Ambling through ancient King’s Wood, once part of a medieval royal hunting forest, this walk climbs to the airy heights of Wavering Down and passes through a deliciously rich range of wildlife habitats. When we were there brimstone butterflies, those delicate scraps of winged sunlight, were out in force. Listen for the laughing yaffle of green woodpeckers amongst the venerable trees.
The spaces are vast, so keeping away from other walkers should be no problem. Pack a picnic, pick a blue-sky day and prepare to be restored. This is one of those walks that is undoubtedly good for the soul, and, as I discovered this route the day before lockdown, it created a lovely memory to carry with me throughout the time of restrictions.
THE ROUTE
1 Start off along the road through Cross, passing the White Hart Inn on the left. In about 300m, before you reach the next inn, take a rough, uphill path going left off the road, by a dog-poo bin. This arrives at a wooden gate in 100m, beyond which a blue-arrowed post directs you obliquely right along a bridleway. The path still rises, with big views to the right across to the very man-made Cheddar Reservoir. The hum of the A38 travels with you. Ignore a right fork and keep on to the next arrowed post, from which our way lies ahead, ignoring the bridleway going left.
This story is from the October 2020 edition of Somerset Life.
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This story is from the October 2020 edition of Somerset Life.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
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