Woolly, feathered metallic bottoms

You all seemed to enjoy my figure of eight hike the other week, that I thought I’d share (written & scheduled before yesterday’s post!) another circular stroll that I did the other direction. Again under grey skies, and again taking in both the canal and the river. No valley views or cake for Jo this time, but there were some unexpected sculptures as well as multiple bottoms!

Bradford-on-Avon is encircled by a green belt, which has ensured that it hasn’t been swallowed up by Bath or by the county town of Trowbridge. It also means that a few yards behind Sainsbury’s it is very very green!

Eventually I emerged from the green but it seemed to be darker than ever. There were multiple options for where I could go next, and given how dark it was I decided to head back towards town in case the heavens opened. First though I had to cross a muddy field.

I am so glad I did as not only was there a break from all the mud but there was a wonderful surprise on the other side; sculpture in the grounds of a small hotel.

Leaving the art behind I headed towards the canal, still at this point thinking I might be then heading back into town. However it felt a tiny bit brighter, and I wasn’t really ready to return so I followed the canal away from town. I soon came across the remains of a canal wreck. It does happen, and probably more frequently than you might imagine. The two most common reasons are ingress of water into the engine bay because the weed hatch wasn’t secured or getting the boat ‘hung up’ in the lock. I don’t know the reason for this sinking, but it was cleared within a few days of the occurrence.

Shortly after the wreck with the sun trying to make an appearance I left the canal to explore Widbrook Wood. A semi-natural woodland managed by the Wiltshire Wildlife Trust is surrounded by waterways; on the south by the Kennet & Avon Canal and to the north of the River Avon. There are also rivers flowing through it – the River Biss flows in the south-eastern section and the Widbrook, from which it takes its name, flows through the west. It is therefore not a wood to explore after heavy rains, and you probably need waterproof footwear even in the middle of an English summer. It is a beautiful haven.

As I emerged from the wood into farmland the clouds won the fight with the blue. However the sun was definitely still trying to make an appearance, so I wasn’t that bothered by all the grey. Plus the field was full of woolly bottoms!

By this point I was on the edges of the town, and had walked around 3 miles. All that was left to do was to explore the old golf course, which is located on top of the old town dump.

There is a huge on-going battle at the moment over the golf course. It does not fall within the green belt area and consequently Wiltshire Council regard it as prime development site for housing, and it is on their reserved list. Bradford-on-Avon is required is build 85 more houses by 2030, but because of the green belt has really got any places left to build them apart from this location. However there are concerns about what lies beneath the topsoil and golf course closed years ago allowing the land to slowly become a rich wildlife habitat for birds, butterflies, bats, otters, beavers and river birds. The town council and local residents want to keep it wild; this fabulous White Space Films video launched a few weeks ago explains why.