East mendip meander
tHe walk starts near the site of the former Mells Road Station on what was the North Somerset Railway running from Radstock to Frome. The station, actually two miles from Mells, opened in March 1875 before closing to passengers in 1959. In its heyday, this was a busy junction with a tramline heading south to quarries and mines in and around Vobster. Little remains of the station site other than a prefabricated lengthmen’s hut that is still in situ.
The railway has now been converted into a shared-use cycle and footpath known as Colliers Way, which currently runs from Radstock to Great elm. There are plans to extend this path into Frome – check out “Frome’s Missing Link” – with the difficulty being that at that end of the line, the railway is still active with trains running to and from Mendip quarries. Our walk follows just one mile of this path eastwards as far as Conduit Bridge, where we join a bridleway that climbs gently uphill onto Buckland Down.
When you first leave the road to join that bridleway, look left and there is what appears to be nothing more than a muddy ditch. This is actually one of the sparse remains of the Somerset and Dorset Canal, a venture that failed almost as soon as it was mooted. The main line from the K&A at Bradford-on-avon down to Poole never materialised, but work did commence on a branch from Frome out to the collieries at Nettlebridge. This ditch is part of it, but it would take a trained eye to know!
High on Buckland Down we pass Charlton’s Timber Yard, purveyor of fine timber products since almost time immemorial.
The Royal Coat of Arms adorns the office, a reminder that this Somerset company has been supplying the royal household since the year 2000. I was fortunate to have once had a conversation with one of the firm’s older directors. He was proud of the fact that the company supplied the Somerset Coalfield with its pit props for ever so many years, never mind the royals!
The walk returns to the parking spaces by way of Hatchet Hill which, despite being a rat-run, is a surprisingly quiet road. Do take care on one or two blind bends along the way, however. There are occasional views that take in Downside Abbey, the Pen Hill Mast and a whole lot more besides if you know the locality.
This is a “dry walk” in the sense of no pubs or cafes, and pretty much so underfoot, too. If you do require a pub at journey’s end then head to nearby Kilmersdon and the Joliffe Arms. This is a good traditional pub, no frill or fancies, just decent homecooked food that represents fine value for money. To quote one reviewer: “Not fine dining by any means just good, old-fashioned pub grub and that is not a criticism but a compliment.”
Getting there
■ Leave the A362 at the Terry Hill crossroads between Radstock and Frome and follow the B3139 towards Kilmersdon. In one mile, turn left on a road signposted to Leigh on Mendip, Mells and Vobster. In ¾ mile, turn left on a lane signposted to Hemington and Buckland Dinham. In just under 200 yards, having crossed a railway bridge, turn right and park on a lane that shortly becomes a private road.
■ 1. Walk along this lane for 350 yards before turning right to join the Colliers Way path at the site of the former Mells Road Station. Turn left and follow Colliers Way for one mile before veering right just before Conduit Bridge on a path signposted to Mells.
■ 2. Walk up to a lane, turn left, cross Conduit Bridge and, in 20 yards, turn left onto a bridleway. Follow this track for 600 yards to a junction, turn left and walk along to a gateway and arable field. Follow the path across this field for ¼ mile, bear right to the righthand field boundary and follow a grassy path alongside this boundary for 600 yards to the corner of the field.
■ 3. Pass through a gap into the next field, turn right and follow a hedgerow on the right up to a stile and track by a