This month, Andrew Swift takes us on a path less travelled, along the valley of the Broadmead Brook, taking in one of the Cotswold’s best kept secrets…
Walk this way…
Length of Walk: 9 miles
Approximate Time: 4-6 hours
Terrain: Mostly on quiet lanes and field paths, although with a 1000m trek through fields of barley near the start, an overgrown path alongside the stream in West Kington and the possibility of having to climb padlocked gates further along the valley
Maps: OS Explorer 155 & 156
No facilities en route; cafe, pubs and public conveniences in Marshfield
There are so many good things about this month’s walk, it is difficult to understand why so few people seem to walk it. With a starting point only five miles north of Bath, it follows quiet lanes and well-marked footpaths, and the scenery is unspoilt and deeply rural throughout. Yet the chances are you will only meet the occasional dog walker – and it goes without saying that there are no pubs or other facilities en route.
It starts in Marshfield, with a walk along one of the longest and loveliest High Streets in the Cotswolds. There follows a trek through a vast field of barley, where the going may be slow, although the sweeping vistas and skylarks trilling high above should provide ample compensation. After this, lanes and bridleways lead north-east across the Cotswold plateau, before dropping down to the valley of the Broadmead Brook and the picture-postcard village of West Kington. From there, we follow the brook westward along a hidden valley before climbing back up to the plateau and the village of West Littleton. Finally, more quiet lanes and one last crossing of the Broadmead Brook lead back to Marshfield.
To get to Marshfield, head north from Bath on the A46. After 4 miles turn right along the A420 for 1.75 miles, take a right turning for Marshfield and immediately turn right again into a parking area (ST772737).
From here, set off eastward along Marshfield High Street, passing a former tollhouse on the corner of Green Lane. A little further along, on the left, are the Crispe Almshouses, dating from the early 17th century.
Although a village today, Marshfield was once a town of some consequence. It grew rich from the malting of barley and a succession of glorious buildings testify to that past prosperity.
After 900m follow the road as it bears left past the Lord Nelson Inn and then right along Hay Street. After another 150m, by the turning to Hayfield, turn left to walk diagonally across a playing field and head to the right of a playschool to cross a stile onto the main road.
Turn right along the verge for 40m. Just before a school sign, cross to follow a footpath sign through a gateway (ST783739). Head diagonally along a broad strip through a field of barley. On the far side, follow a waymark to continue across another field. When you reach the hedgerow, turn right alongside it.
At the end turn left along Down Road. After 700m, when the road forks, bear right to leave South Gloucestershire and enter Wiltshire (ST798751). In late summer, this part of the walk is a delight.
Blackberries ripen in the hedgerows, knapweed, willow herb, cranesbill, mignonette, agrimony and lady’s bedstraw bloom in the verges, and poppies dot the fields.
When you come to a meeting of five lanes, carry straight on, following a signpost for Nettleton and Castle Combe. After 1000m, turn left along a bridleway (ST815759), which, after passing through a shady copse, broadens to a green lane.
After 1100m, as you approach the village of West Kington, and the tarmac begins, turn right to follow a blue arrow along a narrow path between hedges. Before long, the path starts dropping steeply downhill to the valley of the Broadmead Brook, where it meets a lane, along which you turn left (ST813772).
The large house you pass on the right is the former rectory. Further on, at a T junction, you will see the old Plough Inn (sadly long closed) ahead. Turn right across the brook, head up to the left of the Old Post Office and carry on, past a derelict Gothick-style schoolhouse, up a steep and narrow holloway. At the top, on the far side of a field, lies St Mary’s church.
The church was largely rebuilt in 1856, but the pulpit is the one from which Hugh Latimer preached when he was rector here in the 1530s. He later went on to become Bishop of Worcester and one of the leading lights of the English Reformation, before falling foul of Queen Mary and being burnt at the stake in Oxford in 1555.
The churchyard is a haven for wildlife, and benches make this an ideal spot for a break. Sitting here, with only the sounds of nature around you, it is hard to believe that, only a mile and a half away, there is another brookside village, Castle Combe, which receives around 70,000 visitors a year and at peak times is full to overflowing.
Head back down the holloway, carry on past the old Plough and follow the lane as it bears right uphill for a short distance before turning right along a footpath by East View Cottage. After 100m, bear right across a narrow footbridge and turn left to follow an overgrown path beside the brook. When you emerge onto a lane, head straight on along Drifton Hill. After 175m, just past a house called Brookside, turn left to follow a footpath sign (ST804771). For the next mile and a half, you will be following the valley of the brook westward, through a succession of farm gates, the first two of which I found padlocked – but not that tricky to negotiate – when I visited a few weeks ago.
The inconvenience is well worthwhile, for this hidden valley is surely one of the Cotswold’s best-kept secrets. At times it seems reminiscent of the dales of Derbyshire, at others its curves and sweeping contours give it an Arcadian air, like the parkland of some great estate.
Eventually, you come to the Tormarton Road, cutting across the valley and marking the border between Wiltshire and South Gloucestershire (ST783767). Climb steps to the road and cross a stile opposite to continue along the valley for another 200m. The brook turns south at this point and we have to leave it, joining a gravel track to cross a tributary stream and climb past Ebbdown Farm. After going through a gate by the farm, carry on in the same direction with the Cotswold plateau on your left and the valley of the tributary stream on your right.
After 2250m, you come to a T junction in the tiny village of West Littleton (ST761754). If you want to visit St James’s church – rebuilt a year earlier than St Mary’s – turn right past Home Farm and left at a telephone box. To continue with the walk, however, turn left. After 600m, you pass Cadwell Hill Barn, beyond which the lane drops down to cross the valley of Broadmead Brook one last time before climbing to a lonely crossroads, where you turn right (ST773745).
At the next crossroads, carry straight on, following a signpost for Westend Town. After passing Westend Farm, turn left. At the main road, cross and carry on to the tollhouse where a right turn leads back to the starting point.
To read more of Andrew Swift’s work and purchase his books, visit akemanpress.com | All photos courtesy of Andrew Swift