Day: 057
Date: Wednesday, 27 July 2022
Start: Bridgwater
Finish: Torre
Daily Kilometres: 35
GPX Track: Click here for Julie’s Strava & Photos
Total Kilometres: 1595
Weather: Mild, sunny in the morning and overcast in the afternoon.
Accommodation: Hotel
Nutrition:
Breakfast: Pastries/Breakfast bar
Lunch: Tuna & sweetcorn sandwich/Beef & horseradish sandwich
Dinner: Chicken, salad & chips, chocolate.
Aches: Dave - a few niggles. Julie - nothing.
Highlight: The Drove Road, a track dating from Mediaeval times, along the ridge of the Quantock Hills was fantastic. Bordered by ancient oaks in places, and giving panoramic views in others, we felt on top of the world on a perfect day.
Lowlight: None really.
Pictures: Click here
Map and Position: Click here for Google Map
Journal:
We set out at 6:00am from Bridgwater, and were soon crossing fields on little-used paths as we headed towards the Quantock Hills. We think it is likely that the only people who use some of these field paths are people using the same guidebook as us (The End to End Trail), and that doesn’t add up to many people each year.
We had a number of ascents and descents across scenic and peaceful farmland, and through magical tunnel-like bridleways, as we climbed to the main ridge of the Quantocks, apparently the first region in England to get the “Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty” designation. After seeing nobody, apart from a few farmhands and the odd motorist, on our ascent, there were walkers and mountain-bikers everywhere on the ridge (and, of course, a couple of carparks). There were many different trails to follow, but the main trail, the historic Drove Road, was clearly the most popular, and it was easy to understand why (see above).
Early on, we passed over the moorland summit of Wills Neck, at 384m, the highest point of the Quantock Hills and paused to enjoy the 360 degree views and chat to a couple of mountain-bikers. It took us a few hours to traverse the whole ridge, which had great views all along, including to the Bristol Channel and the Welsh coast in the distance. We could even see the forest of cranes at the construction site of the new Hinkley Point C nuclear power station far below on the coast.
Our descent took us down the beautiful Bicknoller Combe, at first a bracken-sided valley then, further down, a wooded glen. In the village of Bicknoller, we found a picnic table outside the village hall and had a late lunch. Up to that point, we had been following the guidebook route, but our accommodation was off the route and we used our navigation app for the last leg of the day. It took us on a pleasant route across fields, along lanes and through the pretty village of Sampford Brett to Williton, where we bought supplies for tomorrow, knowing that there would be no stores tonight or tomorrow.
From there it was another 4 kilometres to our hotel, set in a picturesque rural area, where we checked in around 4:30pm, after an excellent day.
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