COLERIDGE WAY PART 7

Aside.

This is a five mile walk from the pretty village of Luxborough to Wheddon Cross and crosses the highest part of the route at Lype Hill (423 metres - I realise this is peanuts to seasoned climbers like Randall but this is West Somerset ). There were four of us – son # 1, myself and two teen –age grand-children. My son had just given me a walking pole and he carefully adjusted it to the correct height. I don’t need a stick but on long walks I find it useful to have a third leg. The wrist strap makes it less cumbersome than a stick as I usually keep my camera in my hand.

It was a beautiful day; we left the car in the Village Hall car park. I wasn’t familiar with the west end of the village and as we passed a charming tea-garden with a stream I thought how my mother would have loved it. No time to linger - we had a long uphill slog to Newcombe Farm. We stopped to talk to the animals and then had another long haul up a track with deep tractor ruts. We were chatting and taking photos when we noticed the farmer waving to us from his tractor. We gave him a cheery wave back and then realised that his frantic waving meant get the hell out of it. He wanted to drive the cattle back down the track we were on - ushering them with his tractor and we were stopping him. Somewhat abashed we scuttled up the hill out of his way.

Looking back we got superb views and the visibility was excellent. At the top we had a brisk walk along Colly Hill, Lype Common and Lype Hill. It was Good Friday and I asked the children what significance it had for them. We felt as if we were on top of the world and imagined Jesus walking, carrying his Cross to the sound of the elusive skylarks. It felt ‘Nearer to Thee’ than in any church I must confess. We tried to identify the surrounding hills but Dunkery Beacon with its dark blue colouring, was the only one we were sure about. We saw a couple of burial mounds by the trig point dating back to the early Bronze Age.

Going back down to civilization we had been warned about the slippery surface even in dry weather. The rock surface is slate-like in pretty shades and we did have the odd slip. Past a kennels we continued down to Cutcombe Cross and the adults went to investigate Cutcombe Church. Eventually we all converged on the Rest and be Thankful Inn which was very busy. We had a rest and were thankful for a drink and sandwiches (The men were cooking steak in the evening) and made plans for the last two legs of the Coleridge Way – maybe in the autumn.