Rural treasures
Walks on quiet lanes are still proving popular; it does beat walking through muddy fields and along waterlogged tracks. This walk from lullington, just outside of Frome, fits the bill perfectly. Hopefully, this will be the last “quiet lanes” walk of the year. Incidentally, there are no pubs or cafes this way, but the Red lion in nearby Woolverton certainly hit the spot, especially the excellent pies and pasties!
arthur Mee in his “king’s England” series is fulsome in his praise of lullington. “It is a gem of England as it is and has a gem of England as it was in Norman days, for the church is a place of pilgrimage to those who love the things the Normans left behind.” Mee goes on to describe the lychgate that gives a “lovely peep” of a thatched corner of the countryside, with a pine against the sky. He continues with a description of trimmed yews that line the path, and a farmhouse which comes into the picture as if it were part of the church.
leaving lullington, you will pass Gloucester lodge, one of the imposing entrances to the Orchardleigh Estate. an impressive pre-19thcentury castellated lodge, this picturesque Gothic-style building boasts three-storey towers to each side of the wooden portcullis gates. The forecourt is surrounded by semicircular castellated curtain walls, flanked by machicolated towers, that envelope a landscaped garden.
and so to laverton where the saddleback church is an absolute gem. There is much Norman work in this quite delightful old building that dates from the 13th century, including a fine Norman doorway with its old shafts and capitals. The tower itself has two Norman windows with no glass in them, plus an old stairway that the priest would climb each morning to declare the good news, apart from in the Great War when five men of this tiny hamlet gave of their lives for their country.
The workings of a wonderful old clock are on display in the church, an item that in centuries past earned its keeper the princely sum of two guineas for winding and regulating this timely piece of apparatus. “It is a wonderful old clock,” noted one old boy in years gone by. “It has hardly any works; you can understand it easily.”
In between these villages lies a pleasant pastoral landscape with views that extend from Roundway Hill near Devizes to the Westbury White Horse and down into “deepest, darkest somerset” to quote local historian Maurice Eveleigh. along the way, the walk crosses the little-known Henhambridge Brook, a diminutive tributary of the somerset Frome, as well as a Roman road that ran from Bath to Poole; much is lost but hereabouts a grassy track remains of this centuries-old motorway of its day.
Getting there
■ Follow the A36 south from Bath for 10 miles to Woolverton, before turning right along an unclassified road signposted to Lullington. In 1½ miles, at a junction in front of Gloucester Lodge, turn right and park on the roadside in Lullington at the first convenient point.
■ 1. Walk back to Gloucester Lodge and follow the lane to the left for just over one mile to a crossroads by Sleight Farm. Along the way, the lane drops down into a valley to cross Henhambridge Brook. Turn left and follow the lane ahead for 500 yards to a T-junction by Henhambridge Farm.
■ 2. Turn left and follow the lane ahead for 650 yards to a crossroads on the edge of Laverton, the lane crossing the course of a long-forgotten Roman road from Bath to Poole along the way. Turn left and follow the lane signposted to Buckland Dinham for just under one mile to a crossroads, the lane passing St Mary’s Church in Laverton along the way.
■ 3. Turn left and follow the lane ahead for 1½ miles to a green in Lullington, where a detour to the left will bring you to All Saints Church. For the main walk, follow the lane