Pleasant paths
Freshford, Avoncliff and Limpley Stoke
Over 30 years ago, a book entitled Walker’s Britain described the Avon valley between Bath and Bradford-onavon as being ‘the best-loved of local destinations for a day out’. This viewpoint still holds true today, with steep hillsides and riverside meadows, far-ranging viewpoints and picture-postcard villages being as alluring to the walker as ever... and so to this week’s walk from Freshford.
Freshford might well induce a sense of déjà vu. The village featured in the 1953 comedy The Titfield Thunderbolt, the story of how the local railway company fought off attempts to close its service to the nearby town of Mallingford. There is more to the story than this, with a feud developing with a local bus company, so the film is well worth finding if you enjoy classic British comedy with local settings.
From Freshford, meadowland alongside the Avon is followed through to Avoncliff, where the Kennet & Avon Canal crosses the Avon by means of John rennie’s magnificent aqueduct. When combined with a pair of contrasting mills, one restored and the other almost there, the former Bradford Union Workhouse, now a collection of gentrified properties and a centuries old hostelry, there is interest at every turn.
A lengthy section of the Kennet & Avon Canal follows, passing through a charming part of the Avon valley. In his excellent book on the canal, Niall Allsop noted that ‘picturesque’ and ‘scenic’ seem somehow inadequate appendages to describe what is known as the Limpley Stoke valley to locals; ‘sylvan’ and ‘resplendent’ are maybe closer to the mark. Look out for Murhill Wharf where stone from local quarries arrived at the K&A by means of a steep tramline.
Limpley Stoke, the next port of call, is a village of ‘residences rather than cottages’ according to one commentator. If it is a house with a view that is required, this is the place with the main street running below the steep sides of the Avon valley where it turns north towards Bath. It is also where our steps head down to the Avon, and another pleasant waterside path back to Freshford.
Getting there
Leave the B3108 in Limpley Stoke and follow an unclassified road through to Freshford and its pub. There is roadside parking on the left just past the pub. The Inn at Freshford’s car park is strictly for customers.
1. With your back to the Inn at Freshford, follow the road to the right. Having crossed the River Frome, pass through a gateway on the left and walk across to the far corner of the field ahead. Pass through a gateway and follow a path that runs between the River Avon and Avoncliff Wood along to another gate. Walk the length of the field ahead to a gate at its far end before following an enclosed path along to another gateway. Continue along the track ahead, passing Ancliff Square on the right, to reach Number 10 Tea Garden.
2. Climb the steps ahead up to the K&A Canal, turn left and cross Avoncliff Aqueduct. Follow the towpath for 1½ miles before crossing a stile on the left to access a track. Turn right and follow this track to a gate and stile above the River Avon. Cross the field ahead to a gate and stile and the B3108. Turn left, cross the Avon on Stokeford Bridge, pass under a railway bridge and turn left into Limpley Stoke. Follow the road through Limpley Stoke for 600 yards to the bottom of Crowe Hill. passing to the right of a sewage works, to join the access track that emerges from the sewage works. Follow this track around to Freshford Station, cross the railway using the footbridge and walk along Station Road to its junction with The Hill. Turn left and walk back to the Inn at Freshford.