Ramblers rescued after getting stuck in A36 nightmare
Nine pensioners were rescued from the busy A36 Warminster Road this month after their rambling holiday went horribly wrong.
The Sussex gang was in Bath for a six-day walking holiday, visiting Freshford, Monkton Combe, the skyline path and the city centre. Things were going swimmingly until a simple misunderstanding on day three left half the group stranded on a “dangerous” road.
Pam Morgan joined Seaford Rambling Club 15 years ago, following the death of her husband. Since then, she has been in charge of organising the group’s annual walking holiday. The 77-year-old described how the rescue mission unfolded.
“We had travelled to Bath for a week’s holiday and on Wednesday, September 14 we decided to do the skyline path. Considering the number of new knees and hip replacements between us, we are not a bad group, but every day there was a shorter walk and a longer one. That day, I chose the shorter option because you could still enjoy the beautiful views without climbing quite as many hills.
“We were staying at the Limpley Stoke Hotel and my group caught the D1 bus back from Bath earlier in the day. Then I got a phone call from Sally, she had gotten off the bus on this really busy road, along with eight other members of the club who were all in their 70s and 80s.
“They had asked for the Limpley Stoke bus stop, but the driver must have got confused. The one we needed was near the hotel and called something like the ‘bridge’ stop because there is a railway bridge that goes over the road there, but the bus driver dropped them on the A36 Warminster Road.
“They all got off the bus and then they realised there were no pavements and the traffic was whizzing past,” Pam explained.
Luckily, one of the group then thought of knocking on the door of a nearby house to ask for help.
“She said ‘can you help us, please? We don’t know how to get back to the hotel in Limpley
Stoke’ and the man who lived there, Mr Bailey, said ‘come onto my drive, it’s a dangerous road’ and he took them all onto his drive,” Pam said.
She added that two members of the club, who do not live in Seaford, had chosen to drive to Bath. Mr Bailey spoke to one of them, Keith, on the phone and gave him directions to his house.
“Then he helped drive the ladies back to their hotel. Keith took some and Mr Bailey took some, then Keith came back for the last couple,” Pam explained.
The Seaford woman said that the Bath resident had helped her friends out of a dangerous situation. “He really rescued them, it was a frightening experience and we would like to pass on our thanks to Mr Bailey,” said.
After all the excitement on day three, the rest of the holiday went off without a hitch. After exploring Limpley Stoke, Freshford, Monkton Combe and Bradfordon-avon at the start of the week, they joined a “brilliant” Mayor’s tour of Bath on the Thursday, before returning home to Seaford on Friday, September 16.
So far this year, the club – which has been going for over 40 years – has also visited Pitlochry in Scotland. They have set their sights on Oban for next April and plan to travel there by train from Euston.
He really rescued them, it was a frightening experience and we would like to pass on our thanks to Mr Bailey
Pam Morgan