Take timetime outout – – Walk Walk

A woodland wander

Take a wander around the You will spot the rare moonwort Walk information tranquil woodland of Goblin fern, which alchemists claimed had magical powers, and there are Combe and spot rare ferns Distance: about 5.2 miles more than 30 species of butterflies. and beautiful butterflies in the After about ¾ mile you will go Difficulty: medium to hard: shady undergrowth. narrow, rugged paths, a through a gap in a wall. If you’re couple of wooden stiles. Wear From the parking area, turn right feeling energetic you could take suitable footwear. Ticks are into Plunder Street and go past the steep steps up on your left-hand present in this woodland so the old school building. Follow the side, to follow the orange route wear long sleeves, trousers footpath sign down the driveway and do a detour up to the cliff edge and boots. towards Walnut Tree Farm. (take extra care and don’t go too close to cliff edges). Duration: allow 2.5 hours at a Go through the gate marked The leisurely pace Estate and ‘Footpath However, this walk continues to Wrington only’. straight on, following the blue Map: OS 154 Explorer footpath. Keep on this stone track, into Cleeve Wood. Keep going until you see another map sign at a junction in the path. Goblin Combe is a limestone Take the right-hand route here, gorge. About 200 million years How to get there then a quick left, onto the smaller ago it was dry desert but torrential footpath. Start at map ref: ST 459655 rainstorms and flash floods created Continue on, with the regular By car: Cleeve is on the waterfalls which wore away the rock. Millions of years later, this sound of aeroplanes overhead. You A370. A large parking area is process was repeated when snow will eventually come to a t-junction in Cleeve Hill Road, just after melted following the Ice Age. in the path so turn right here. This the turning to Plunder Street path runs alongside the copse, with The area is a Site of Special By bus: Services X1 and X2 fields on the left-hand side. Scientific Interest and a local nature reserve. An ancient Iron Age At the end of the track turn right and settlement was based here too. follow it round to the left. Just a little

24 North Life • Summer 2019 TakeTake time time out out –– WalkWalk further on is a kissing gate on the Follow the woodland path over a Exit here onto the track and go right-hand side. Go through here little footbridge. Continue on the immediately right, through another then head straight across the field waymarked path on the left. The gate and along the path which runs towards the lane (Wrington Hill). path runs downhill to a stile, which between the hedges and trees. opens out onto a field filled with Exit right and continue up the lane This leads to Chapel Lane, wild flowers. past the pretty cottages, all the way which then leads back to to the next woodland (Corporation Cross the field, towards a gap in Cleeve Hill Road and Woods). the trees. Head towards the gate at the parking area. the bottom. Keep on the lane through the woods until you get to a junction next to Woodside Cottage. Take a sharp left here, up the driveway, signposted ‘Congresbury Start/finish Woodlands’. Go up the track and follow it round to the right. There is a map here and you will be following the green route towards Woolmers House. Keep onwards on the main gravel track, continuing past Kennel House (Woolmers). Turn right after the house, the path between the gardens. This leads to a gate and into King’s Wood. This map is for guidance only and walkers should carry and use the OS 1:25000 map when out. © Crown copyright and database rights 2019 Ordnance Survey 100023397. You are not permitted to copy, sub-license, distribute or sell this data to third parties in any form.

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