BUCKLAND DINHAM & THE COLLIERS WAY This route was kindly donated by Nigel Vile. Please visit http://www.geocities.com/vilewalks/nigel.html for more walks by Nigel Vile Buckland Dinham and the Collier’s Way by Nigel Vile: The National Gazetteer of 1868 always provides a fascinating insight into local history. Of Buckland Dinham it writes of “a parish 2 miles to the N. of Frome, its post town, which is a station on the Great Western railway. It is situated in a pleasant district, and was anciently a market town and a place of some importance. It was at one time the seat of a good woollen trade. The assizes were occasionally held here. In the neighbouring valleys teasel is grown, the cultivation of which, for use in the woollen manufacture, employs many of the villagers. The living is a vicarage in the diocese of Bath and Wells, value £163, in the gift of the bishop. The church is dedicated to St. Mary. The Wesleyans have a chapel here”. The walk itself starts at St Michael and All Angels Church, a handsome enough building described by Edward Hutton as ‘interesting rather than fine’. It dates back to the 12th-century, evidence of which can be seen in the south doorway. Opposite the church is the village lock-up, alongside what was the site of a weekly medieval market, whose cross can now be found in the churchyard. The village can also boast a rather impressive village hall, built as reading room and coffee rooms in 1880 – no doubt by those Wesleyans – to provide an alternative to the attractions of the local public houses. Of these, incidentally, only the Bell Inn now survives and has been serving customers for close on 200 years. A quiet bridlepath heads across country out of Buckland Dinham towards Hill House Farm. With its slight elevation, the views across this corner of East Mendip are quite impressive. The sharp-eyed will spot the Westbury White Horse, the folly at East Cranmore and the Pen Hill Mast above Wells …. as well as a vast chimney in a nearby field! This marks the site of Buckland Colliery, where a pair of shafts were sunk back in 1879. Despite repeated attempts at extracting coal, it proved impossible to keep water out from the mine’s tunnels and coal was never produced commercially on the site. Ironically, the colliery chimney remains the only one left standing on the North Somerset Coalfield. Coal needs an outlet and, unlikely as it may seem, there were attempts to cut a canal across these local hillsides. It was to have been a branch of the Dorset and Somerset Canal that was designed to link the Kennet and Avon at Bradford with the English Channel at Poole. Of the mainline nothing was built, although remnants of the branch running out from Frome to Nettlebridge can still be traced. A balance lock has been excavated close to Buckland Dinham – but this lies on private land and there is no regular public access. The inquisitive visitor should refer to the Dorset and Somerset Canal website for images. Just to the north of Conduit Bridge – where the walk joins a cycle path - the bed of the canal is visible on the left-hand side of the lane. Conduit Bridge marks the point where the walk joins a section of National Cycle Route 24, named Colliers Way for obvious reasons. Recently opened as a cycle route, the path runs parallel to the track bed of the long-disused North Somerset Railway running between Radstock to Frome. Along the way lie an intriguing collection of stones bearing the names of varieties of apples – as well as recently planted apple trees. In days gone by, rail travellers discarded apple cores from the carriages that self-seeded. The idea is to create a new linear orchard that will hopefully provide refreshment for passing travellers in years to come. Leaving the Railway Path at Bucklands Bridge, a pleasant series of field paths head back to Buckland Dinham, where the Bell Inn will surely prove a tempting diversion. Looking at the inn’s website, the owners are certainly making every effort to provide a focal point for the local community. From a Beer Festival and a Barn Grotto on Halloween to Auto Jumble Sales and Bonfire Night Revelries, there is something for everyone at this traditional local inn - ‘We cater for everyone from Digger Drivers to Lords & Ladies’ is the strap line! The bottom line is the food and drink, however, and there can be no complaints here with the Bell being a ‘West Country Life’ Gold Award winner. Fact File: Distance 4 miles. Time 2 hours. Start Point Buckland Dinham Church (GR 755513). Map Reference OS Landranger 183 or OS Explorer 142. Terrain Gently undulating. Contact via www.geocities.com/vilewalsk/nigel Directions Getting there Buckland Dinham lies northwest of Frome on the A362 road to Radstock. A culde sac lane at the Frome end of the village opposite the village hall leads up to the church where there is room for roadside parking. 1. Walk back down to the A362, turn right and walk through the village as far as the Bell Inn. Turn left into Sandcross Lane and, in 50 yards turn right along a bridleway. Follow this track for ¾ mile to a lane at the entrance to Hill House Farm. Cross this lane and follow a track opposite along to a gate and stile. Follow the right edge of the field ahead to a stile in the hedgerow on the right. Cross this stile, and follow the left edge of the next field to a point where it widens – it is in fact a new field but the field boundaries have been removed. Continue ahead to a point 75 yards from the corner of the field, before bearing half-right – clipping the corner of the field – to reach a stile in the end field boundary. 2. Cross a track to a stile opposite, before following the right edge of the next field – the path follows a strip of traditional limestone grassland. In 350 yards, veer right along an easily missed exit point through a hedgerow to a lane. Turn left and follow the lane down to Conduit Bridge. Cross the bridge, and follow a path to the right down to the bed of the North Somerset railway and the cycle path. Turn right, pass under the bridge and follow the track in the direction of Frome. Follow what is Colliers Way for close on 1½ miles until the cycle path joins a lane at Bucklands Bridge. 3. Turn left, pass under the railway bridge and follow the lane for 400 yards to a stile on the right bearing a Macmillan Way marker. Walk across the field ahead to a gap in the hedge in the end field boundary, turn left along a farm track for a few paces before crossing a gate on the right. Bear half-left across the field ahead to a stile in the left-hand field boundary, walking roughly in the direction of Buckland Dinham Church. Cross the field ahead to a stile to the right of a whitewashed bungalow and join a lane. Cross the lane and climb some steps to a stile opposite. Head up to a stile on the hilltop in the top left corner of the next field, before following the right edges of 2 fields to join a track in Buckland Dinham. Cross a stile in the corner of the second field, before following an enclosed path ahead down to the A362. Turn right – and first left – to return to the church. The Route: .