Uphill to Claverton Down
MAP OS Explorer 155 Bristol & Bath DISTANCE 3½ miles TIME Up to 3 hours TERRAIN One steep ascent at the start START
Layby above Dundas Wharf (GR 784626 or postcode BA2 7HY)
No pain no gain... we have all heard that phrase. Whether it’s the context of medical treatment or sport, it is a promise of greater value rewards for the price of hard and even painful work! It also applies in the case of walking, with the ‘pain’ of a steep and difficult climb leading to the ‘gain’ of a far-ranging and expansive view. This week’s walk is very much a case in point. From a layby on the A36 above Dundas Wharf, an ascent of some 350 feet in less than 15 minutes of walking follows, up towards the top of Brassknocker Hill. It is serious ‘pain’ but if you pause once in a while and look back, the views across the Avon Valley are something special. Beyond lie the open spaces of Claverton Down and Rainbow Wood Farm, part of the National Trust’s ‘Bath Skyline walk.’ A quiet byway and Claverton Hill, both with views, bring the walk down past the American Museum to Claverton village. Tower House will catch the eye, and quite what the tower is about remains something of a mystery. Maybe ‘nearer my God to thee’ but in all reality an ostentatious display of wealth when first built in centuries past. There is also St Mary’s Church and an impressive mausoleum dedicated to Ralph Allen of ‘cross posts’ fame. Below Claverton, a pleasant stretch of the K&A Canal returns the walk to Dundas. one local guidebook suggested that ‘picturesque and scenic’ were maybe inadequate adjectives for this section of the waterway; maybe ‘sylvan and resplendent’ were closer to the mark. The blurb went onto say that ‘even with the intrusion of the occasional train this is a peaceful place, its almost magical quality quite seductive.’ Workaday reality returns at Dundas with its wharf, aqueduct, warehouse & crane and a junction with the Somerset Coal Canal. Explore the diminutive section of the SCC that has been restored and you will find Brassknocker Basin, a commercial hub with the centrepiece being the Angelfish Restaurant or Café, depending upon what takes your fancy. It can get busy, so be prepared to queue, but the consensus is that the wait is worthwhile ... the reviews are worth checking.
GETTING THERE
Follow the A36 south from Bath for four miles to Monkton Combe and, half a mile from its junction with the B3108 road to Bradford, park in a lay-by on the left above Dundas Aqueduct and the Kennet & Avon Canal. If coming from the south, the layby is on the right, half a mile beyond the B3108/A36 junction and shortly after a garage.
START ON THE A36
Walk to the Bath end of the layby, cross the A36 to a handgate opposite and walk up the right edge of a field to a gate in its top corner. Walk up the right edge of a second field to a gate before following a section of footpath to reach Brassknocker Hill. Cross with care and follow an enclosed path opposite through to a field that borders the Wessex Water HQ. Cross this field to a gate in its far corner to the right of a line of conifer trees. Follow Claverton Down Road to the left for 40 yards before passing through a gate on the right to enter the NT Claverton Down property.
CLAVERTON DOWN
Follow the path ahead, ignoring an early left turn into woodland, across Claverton Down to rejoin Claverton Down Road in half a mile. Turn right and, in 200 yards, just as the main road bears right, turn left onto a byway that runs across the hillside. In half a mile, join Claverton Hill, turn right and walk downhill for half a mile, passing the entrance to the American Museum along the way. Just before the A36, turn left into Claverton village. In 250 yards, having passed the village church on the left and having reached a point where a wall on the right ends, turn right and follow a path past a postbox and down to the A36. Cross the A36 and follow the wall opposite to the left. Where the wall ends, follow a path to the right behind the wall down to a gate.
KENNET & AVON CANAL
Cross the field ahead to reach a stile and Ferry Lane, the stile initially being out of sight beyond the brow of the hill. Turn left and walk down to the K&A Canal. Having crossed the K&A, pass through a gateway on the right and follow the towpath ahead away from the bridge. In 1¼ miles, cross bridge 177 and turn left along to Dundas Wharf. Pass behind a warehouse and, immediately past another stone building – a former toll office for the canal – follow a stepped path on the right uphill to the layby. To explore Brassknocker Basin, continue around Dundas Wharf and, just beyond the entrance to the Somerset Coal Canal, a path on the right leads to the Basin. Contact via vilewalks on Facebook or email nigelvile@gmail.com