Chew Stoke in Mud
Friday 17th March – Chew Stoke
Walk Markers: Barbara & Roger
This is not a flat walk. It is 5 miles, with one stile and 30 gates. We walk up the lane to Pagans Hill then head west across fields and a quiet lane to Regil. Then up to Regilbury Park Farm where we turn south, back across fields to Walnut Tree Farm. From here we go along the Two Rivers Way back to the village.
Report
Mud, Mud, Mud, Glorious Mud. The schedule said there would be some mud, but what we had was rather more than Barbara and Roger had encountered on their recces.
We started off in the village of Chew Stoke. The name deriving from the dialect word, Chewer, meaning Passage and Stoke coming from the word stoc or stockade.
Pagans Hill was the biggest climb of the morning. In excavations in mid-20th century, a 6c BC an Iron Age shrine was found and 3c AD Romano-British temple complex.
The walk went along the ridge with views across to the Mendips through fields and farmyards. This part of the walk was very pleasant with fairly easy walking to the village of Regil, where we had out coffee break.
We then went on to Regilbury Park Farm where there were a great number of cows housed under cover and where we began to have to negotiate mud. The path from the farm was an old artificial grass track, but was covered in muddy water.
From here the walk went through fields and on paths, some newly created, which were full of slippery mud and the fields soggy with water. This was because of the rain over the proceeding days and was not encountered by Barbara and Roger when working out the walk.
The walk ended up by passing the Church of St. Andrew’s, 15c with 156 wooden and stone angels carved inside and has the oldest bell made by the Bilbie family, who cast 1350 bells in total, in 1698. The old Rectory was sold by the church in 2008 and has on its South side carvings of shields bearing the arms of the St. Loe family, former chief Landowners in the district.
We arrived back at the Chew Kitchen where we had the first rain of the morning whilst removing muddy boots and dirty gaiters.
A very enjoyable walk overall, in spite of the mud, in good weather conditions, and so very well worthwhile views to see over this part of Somerset. Well done Barbara and Roger. Report by Michael