Ancestral voices

 Just before I went on the last torch-lit TACH run of the spring, before the clocks change, I came across the following passage from the War Diary of my great-uncle, Billy Bloor, who was killed in the First World War:July 30^th 1917

At midnight stopped at Opoutre about two miles from Poperinghe, which was as far as the train could go, as Poperinghe was being shelled and a train, which had run in there two hours before, had caught it nicely – with about 80 casualties. The R.T.O. at Opoutre informed me that the guide sent for me had been killed en route, but he told me my destination, and showed me the way as best he could. I had to leave my kit there and start a seven mile march without a map on a pitch black night and through rain which was falling – this after 23 hours in the train. Arrived at Ouderdom at 2-30 a.m. and spoiled Captain Sutherland’s beauty sleep (of the D.A.C). He was jolly glad to see me none the less and turned out the Adjutant, who got the men in somewhere – and jolly tired and fed up they were, too. They found me a couple of blankets and put me up on Colonel Stanley’s bed – he being on leave, and after a drink – or two – and a good long “chin-wag” I turned in about 4-30 a.m.

Obviously navigating in the dark with a drink to follow is wired in the blood!

The Rising Sun

We did a bit of the Green Man Challenge route from the Rising Sun at Pensford last Thursday. I was hoping Turtle would turn up as he got lost on this route last year and I thought he might enjoy it better this time. As it happened, he was on baby-sitting duty so there were just the six of us, half being Woodwoses.

The pub is a bit more down market than the George and Dragon on the other side of the Wells Road; but the parking is infinitely better.

The planned route was a version of “The Caterpillar,” which is described among the free-shorter routes on the Closer to the Countryside website (www.closertothecountryside.co.uk ). I would have included it my first walk book, but there is a section of the original route from the Whitchurch Sports Centre that has been erased by a farmer, which he can get away with due to the negligence of past councils. However, it works really well from Pensford, if you don’t mind a bit of climbing on minor roads.

We started by following the Community Path across the fields to Publow and then took off up the hill towards Charlton Field and then took off across the fields towards Blackrock, which involved a bit of a paddle up a stream. Another hillclimb on the road took us up Hursley Hill to the A37.

From there we went through a series of flat buy wet firlds, past a garden nursery to Whitchurch. We negotiated the Dundry Hill housing estate to get to another sharp climb up East Dundry Lane, which leads to the footpath folowing the contour through the fields to Maes Knoll.

This iron age hill fort offers quite splendid views across Bristol on one side and Chew Valley on the other; but on this night, the ferocious winds cured the inadequately dressed of their ability to appreciate such things and they descended as if they had been blown off the hill. Unfortunately, the two Woodwoses who knew the way were dawdling at the back, so the hasty ones overshot the footpath down and had to climb back up about 90 metres to get back on track.

The cross country route back to the pub through Norton Malreward was negotiated without further incident, but I did notice Woodwose 1 looking askance at the slightly off-right-of-way path we took down to the river! As we arrived back at the pub, my Garmin registered 7 miles exactly, but it would have been slightly less if we hadn’t gone back to look for the hast ones on Maes Knoll.

The Rising Sun was sufficiently cosy and friendly and there was a choice between well kept Bath Ales’ Gem or Thatchers’ Cider. We managed to find a table that would accommodate the six of us and a good time was had by all.

Woodwose 7

I have just received Martin Beale’s report of his record breaking circuit of the Community Forest Path to complete the Green Man Challenge. I have published it in the adjacent pages, so it will always come up near the top.

Hydration is obviously the big problem in an unsupported solo attempt. As Martin noted, the streams on the route can not be regarded as safe. He used the Tesco Express in Bradley Stoke, which is a little way off the route. Woodwose 1 and 2 used the White Horse at Hambrook and the Lockkeeper at Keynsham to top up their reserves. I think there is also an external tap at the White Horse. It might be worthwhile to produce a definitive list of rehydration opportunities.

Long ones

Since the Janus Beast, I’ve done a couple more 15-milers.

Last week, I decided to get out a bit further and have a go at the longer loop of the Gordano Round, which is supposed to be about 15 miles. I decided to start from the Black Horse at Clapton in Gordano, because I knew the route back to the pub thoroughly, which meant that I would get the bits I wasn’t so sure of whilst I was relatively fresh. Also, the Black Horse is an excellent place to end up!

On the way out to Portishead, I had some problems with my ‘Camel Back’, which managed to spring a leak and soak my back. I think I hadn’t done the top up properly. It wasn’t really a problem, but it rather set the tone. The path below Weston Big Wood was as dubious as ever, so I had to cut through the houses a field earlier than I should have, which made me unnecessarily tetchy with the old lady who asked me if I was training for ‘the Marathon’. The roadie trail through Portishead is easy enough to follow if you know it, but the turning off St Mary’s road is easy to miss if you don’t know Portishead. The coastal path to Clevedon is easy enough to follow, but it seems much longer than it appears on the map due to its winding nature, the narrowness of the track and the slippery mud, stones and roots. These rather distract one from the view. I had taken the precaution of copying the instructions from the booklet to get me through Clevedon. These were only moderately helpful. There was enough information about the town section to make it possible to deduce the correct path, but the description of the climb into Court Wood was hopelessly confused. I was only able to find my way because I came across a landmark by accident.

The rest of the route was straightforward and familiar, but I was feeling weary and didn’t enjoy it as much as I should. The black pudding and mushroom baguette and a pint of Butcombe went down well though.

That 15-mile route took me over three hours. Yesterday, I did the ‘Raging Bull’ route from my new book and did rather better. It helps that I know the route thoroughly, so there was no dithering over directions. I decided to start from Sea Mills, because it always easy to park there and it is close to home. This version of the route has the additional advantage of a finish down the Mariners’ Walk.

The river was high when I set off and the weir was underwater when I crossed it. The route follows the Community Forest Path through Three Acre Covert and up the golf course to the Iron Bridge. From there it is along to Penpole Point and down the treacherous steps Lower High Street Shirehampton. The cycle path alongside the motorway bridge was filled with smelly maintenance vehicles, but these were hardly a problem.

I wound my way through the outskirts of Pill to Easton in Gordano and then up through Summerhouse Wood and Sandy Lane to Lower Failand, where I was rewarded with views across the Severn Bridges and a banana. The whole thing was as smooth as a velvet ribbon. They have even surfaced the path through Fifty-acre Wood for the cyclists.

I finished in less than two and a quarter hours, which represents an improvement of three-quarters of an hour since last week!

A Mendip Reccie

Libby and I had Sunday to ourselves for the first time in a while, so we decided to reccie the route we are running a week on Thursday from the Waldegrave Arms in East Harptree.

It was misty and unpromising when we set out from Bristol, but by the time we got over the Dundry ridge the sun was shining brightly and the autumn colours were glowing along the hedgerows and the Chew Valley Lake was picturesque millpond for the ducks as we drove past. By the time we pulled up between the pub and St Lawrence’s Church, we were beginning to wish we had dressed for the summer.

We were not the only people who thought it was a good day to go out into the country. There were two cars in the car park beside the church and a couple in another car drove up as we were setting off down the oath beside the church.

The first stretch through the fields behind the church was unknown to me, but straightforward enough as was the stretch down to the stream, but the section up the stream proved very treacherous underfoot. It should be very interesting at night!

The route becomes very steep after we crossed a road into some grazing land, but we easily overhauled a man, who appeared to be taking his border collie out for a game of tennis. At the top of the climb, we passed some cows with calfs, thankfully well before the collie arrived. A short climb took us up to a cornish chimney left over from a lead recovering operation. It has been preserved because it is the last of its kind in the area apparently.

After the chimney, things got very interesting and we took a couple of wrong turns before we found the correct route through the trees. We were very grateful to see daylight as we came out into the fields. It is a good job we checked the route out as it would have been tricky finding the route in the dark!

Out in the open, we negotiated a path past the overexcitable cows, which seem to be a feature of these fields.  The next stretch was reasonably level, with no more menacing hazard than a flock of sheep. We passed a mother and two daughters, who did not acknowledge our greetings and began the descent to the pub.

The first few fields are level, and the route follows a broad headland. The grass is a little rough, but by no means rough enough to trip any one up (famous last words!) The distant views were pleasant enough, but there was still a bit of residual mist in the distance, which diminished their splendour. The descent down Greenbatch Lane was delightful, however, due to the colour of the leaves crowding in overhead. It was a little muddy underfoot at the top and rocky at the bottom, where we bumped into the couple we had met at the church. As we sedscended the road and through some splendid grassy fields, Libby recalled what a slog it had been following this part of the route in the opposite direction.

We got back to the pub without incident, except for a few motorbikes, some children on a death wire and a couple of skittish horses. As we wer changing, the man with the dog arrived back at his car and exchanged a few words.

Afterwards, Libby and I enjoyed the best Sunday lunch we had had for a long time. The beef was rare, the Yorkshires crispy and filled with fresh herbs and the vegetables was freshly cooked and delightful. My pint of Exmoor Bitter was in very good heart, and I finished off with an excellent sweet of hot bananas and ice cream with blackberries. We are looking forward to returning a week on Thursday!

Night Run from the Carpenters’ Arms Wick

Another run out with TACH: Ant, John, Rob, Mike and the Gaveller; Libby on a separate run along the road.

The main group did a route from my forthcoming book, Beyond the Urban Fringe.

We began by entering the Golden Valley Nature Reserve and followed the River Boyd until it entered the confines of the quarry. We then had a severe climb or scramble up to the Raven Rock viewpoint, which is not at its best in the dark! Coming out onto Rocks Road, we crossed over into cow pasture to emerge at Ketcheshill Farm, where the nettles I had encountered on a previous visit had died back, thankfully. The horse paddocks were empty, so we had an incident free run over the grass to Clover Mead Farm. A stretch of driveway and a rough lane took us to a series of empty grass fields leading to Siston. The only incident was a fleeting glimpse of a probable roe deer. The alpacas were indoors, apparently.

A short stretch of road took us past some invisible plantations and a descent to the Community Forest Path next to Mangotsfield Golf Course. This stretch of the Forest Path goes through grassland and paddocks and Warmley Forest Park to join the Dramway Path, which goes through two evocative cuttings, one before the Midland Spinner on London Road and an even better one after it. The route is slightly spoiled by new housing and an industrial estate at North Cutting, but we only had about 500m of road to get us to Cann Farm and a steep climb through horse paddocks onto the Highfield plateau. This was mainly grass, except for one field, where we had to keep to the headland round some autumn-sown corn.

The descent to the River Boyd is steep and difficult in the dark and the sheep track along the slope was particularly trying. However, we soon had only a short stretch of lane and a couple of fields around the back of Wick Court to get us back to the pub.

The route ran really well in the dark, and the others appreciated the long stretches where they could run freely without having to pause for directions. We shal definitely have another go at it in the summer, or better in the spring, before the nettles at Ketcheshill Farm have a chance to get out of hand.

The pub seems to be in good heart, with well presented Gem (Ant dissenting). There seemed to be a wide range of different customers, but we were able to gain possesssion of the best table, a round one in a bay window, dominated by an enthroned halloween skeleton.

I was interested to see that the South Gloucestershire Council’s Wildtracks scheme has invested in some beer mats showing a route from the pub (it also passes the Cross House at Doynton. What a good idea!

A long run over Hanging Hill

On Friday, I was checking through the typescript of my latest book  of runs/walks, when I realised thatI had not actually run one of the routes in its entirety. I had been over most of it several times, but there was a short linking section that I had never explored. Oops!

I could have just checked that bit, but I needed a longish run, so I decided to run the whole eleven miles+. The published route will start at the Swan at Swineford, because that is where I would chose to end up for a meal, but I was short of time, so I started near the Lockkeeper at Keynsham instead. That meant that I started with the level two and a half miles through the meadows alongside the River Avon.

The hard bit began at the Swan, with a sharp climb across a field to a stony enclosed track, resplendent with falling leaves, around the village of North Stoke. The clim levels off a bit as it comes out onto the road up to the church, but from there, the road deteriorates into a stony slog up the grassy slopes to Lansdown Gilf Course. There the route levels off a bit as it winds through the course and up to the kissing gate on Hanging Hill.

This point marked the outer edge of the left flank of Waller’s Parliamentary army at the battle of Lansdown in the English Civil War. The widespread views suggest that it ought to have been an inpregnable position, but this battle was a Royalist victory, albiet something of a phyrric one.

The descent of Hanging Hill is complicated by rough grass and encroaching scrub, but I eventually found the hunting gate into a descending, enclosed track, similar to the one up to North Stoke, but complicated by slippery, sloping, natuaral stone steps towards the bottom. A short stretch of very minor road took me to the beginning of another rocky track. The fact that thois track through woods, fields and a ford descended for the best part of a kilometre gives some indication of how far I had had to climb up to Hanging Hill.

A short stretch of road and some paddocks brought me out into Wick opposite the Carpenters’ Arms and the start of the stretch I had not done before. It did not turn out to be very complicated, and my instructions would have worked OK as they were, except that a few new kissing gates had been put in where I had expected stiles – a regular hazard! The bonus was another stretch of descending stony track enlivened with overarching autumn leaves.

There was rather too much tarmac for my taste on the next section, which linked up with the Bristol and Bath Railway Cycle Path to Willsbridge Mill nature reserve.

I made the mistake of following the Comunity Forest Path down to Londonderry Wharf on the Avon. It is unpleasantly rutted by cattle’s feet – the Dramway alternative is much smoother!

I was getting tired at this point, so I opted for a cheaty shortcut across Sydenham Mead, and was rewarded for my laziness by finding a handful of delicious field mushrooms for my supper!

Town Run

This Thursday, we (the Gaveller, Ant, John, Mike, Mark, Pete de B and Ruth and Jason) did a town run from The Eldon House, a new Bath Ales pub off the Triangle in Bristol.

Since it was a TACH run, it was predominantly 0ff-road, even if only a couple of fields venturted past the city boundary. We began by gaining height past Clifton Hill House and Goldney Hall before descending the steps down to the Marchants’ Arms and the Nova Scotia. As we crossed the road onto the path beside the New Cut to the railway bridge, we tangled with a group out from Bad Tri. They seemed to be running around the docks. I am sure they would have found our route more interesting.

Over the bridge, we caut across Greville Smythe Park and they around the City Ground to pick up the path across the railway line and along Colliter’s Brook. Across the Brook we looped round the sheep fields, where central government wants to build houses and local dogwalkers take those animals that cannot be trusted near other dogs in the park. We cut back along another branch of the stream into the Ashton Vale Trading Estate and then across the footbridge over the railway onto Bedminster Down. After a good stretch along the grass, we climbed up to the Cross Hands and crossed over to a smaller section of the Down before descending by back lanes to Hartcliffe Way. Here we crossed over and mad our way up Parson Street to pick up the Malago Greenway into Victoria Park. We had a little wobble finding our way over the hill to St Luke’s Road – I wonder if St Luke’s is the church that was turned into a mosque?

We made our way under the railway tunnel and over the footbridge to the back of St Mary Redcliffe Church (the fairest parish church in all England according the Queen Elizabeth I). Around the Church, we took in Queen’s Square, Pero’s Bridge, @Bristol, the Cathedral and the stature of Rajah Ram Mohan Roy before we cut through Brandon Hill Nature Park to Jaconbs Wells Road and the pub.

There we drank Spa, Gem and Barnstormer and enjoyed a chinwag.

Making a Hash of it

The day after a severe race is a good time to go out on a short undemanding run to loosen up and check that everything is in working order, so, on Monday I decided to go on a Hash with Bristol Greyhounds. There was a time when I went out with the Greyhounds every week, but, lately, for a number of reasons, I have hardly been out at all.

I suppose I ought to explain hashing. It is basically an old fahioned paper-chase or a game of hare and hounds, where one person – ‘the hare’ – sets a trail – it is usually laid in flour rather than paper nowadays to avoid littering the countryside – and the pack follows the trail. The modern form of the ’sport’ was popularised by ex-pats in Malaya and spread from there, with the additon of some bizarre rituals that probably originated in Oxbridge or some such place.

This particular Hash was from the White Horse in Pilning, which has been cut off from the village by the diversin of the M4 over the second Severn Crossing. For some reason I like this pub, which was another reason for going there.

After the usual rituals, we set off along the cycle path alongside the motorway, but we were soon exploring a more interesting path along the grass alongside The Pill, which here has the appearance of a large drainage ditch or ‘rhine’ as such ditches are called in Sonerset and Gloucestershire.

At the next bridge, we crossed over into a series of fields full of eminently runnable grass. There was a bit of a hiccup, when we emerged onto a road and had to run alongside the major road between Avonmouth and the M48, but we were soon back on the grass, and I was congratulating the hare in my mind for finding some paths i had not run on before – always a bit of a bonus.

Then we emerged on a minor road in Northwick village, which has a church tower and a graveyard, but no church.

To be fair, we had been warned that the next section was problematic – but there are some principles (there are no rules) in hashing – and these seem to have been thrown out of the window.

Firstly, it is the job of the hare to lay a trail. Secondly, it is his job to make sure that no-one gets into difficulties following it.

In this case, the hare had been frightened by a field full of heifers and had not laid a trail through the following fields. To compound the error, he sloped off back to the pub on a shortcut along the road, leaving the pack in a situation that he thought was dangerous. It wasn’t – but that is hardly the point.

The situation was not helped by the pack calling ‘on’ when there was no flour. The net result was that a new hasher had to deal with an angry farmer. Luckily, this was the only mishap, and everyone got back to the pub, where most people snsibly got stuck into the scrumpy.

Night run with Town and Country Harriers from the ‘Live and Let Live’ at Frampton Cotterell

6 miles – Ant, John, Mike, Rob and the Gaveller

There were five of us in the car park on a fine night lit by a misty, waxing moon. I had left home in a rush due to a plumbing crisis – don’t ask – so I had forgotten my headtorch – but, luckily Ant had a spare!

We set off up a side road and crossed the main street towards the countryside to the accompaniment of squeals from some girls in a 4X4 - an unusually extreme effect of naked male legs by moolight! Another side road led to a path between houses into the fields.

I was a little unsure of the route through the first few fields as ihad only been that way once, but Ant’s headtorch picked out the path across the grass with no problem – except for one field that had been ploughed; but the path across that had been smoothed by frequent feet.

Once we reached Mayshill, I was on much more familiar territory – a short stretch of very minor road and a path down to the Frome Valley Walkway. The sound of running water and the reflected glint of torchlight always add to the enjoyment of a night run. This one had the added mystery of screech owls, the Tubbs Bottom Detention Reservoir and Algars Manor on the site of a mill mentioned in Domesday Book. There were no problems on the rest of the riverside route, except for the faster runners over-running a couple of stiles - to let me catch up – and ferocious barking from a caravan site on the far side of the river.

Once we had crossed a steel footbridge, we cut right through some trees to pick up a trail leading to a crossing of the road to Yate. The track on the far side, leading up to the low ridge of the Marle Hills, is muddy, rocky, grassy and nearly a kilometre long, so thefaster runners had a chance to let off steam.

The route along the ridge starts on a tarmac rack (which turned off to the right allowing me to catch up again). It then follows the headland past two seeded fields to a stile into a long ield of grass mown short by grazing sheep. Some nettles at the stile onto the road led to a short search for a non-existant alternative route, by a coupleof sensitive souls, before we picked up the route through some horse fields to the main road past Frampton Cotterell.

A path through the houses took us past the social club, which seemed well used by army cadets, rugby players, indoor-keep-fit fans and random children, and eventually down to the river at Nightingale Bridge past yet more horses. A short section of the riverside path and a suburban road took us back to the pub.

The Live and Let Live was decorated in the bath ales country style – IE green and cream, which works well here. Two strange pictures, which look like framed wallpaper, presumably the work of the pub designer, had been relegated to the porch. More conventional modern prints adorn the walls inside.

We found a suitable table in a side room for an animated chat, oiled by several excellent samples of Gem, Spa, Rare Hare and shandy for the driver (strictly for rehydration you understand) together with Salty Dog crisps to replace lost minerals and carbs.