Blenheim Park

Blenheim Frontage

For our next walk a rare opportunity came along in the shape of Brownie Camp, which meant that for the first time in many years my wife and I could have a weekend away without having to worry about anybody else.  It was quite a luxury!  We decided to head to Oxford for our weekend as we wanted to go far enough away without being too far in case we were needed.

Woodstock High Street

Some years ago on a gloomy November afternoon I had walked around Blenheim Park using the walk in volume 6 of the Pathfinder Guides (walk 8).  It was a hugely atmospheric walk and I thought that would be a splendid one to do in combination with a visit to the magnificent Blenheim Palace at the heart of the park.  The weather on this day was rather different to last time out.  We started with a sunny morning but the cloud rapidly came across to leave us with rather overcast conditions.

Hollyhocks

We parked up in the rather smart looking village of Woodstock, no doubt where a lot of the estate workers would once have lived.  Now it comes across as a very well to do place that Oxford professionals might live and feels very much like a Cotswold village.  Perhaps it is the use of Cotswold stone that really ensures this as nearby villages do not have the same feel about them.

Entering the Park

 We parked in the village car park and wandered down the High Street, doing some window shopping as we did so.  There are clearly some very wealthy people in these parts if the prices are anything to go by!  As we walked along the main road the sight of the Victory Column in the park came into view for the first time.  This is something we would glimpse on several occasions as we walked the five mile circuit of the park.  Just beyond here is the area of the village known as Old Woodstock, although much of the housing now looks rather more recent.

Furze Platt

The first mile of the walk can only be really described as positioning as it follows a not terribly inspiring course through some nearby fields.  One memorable sight along the path across the first field was the line of different hollyhocks that flanked us.  I am guess that these were garden escapes but they added some much needed colour to a drab looking landscape.  With the overcast conditions and the recent harvesting of the crops much of the countryside was looking rather tired.

Grand Avenue

Eventually we reached the A44 again and crossed.  We were immediately confronted by the high wall of the estate and passed through a big clunky gate to access the park.  This section of the path is the course of Akeman Street, a Roman Road that would have allowed a direct route from St Alban’s to Bath using connections at each end with Fosse Way and Watling Street.  The path is also followed by the more recent incarnation of the Oxfordshire Way, a 68 mile path that links Bourton-on-the-Water with Henley on Thames.

Aggressive 'Lambs'

Just inside the park we walked past Furze Platt, a rather derelict looking farm.  It isn’t exactly the most picturesque looking house in the park but what a shame to see it without anyone living in it.  The barn outside had an enormous crack in the wall, suggesting that this might have been a deal breaker for turning it into a luxury holiday house.  We soon pulled up to the main drive to the north of Blenheim Palace.  It was a hugely impressive sight lined by avenues of trees and in the distance was the impressive Victory Column once again.  This must have been quite the entrance to any visitor to the estate.  

Autumn Fruits

We continued on our way along the side of fields full of grazing sheep and in some cases some very aggressive ‘lambs’ that had not yet been successfully been weaned and were causing their mothers grief now they were so big.  It was amusing for us to watch even if not for the sheep involved.  Eventually we reached a small woodland at the other end of the park and met the perimeter wall once again.

Swan Family

From here the path takes a tortuous route through the park, going round field boundaries and this enabled us to see some of the features of the landscaping that was put in by Capability Brown, some 60 years or so after the Palace was built.  At this end of the park they were mostly shaped clumps of trees and avenues through to the palace itself but eventually we reached the lakes for which the landscape gardener is particularly famous.

Grand Bridge

The Lake was formed from the natural feature of the River Glyme, which was dammed at its southern end.  The result of the damming was that the Grand Bridge, which formed the main approach to the house was reduced in height and the original rooms that were built into the structure were submerged below the water line for good.  Once the appearance was changed in this way its grandeur was far more fitting for the landscape it sat in.  Walking around the lake was a pleasure and as we got closer to the house we could get glimpses of its enormity.

Blenheim Palace

Blenheim Palace is on an astonishing scale.  It was built for John Churchill, an eminent soldier who defeated the French at the Battle of Blenheim (hence its name).  The house was allegedly a gift from Queen Anne to thank John Churchill and provide a fitting estate to go with his newly formed title as the Duke of Marlborough.  What followed was the building of a gargantuan house by John Vanburgh who had recently completed Castle Howard in Yorkshire.  It isn’t clear whether Anne had this in mind when she sanctioned the house but unluckily for Churchill there was no wriiten contract and when the Queen died the funds dried up.  This was to become a theme of the estate’s existence, with the house providing a constant drain on resources to the family and bankruptcy was only staved off by some convenient marriages by subsequent Dukes.  It is something of a miracle therefore that the house remains in the hands of the family.  Now of course it attracts visitors by the thousands, especillay as Sir Winston Churchill was born and brought up on the estate.

Woodstock Gate

We took the opportunity to deviate from the walk and tour the house and estate, taking advantage of not having small inquisitive people with us who we would have to constantly tell not to touch things J.  We spent a fascinating afternoon wandering around and although the house is obviously magnificent its opulence is rather too much and it is easy to see why the old place attracts its fair share of criticism as well as plaudits.

Walking to the Column of Victory

Once our tour was over we returned to our walk, crossing the Grand Bridge and passing Fair Rosamund’s Well to the grandiose Column of Victory for a closer look at last.  Around the bottom of the column is a full account of the story of the Duke’s victory – a rather long read for anyone who wants to know the blow by blow account of the battle.  I couldn’t help but think what modern minds would think of anyone trying to put in a similar structure these days.  Could you imagine for example Bill Gates building a column accounting for all his business exploits, or Sir Alex Ferguson with all his sporting achievements?  

Column of Victory

We paused at the column for a while before heading round the last part of the lake and back into the village of Woodstock.  It is rather strange that these two places are side by side for they seem to thrive together and yet the existence of the perimeter wall around the Blenheim estate serves as a reminder of the gulk between the two sets of people on either side.

Column Story

There is no doubt that this is a walk oozing with history and definitely complements any proposed visit to the Palace and estate.  It’s modest length (5 miles) means that it takes only a couple of hours and the lack of any strenuous climbs also ensures that you aren’t a sweaty mess before you enter the house for a visit!

Books About Town

Around the World in Eighty Days

 I had hoped to bring you the full set of Books About Town, this year’s mascot trail in London.  Sadly due to lack of time we only managed one of the four trails – the other three in the city, along the river and through Greenwich Park did not materialise.  The one we did manage to do, the Bloomsbury Trail, was a wonderful appetiser and we were rather disappointed not to do more.

The Day of the Triffids

The theme of this mascot trail was rather different to the others.  The ‘mascots’ were in fact benches that were shaped like half open books.  These were then decorated in a theme depicting the book or a famous scene from the book.  The books were produced by the same organisation that brought the Rhinos in Southampton, the Gromit Trail and London 2012 trails.  The idea was to raise awareness of reading and the connections of the books to the areas of London in which they were situated.

The Importance of Being Earnest

Bloomsbury is probably the most famous literary part of London and it was therefore rather inevitable that one of the trails should be based there.  We actually had another purpose in London that day as we had a theatre show later in the evening so this was the perfect activity to while away the afternoon while we waited.

1984

From Theatreland and Covent Garden we began our walk by heading over a few streets where we found that our first book bench was inside the Stanford Travel Shop.  Rather unsurprisingly perhaps the first bench we found was ‘Around the World in 80 Days’, an old favourite of mine by Jules Verne.  It was curious that the bench was to be found in the basement floor of the shop but luckily it was sufficiently out of the way that we could inspect it at leisure before moving on.

Mrs Dalloway

The Jules Verne bench was quite an outlier and in a sense it was probably good that we managed to find it first before the girls’ enthusiasm waned.  It did mean that it was quite a walk to the next one, crossing the considerably busy High Holborn and heading along Bloomsbury Street before coming to the next one outside the University of London.  This was to be another favourite of mine, The Day of the Triffids.  I remember being frightened witless by that story when I read it aged about 12.  The design was a suitably stark looking black and white.

Sherlock Holmes

Several of the benches were scattered around the campus of the University of London.  I had never before been to this part of London and was amazed by the size of the University.  Perhaps I shouldn’t have been; after all this is one of the premier universities in the country and it is in the heart of the capital city.  The feeling of learning oozed from every orifice of the building though, even at a time when most of the students were not around.

Mr Tumnus Meets Lucy

Next on the list was The Importance of Being Earnest and a play of huge significance for us as a family for it was written in our home town of Worthing!  Oscar Wilde is possibly one of the most famous people to have lived in the town and the play is arguably the most creative thing the town has ever produced.  The design of the bench wasn’t our favourite though it has to be said.

Aslan

Far more interesting was the next bench, only about 100 metres away, which was the amazingly colourful 1984.  This book was the one I had to study for my O Level English Literature exam back in that auspicious year.  It was a book I really enjoyed reading and I was particularly fascinated in the design chosen.  It was complete with garish colours and an amazing level of detail, recalling almost every famous subplot and character that I could remember from the book.  Even my girls, who obviously have no knowledge of the book due to their tender years, could not take their eyes off the design.

Jeeves and Wooster

After inspecting for what seemed like ages the next two benches were also not far away, on opposite sides of the road in the central park areas of a couple of crescents of grand town houses for which London is so famous.  On the north side was Mrs Dalloway and on the south Sherlock Holmes.  The latter of course was depicted in the last London mascot trail that we walked around in Regent’s Park.  He was getting quite a lot of attention as you might expect but the less obvious Mrs Dalloway over the road was being almost completely ignored.  I wondered then how many of the people that come to look find the benches by chance and how many actually walk the trail?  Certainly the London ones have tended to be walkable and this is much more satisfying than the Gromit Trail in Bristol and another in Glasgow that we came across using Clydes.  They were all so far apart that it simply wasn’t possible to find them all on foot.

Pride and Prejudice

We headed east from Woburn Square and Gordon Square along Torrington Place crossing seemingly lots of roads before we finally came to the entrance between buildings that we were looking for.  The next bench was one that was eagerly anticipated by the children for it was the Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe, one of their favourite books.  It was located in the almost hidden St George’s Gardens and entering seemed like a metaphor for the wardrobe itself.  The gardens could easily pass for Narnia in a child’s imagination…  The bench itself was very eyecatching with a magnificent portrait of Aslan on the back and the meeting of Lucy and Mr Tumnus on the front.  It was definitely worth finding it for the artwork alone.

James Bond

St George’s Gardens was the furthest extent of our walk and we now started to head back towards Covent Garden.  On the way we stopped first at Jeeves and Wooster in a rather utilitarian looking shopping centre.  We weren’t so impressed with the design so we pushed on to Pride and Prejudice in Queen Square.  This had found a very pleasant home overlooked by a number of hospitals and what I took to be a statue of Queen Anne but was in fact Queen Charlotte, the Queen of King George III.

Hercule Poirot and the Greenshore Folly

The pattern of the placement of the books was beginning to become familiar by this stage.  Bloomsbury is charaterised by many squares with green spaces in the middle and very well appointed houses and buildings overlooking them.  So it proved that the last three books on the list were all found in these surroundings.  We found James Bond, Hercule Poirot and Peter Pan all holed up in small central gardens and all three were completely free of visitors – clearly we had either left other walkers behind or there wasn’t anything like as much interest in this trail as others we have previously walked.  Nevertheless we enjoyed this short walk through some of the most well appointed and expensive parts of London.  What a pity we couldn’t have followed this walk up with going to see the others.  The books were all worth seeing!

Peter Pan

Loxwood and the Wey South Path

Merry Hills

Back to Sussex again now after all the trips away.  For the next few weeks at least it is unlikely that I am going to be able to do any ambitious trips but we are trying to pack a number of shorter walks in to keep up our fitness and enjoy the progress of autumn.  This next walk is from the Pathfinder Guide “West Sussex and the South Downs” (volume 66) and walk number 8.  Much of the route reprises footpaths I have taken when walking the Wey South Path and the Sussex Border Path, but I was keen to see the progress of restoration work along the canal.

Viewpoint

We saw this as possibly the last opportunity for an evening walk – by now the evenings were noticeably drawing in and soon we’ll have no evening daylight at all.  I do like the early mornings and evenings for walking – it is such a treat to have them.  The winter months do seem so very long.

Golden Fields

Because of the lateness of the day we did not chance our arm at the Onslow Arms car park as suggested in the guide book but instead parked in Loxwood village. The first part of the walk was along the intriguingly named Spy Lane (I wonder how it got that name?) until we reached a small church.  He we turned and headed into the countryside where we were greeted with a sight that we only half expecting - a healthy crop of blackberries already ripe and ready to collect.  Luckily we had brought some containers on the offchance and set about collecting as many as we could, completely filling what we had brought.  We did linger for quite a while before I became aware that the light was going to fade on us unless we continued our walk.

Common Fleabane

After crossing a couple of fields we headed northwards but only after stopping to admire the view back towards the South Downs.  In these Wealden parts of Sussex it is easy to forget how high you climb for the terrain is not as pronounced as the Downs.  Yet there are spots such as this where a view can extend for many miles.

Sir Roger Tichbourne Pub

We continued to pick as we walked alongside golden fields of wheat and barley.  They would surely be cut any day now looking at their ripeness.  All around us were the beautiful golden colours of late summer - scenes that are short lived and very special.  The hedgerows were brimming with the fruits of autumn and the last flush of summer flowers and it was hard not to be distracted especially as my family were heading off into the distance while I stopped to look!

Oakhurst Farm

Eventually we came back to the main road after passing the wonderfully named Songhurst New Farm and Merry Hills.  The path came out opposite the Sir Roger Tichbourne pub, now looking in rude health once again after several years of neglect and closure.  We had to walk a short distance along the main road, which was not pleasant before turning right and heading down another country lane devoid of traffic. 

Purple Loosestrife

At Oakhurst Farm I was curious to see progress on the large farmhouse that had largely been a building site when I passed by in January 2012.  Much progress had been made but the site was still far from finished.  I guess it will be some time before completion.  For now though it wasn’t easy to see what still needs to be done, for most of the site is now obscured from view unfortunately.

Restoration Work

We wound our way through the countryside along the Sussex Border Path before reaching the old Wey and Arun Canal.  This is a path I have walked a few times and it was very interesting to me to see how much progress had been made on restoration works since I was last here over 18 months ago.  It looks like a significant stretch will be completed in the next few months, weather willing.  Much of the walk here though is rather spoiled by the current restoration works which has turned the towpath into a mudbath and ruined by caterpillar tyre tracks in places as the heavy machinery rumbles along here to do most of the donkey work.  It is all a far cry from the days of the navvy back when the canal was first built.

Devil's Hole Lock

Since my last visit along here I was rather heartened to see a whole new section of canal had actually opened to boat traffic, with another mile surely ready anytime within the next couple of years.   It is starting to really progress.

Flight of the Heron

Along the path we also saw a few natural wonders with sightings of deer, a kingfisher and a heron all making an appearance, much to our excitement.  The sun had most disappeared by the time we got back to the car but what a beautiful evening it had been (and good pickings too!)

Rathlin Island

Loading the Ferry

From the part of the Antrim coast where we stayed in Northern Ireland we could look across the sea to the long and thin looking Rathlin Island. As was the case during our week in Scotland the urge to visit was irresistible and our guide book suggested that walking on the island was a delight so we needed no second bidding when we got up and discovered a beautiful sunny morning greeting us.

Lolling About

The island is reached by ferry from Ballycastle and there are two choices – a fast ferry (25 mins) or a slow one.  We took the slow ferry across from Ballycastle - the four mile journey took about 45 minutes to complete but it was a delightful crossing. The boat is no more than a converted trawler and although billed as a car ferry the reality was that with three vehicles aboard when we went over it was full! Two of the three vehicles belonged to contractors, sent over to help with one of the 50 or so households on the island. One of the contractors clearly wasn't much of a sailor, for he was fairly green most of the way across.

Seabird Coast

When we arrived at the other end we were greeted by a bus driver in a fairly dilapidated looking bus who was offering tours of the island. To be honest it isn't possible to go that far for the island is only about 6 1/2 miles long. However, we did want to take a look at the lighthouse that we were able to see from the mainland and I had thought that walking there and back might be a bit much for the girls so we hopped on. I cheekily asked if we could take a look at the south of the island first for I knew that was the part that we were unlikely to look at otherwise.

Puddle Track

Eventually the chap managed to drum up enough support to make the trip viable and off we headed along the very narrow road down towards the southernmost section of the L shaped island. On the way the driver told us about the most famous visitors to the island, all with very different stories. Robert the Bruce is said to have come to the island after a bad defeat to the English in one of the many battles that took place between the two countries back in the Middle Ages. After watching a spider weave and reweave a web several times he eventually took inspiration from the spider never giving up and headed back to Scotland where he beat the English famously at the Battle of Bannockburn. More recently Marconi used Rathlin to make the first radio message back to Ballycastle a little over 100 years ago - how technology has moved on since! The reason for choosing this unlikely spot is that Rathlin Island stands in the middle of a hugely busy shipping lane.  Currents are strong due to the narrowness of the channel and this led to the loss of shipping and lives.  It was thought that radio would help save lives by dealing with distress calls that much more quickly.  The most famous recent visitor was Richard Branson who crash landed his balloon here when making the first ever crossing of the Atlantic.

Being left Behind

After our rather bumpy ride down to the south headland we had a few minutes out of the bus to take a look around. I headed down to the water to find a whole load of seals sunbathing, which was rather more exciting for me than them. They barely moved a muscle as they lazed on the rocks, briefly looking up to make sure we weren’t a threat before returning to their daytime slumbers.  At this end of the island was a ruined building, possibly a kelp station.  Kelp was routinely harvested in these parts for agricultural uses.  Away in the distance was the stripy tower of the south lighthouse, a rather squat looking beacon warning ships to steer clear of this treacherous headland.

Kebble Lough

There wasn't long to enjoy the sights though - we were soon back on board for the lively ride to the other end of the island. The road was extremely narrow but we were at least confident that we were very unlikely to meet anyone coming the other way for there are few vehicles on the island. It was a good job for as we got closer to the western end we ran out of tarmac and our onward trip was along what could only be described as a farm track.

Another Bus Tour

At the farthest end of Rathlin Island we finally reached the RSPB nature reserve, which is largely a sea cliff and a visitor centre.  Sadly for us the visitor centre was closed and isn’t due to reopen until 2015 after some major refurbishment.  It also meant that the viewing platform down by the West Lighthouse was also out of bounds and so we had to make do with peering over the fence.  We got out of the bus to hear the cacophony of sea birds and far below us on the cliffs were puffins, guillemots and various types of gull all vying for the loudest cry. It was at this point that we decided to part company with the bus and we started the four mile walk back along the road to the harbour.

Kebble Cottage

The walk was relatively easy going (more so than I thought) as we merely followed the road.  There were stunning views all the way from the off, especially south to the mainland but also to Scotland much further distant.  All along the sides of the road was a profusion of wildflowers, with heather and gorse both out to make a magnificent moorland carpet.  Initially our route took us through Kebble Nature Reserve where the road was unsurfaced and unfenced.  Down in a hollow in the moor was a surprisingly large lake, Kebble Lough, which reflected the puffy white clouds in the sky perfectly.

Cleggan

At the far end of the nature reserve we passed by the small Kebble Cottage, the most westerly house on the island.  Outside was a small picnic table but we concluded that it was a little early for lunch and so wandered on.  We crossed a cattle grid (designed to keep livestock out of the nature reserve) and then on to the tarmac road, which was to be our companion all the way back into Rathlin Harbour.

Endless Road

We climbed the hill at Kinramer, passing by a large group of cyclists going the other way.  With so few cars on the island it really is a great place to walk and cycle without any road safety worries.  At the top of the hill we got the most magnificent view across the whole of the east of the island and its L shape could really be appreciated.  Just in the dip below the hill was the hamlet of Cleggan with some of the houses at least being unoccupied albeit furnished.  Perhaps they were holiday cottages?  You would really have to enjoy the outdoors and a simple holiday to enjoy staying here for other than its immediate charm there is little else to do on the island except explore and socialise.

Picnic View

We also passed by Kinramer Wood where there is a short walk through the only largish tract of trees on the island.  Above us were buzzards wheeling around looking for lunch opportunities – they obviously rule the skies in this part of the island for there were no signs of any other seagulls.  At a much lower level it was an insect’s paradise – perhaps not surprising with so many wild flowers growing.

Catholic Church

Off to the left near Cleggan is a rare outcrop of rock apparently, called porcellanite.  This was discovered by Stone Age people who exploited this hard rock to fashion tools and weapons.  The rock is a crystalline volcanic rock, hence its hardness.  The route now became more obvious as it stretched out ahead.  This part of the island was characterised by scattered houses on small plots of land and turnings to the left and right were largely just access roads to the odd house in the distance.

Rathlin Church

Sadly the good weather that we had enjoyed to this point didn't last. Inevitably about half way back the rain started coming down quite heavily although luckily it was a shower that didn't last too long. When the rain relented we managed to find a small picnic site that I had clocked on the way out with a magnificent view across the whole island. We lingered for a little while eating our lunch before heading down the hill into Rathlin village.

Rathlin Harbour

On the way down the steep hill into the village we headed past the catholic church and the school where only eight pupils attend.  We thought briefly about heading over to the east lighthouse but concluded that we may not have enough time to do it justice and opted instead for the descent down into the Harbour.   We passed by the proud looking St Thomas's Church, built in 1812 and commanding a great view of the harbour just beyond.  By now the weather had significantly improved once again and touring around the small settlement was a joy.  I whiled away some time in the visitor centre chatting to the locals while the girls while away the remaining time by drawing and painting. It was rather a pleasant end to the day for all of us :)

Rathlin Ferry

Eventually we got the ferry back and this time we had opted for the quicker passenger only ferry. That turned out to be quite a lively affair as about half way across to Ballycastle we ran into a very powerful squally shower, which made us all duck for cover inside. Despite the rather unpleasant end it was a thoroughly enjoyable day.