They bounded away too quickly for me to get decent photos.

Roe Deer by Shedrick Hill - ST3804

The footpath east of here goes quite awry and I spent some unpleasant minutes in a woodland here searching for the footpath which is definitely marked on the map, but which I could not find, try as I might. I took a slight diversion and then refound the footpath outside of Laymore, where I turned south and immediately came upon a small gathering of Goldcrests which, unlike the Roe Deer, seemed totally unperturbed by my presence and continued their business seemingly oblivious to the camera.

Goldcrest by Laymore - ST3804

I walked south to Stony Knaps, where I was not surprised to discover that a church marked on the map had been converted into a private dwelling house. This marked my turning point and also a brief entry into a new gridsquare - ST3904.

Footpath junction at Stony Knaps - ST3904

Footpath junction at Stony Knaps - ST3904

I was now to head uphill - Black Down Hill to be precise. I hadn't realised this was so close to its rivals, Lewesdon Hill and Pilsdon Pen. It was new territory for me and so I decided to celebrate by having my picnic beneath a Scots Pine tree at its summit. At 215 metres, it is quite a bit lower than its two superiors, but affords stunning views of Dorset's highest peaks, as well as a good view of the surrounding countryside.

Black Down Hill - ST3903

Black Down Hill - ST3903

Lewesdon Hill (right) and Pilsdon Pen (left) from Black Down Hill - ST3903

Lewesdon Hill from Black Down Hill - ST3903

Westwards I looked down upon Thorncombe and directly below me was the hamlet of Black Down with the little church fitting snugly into the hillside.

Thorncombe from Black Down Hill - ST3903

Black Down and Black Down church - ST3903

I continued south to the mysteriously named Triangle, where I descended to Cole's Cross, a crossroads I had visited before.

Cole's Cross - ST3902

It was the first time I'd walked north from here, however, and the first time I'd walked this part of the Jubilee Trail and it was truly delightful with a real spring feel in the air. The Blackthorn blossom was like a bridal gown.

Blackthorn - ST3902

I followed the Jubilee Trail to the River Synderford and then opted to follow this river's course southwards to see what I could see.

River Synderford - ST3802

I saw lots of Cuckoo Flower, but no Orange Tip butterflies and then a delightfulc arpet of Wood Anemone, such a big showy flower.

Cuckoo Flower by the River Synderford - ST3802

Wood Anemone by the River Synderford - ST3802

Wood Anemone and the River Synderford - ST3802

Knacker's Hole and The Hanger came as something of a disappointment and shock after the tranquillity of the woodland. It's obviously shooting territory with pheasant feeding stations and hides. Somehow I find this quite unsettling. I know there's a need to cull creatures which can become a menace, but I hate hearing gunshots and don't see the point of breeding any birds or game purely for sport. I'm much more in favour of letting nature run its course in every aspect of life.

Pond at The Hanger - ST3801

The road was quite busy when I joined it south of Thorncombe and then I recognised the route from another walk with Paul at Sadborow. I was revisiting squares now, but taking a different footpath to the one we'd finally found on our last visit.

Lesser Celandine near Thorncombe - ST3702

Back at the church, I paused to drink a cup of tea at June's singing seat. I listened carefully, but the seat didn't sing! A lovely epitaph though and a cheery thought for the end of my walk.

June's Singing Seat in Thorncombe Churchyard - ST3702

Number of new gridsquares - 6
Number of miles - 6.7

Three Counties - From Forde Abbey

Looking at my gradually pinkening Ordnance Survey map, I scanned for big gaps. Where could we go that would cover several as yet unvisited squares? There are large pockets of virgin territory as far as I'm concerned in the county so I had quite a few to choose from. I opted for the furthest west once i realised we could set foot in three counties in one day and that would be quite a feat!

Our starting point was Forde Abbey, pre-opening time, where a concerned resident informed us we were heading in the wrong direction. He seemed quite non-plussed when we told him we weren't visiting the house - yet - but would do so upon our return. Fingers crossed behind our backs, we ventured forth, crossing the Forde Bridge and therefore setting foot in Somerset.

Forde Bridge - ST3605 - spanning the River Axe and forming the border between Somerset and Dorset.

We joined the footpath, still on the Somerset side of the river (ie the north) and walked along the river banks.

River Axe at Forde Abbey - ST3505 - the Somerset side (so it doesn't really count in my gridsquare quest)

 River Axe at Forde Abbey - ST3505 - the Somerset side (so it doesn't really count in my gridsquare quest)

Walking past a docile herd of cows, already shading themselves from the early morning sun, we crossed the footbridge into Dorset and I looked in vain for the big 'Welcome to Dorset' sign. I mean how are people supposed to know they've crossed the border when they don't put signs up? I recognise that it would be an impossible feat to place such signs everywhere and OK, perhaps it doesn't take a lot of intelligence to work out that the River Axe forms the border and therefore if you're on the north side of the river, you're in Somerset; if you're on the south side, you're in Dorset, but still I felt a distinct sense of anticlimax upon making such a momentous crossing.

ST3505 - Footbridge into Dorset (only worth a small photo)

At first our new adventure in Dorset was marked by spacious fields, gentle, rolling hills and dappled woodland avenues. This lasted for about two minutes before we emerged at Westmills Plantation, which, admit it, sounds like it should be a beautiful wooded, tranquil area. Think again! Erstwhile woodland has been ripped out and replaced by a moonscape of a quarry - thankfully no-one was working on the Bank Holiday, so the lone digger stood with a drooping face, almost shamefully and in disgrace in the corner. Even I began to feel sorry for it.

ST3504 - there was a digger, honest! Westmills Plantation (Quarry)

Soon we were crossing quite a substantial road and making our way to Forde Abbey Farm.

Obscured by nature's home - the bit you can't ready says 'Farm'

We got a little lost at the farm, due to poor signage. As usual, a dog alerted someone to our plight and a friendly farmer came out to point us in the right direction.

ST3504 - horses at Forde Abbey Farm

We were back into beautiful Dorset countryside and walking along a veritable road path.

ST3503 - road path south from Forde Abbey Farm

Before reaching Hewood, we passed a delightful cottage with its own footbridge and proud, very shapely Oak Tree.

ST3503 - footbridge near Hewood

Shapely Oak Tree near Hewood - ST3503

Hewood is a sleepy hamlet, although we passed an old man so absorbed in violently hitting his apple tree that he did not notice our soundless passing by. I resisted the temptation to gather a few of his 'windfalls'.

The beautiful hamlet of Hewood - ST3503

A Hollyhock at Hewood - ST3503

The beautiful hamlet of Hewood - ST3503

A small hamlet and a hopeful bin - ST3503

Swallows in Hewood - ST3503

At Pince's Knap there is one of Dorset's several 'red posts', although this one only points in one direction - to Hewood, so I'm not sure it counts as one of those which has given rise to much discussion as to their meaning (ancient gibbet/burial site, sign for illiterate travellers . . .) My extensive (one minute) research, has not answered my question as to the derivation of the name Pince's Knap either.

Red post at Hewood - ST3502

We continued on our route south, crossing another minor road and passing Ashgrove before reaching Tuckmill Farm, close to the Dorset/Devon border.

Ashgrove - ST3502

Tuckmill Farm - ST3501

My levels of excitement were high once more, although tempered by our previous Somerset/Dorset  border disappointment. Would there be a sign saying 'Welcome to Devon'? Perhaps they only put such signs on main roads and this looked as much of a backwater place as it was possible to get. Our first plan, to walk boldly across the border along the Monarch's Way was thwarted by the ubiquitous guard-like presence of cows in the necessary field. We abandoned that plan and decided on a cowardly walk along the road to the border instead.

Farm signs near Dorset/Devon border

We approached the T-junction with anticipation and then, there it was - the border - the Blackwater River, an eastern tributary of the River Axe. I wonder if the word 'river' precedes its title if it's a big river and follows it if it's a tiny river. That seemed to be the case with the Blackwater River in any case. It was little more than a trickle despite its important boundary function. There was no sign again (what a disappointment!) Naturally we ventured forth into Devon by all of about 100 yards, sufficient to take a photo of a Devon county footpath sign.

The Dorset/Devon boundary - bridge over the Blackwater River - ST3500

Devon County Council footpath sign - ST3500

This done, we sat on the border with our picnic lunch, Paul in Dorset and me in Devon with a foot between us, watching Speckled Wood butterflies flit effortlessly and obliviously across the border, soaking up sunshine and shade alike, for this hardy species has thrived in recent years. Unlike many other species, it likes shade as well as sunlight. In fact its name derives, not from its spotted wings, but the fact it likes 'speckled' woodland - dappled by sunlight, rather than full unobscured sunlight.

Speckled Wood butterfly- it likes shade as well as sunlight

Our gratuitous descent into Devon over, we made our way north via the minor road known as Easthay Lane. Rosebay Willowherb adorned the verges and I pondered again on a suitable word for the 'snowflakes' of seed that they release at this time of year.

Rosebay Willowherb seeding

Easthay Lane - not much to say about it really - ST3601

Our turning eastwards came at Elmore Farm, and with it the formal recognition that we were once more in Dorset.

Dorset footpath sign - ST3601

Elmore Farm  is possibly the most untidy and disgraceful site I've encountered in Dorset. With a huge pile of scrap metal along the footpath I guessed that this was a temporary eyesore and would soon be resolved; we certainly hoped so.

We were glad to leave Elmore Farm behind us and walk once more along pleasant lanes in this sleepy countryside. We were woken from our reverie by the sights, sounds and scents of, could it be, a brewery?! At least Paul was, and at least by sight, if not scent or sound, for they were not brewing on Bank Holiday Monday. Two men were picnicing at the tables outside the Gyle 59 brewery and, upon enquiry, invited us into the shop, hastily brushing aside a bit of clutter to make way for their unexpected visitors.

Gyle 59 brewery - ST3701

Founder of Gyle 59 Brewery, Jon Hosking in the brewery shop

Paul's eyes lit up at the sight of the attractively bottled beer and, as Jon gave us a shelf 'tour' of the beers, I wondered if he might find his back sufficiently healed to carry a few bottles home in his empty rucksack. Sure enough, a miracle cure had been found; we purchased a few bottles of the liquid medication as Jon explained that, despite being based in Dorset, the beer was mostly exported to other parts of the UK because of pubs being tied to certain other breweries. There is a bar in a pub in Lyme Regis where you can apparently purchase this beer, which I am assured is delicious.

Our rest stop over, we continued northwards along a dappled road, passing Sadborow House - the residence of the landowner - and its llamas.

ST3702 - dappled road by Sadborow

ST3702 - Llamas at Sadborow House

At Sadborow Pound we passed a curious house in the woods.

ST3702 - Sadborow Pound

Curious house in the woods at Sadborow Pound - ST3702

Thrown by the presence of more people outside enjoying fresh air and sandwiches we took a wrong turning as we approached Thorncombe. Anxious to avoid the Monarch's Way, we wended our way several times round a field, under a barbed wire fence, through dense woodland and  nearly down a deep gully before admitting defeat, swallowing our pride and returning to Sadborow Pound. Thankfully the picnicing cyclists had gone so we had no known witnesses to our error as we found the footpath and walked through pleasant woodland on the other side of the deep gully to Thorncombe.

ST3703 - St Mary's Church, Thorncombe

After exploring the church a little, we took the footpath north-west out of the village, through delightful woodland which we exited near Forde Grange Farm.

Woodland north-west of Thorncombe - ST3703

My only chance to get ST3603 - leaving Thorncombe woodland

Near Forde Grange Farm - ST3604

I was disappointed the footpath did not run closer to Forde Grange Farm as its name is written in Old English font on the OS map, indicating its antiquity and therefore its being a place of interest. Still, on  what had been an incredibly sunny day, it was appropriate to see a couple of  sentinel Sunflowers having self-seeded in a field near our destination.

Sunflowers near Forde Abbey - ST3605

Sunflowers near Forde Abbey - ST3605

Detail of Sunflower head 

Number of sunflowers seen: 2
Number of breweries visited: 1
Number of counties set foot in : 3
Number of passport stamps: 0
Number of miles walked: 10.1
Number of new gridsquares: 12