WALK BY THE BOOK!

Today we had a plan!  We followed a walk in a booklet that I bought at the Tourist Information Centre published by the Town Council entitled 'Walks Around Shepton Mallet'.  It became our longest walk ever - three and a half hours! It took us to Bowlish, Windsor Hill Wood, Windsor Hill Tunnels of Somerset and Dorset railway fame, through Ham Woods ending up at Croscombe and back to Bowlish via Ham Lane East.

It was a beautiful sunny morning and we walked some leafy lanes and footpaths and by fields with their neat rolls of silage ready for collection.  Then we found the old railway track and went through a long and extremely dark tunnel - quite scary, even with company!

We entered Ham Woods which looked stunning with the sun filtering through the trees and found all sorts of remains of the workings of Ham Hill Quarry.  I think we saw part of the Ham Wood Viaduct over which the railway used to run.  Jenny spotted a large deer bounding  through the wooded slopes! We ended up at the bottom of a very steep gorge and kept going through the wood, past The Forest School, which is the centre of activities for local school children, and eventually ended up on the main Shepton to Wells road.

On our way home we encountered a cow - half jersey and half friesian with her perfect calf.  The farmer's wife told us it had only been born yesterday!  They need to make the most of their time together as in a day or two they will be separated and the mother will be back with the milking herd.

I came home hot and thirsty and after a conversation with Jenny on the healthy options she had been trying at the weekend, I made a refreshing drink by blending a peeled lemon, piece of skinned fresh ginger root, ice, and mineral water  together.  I added a small amount of agave nectar for sweetness, sat down and enjoyed!  Our walking must be doing us some good, as I completed a 10k swim down the River Dart, and Jenny kept dancing until gone midnight  at the Pilton Party, this last weekend with no ill effects!!