Never Be Bored

We are lucky in Wiltshire to be surrounded by some of the countries greatest archaeological remains from ancient history, as well as many from more modern times. Most of these are easily accessible from public footpaths and there are plenty within a short drive of Chippenham.

A good way to see Wansdyke is to head through Calne on the A4, and then take the road towards Bishops Canning which rises up sharply onto the Wilshire Downs. Just before you reach the North Wiltshire Golf Club, there is a parking area on the left signposted as Small Grain picnic area. On a sunny day there are usually plenty of walkers and picnickers making the most of the views across Wiltshire from this lovely spot.

White Horse Trail at Morgans Hill

Poppy, Max and I headed off along the well marked Wansdyke Path, avoiding the occasional cyclist on the first part which is also the White Horse Trail an official cycle path. After about half a mile the two paths split and Wansdyke climbs steeply up towards the top of Morgans Hill. The dogs love chasing the rabbits back down their holes and smelling out the badgers and foxes that must roam these paths at night. At the top of the hill is a communications mast and some small buildings fenced off, but there is plenty of room for the dogs to run off their leads if the sheep aren’t in this field.

Wansdyke itself is now clearly visible and you can walk along the old earthwork defences which it is though were built by Britons or Saxons during the 5th or 6th century, after the Romans had left the country. A good detour is to walk across the field up to Furze Knoll, which is a small wooded hill top with a very good view across the downs towards Devizes.

As we wanted to see Avebury as well today, we headed back around the top of Morgans Hill and down the other side back to the Wessex Ridgeway path which follows the old Roman road from London to Bath. You can walk all the way across the Downs to Avebury but this is too much for a short circular walk with the dogs, so we went back to the car and drove back along the A4 from Calne to Avebury.

After parking in the National Trust car park we walked into the village and meandered around the great standing stones which form the largest Neolithic stone circle in Europe. The sheer scale of the earthworks becomes clear the more you walk around the area, and the neighbouring monuments of Silbury Hill and West Kennet Long Barrow all date from the same period some 2500 years ago or more. This must have been an awesome place for early stone age people to comprehend, let alone build, and Avebury is now a World Heritage Site owned by the National Trust together with the more recent 16^thcentury Avebury Manor in the centre of the village.

Avebury Standing Stones

After exploring the village end to end, we enjoyed a short rest and drink outside at the Red Lion pub before heading back to the car park and home for tea.

Macdonald Bath Spa Hotel & Gardens

I was recently fortunate to win a weekend break at the Macdonald Bath Spa Hotel, which was once a very grand 19^th Century private residence and is now a luxury hotel in the centre of the beautiful Roman city of Bath. As I had recently taken my eldest son on a golfing weekend break to The Belfry, it was only fair to take my youngest son on this trip to explore the sights of the city and enjoy a few nights in a 5 star hotel.

We took the scenic A4 road from Chippenham through the historic towns of Corsham and Box, then onto Batheaston where the sweeping views appear of Bath’s Regency terraced housing ahead. It is always an impressive sight as you enter the city, especially when the sun is shining on the golden Bath limestone that so many of the city’s buildings have been built from.

The hotel is on the east side of the city so there was no need to fight through too much the traffic of the city centre, and after checking in we went off to explore the local area. After walking through the impressive grounds of the hotel back down to the main road, we crossed over to Sydney Gardens which is one of the oldest parks in Bath. Tom enjoyed crossing the railway bridge in the middle of the park as the trains passed underfoot through the cutting and onto their destinations of London, Bristol or down to the South West coast.

The Holburne Museum at the bottom of the park was clad in scaffolding and closed for renovation work, so we crossed the road and walked down Great Pulteney Street towards the city centre. This is an impressive and wide avenue of 18^th Century town houses leading you past Bath Rugby ground and onto the famous Pulteney Bridge, which is apparently one of only four bridges in the world with shops across the full span on both sides.

On the other side of the River Avon we stopped to buy ice creams and sat watching the water rolling over the weir, with some canoeists testing their skills in the choppy waters below, while shoppers and tourists milled around the streets up above. We checked out a few of the local restaurants and picked the friendly looking Real Italian Pizza Company onYork Street as a good place for dinner later that evening.

After a long walk back up to the hotel, we decided to check out the swimming pool before going out to eat. Although the hotel is large and impressive, the pool was a bit on the small side and not really child friendly enough for Tom who was hoping for slides and flumes but instead had to make do with a few floats. He soon made friends with a few other children though and found a good way to annoy the older guests who reprimanded them for running and making too much noise.

Bath & River Avon from City Bus Tour

The next morning we took an open top bus tour of the city centre and the surrounding area, which was a really good way to get to see the main sights from a top deck viewpoint rather than just walking at street level. We returned on foot in the afternoon to explore the old Roman Baths, which is a great experience and history lesson for people of all ages. The pedestrian area around the Roman Baths and Bath Abbey is always a focal point for street entertainers and we watched fire eaters, jugglers and mono-cyclists performing their various arts together with theatrical singers and some people dressed in blue costumes and very realistically pretending to be statues. After exploring most of the shopping streets and alleys, we returned to the hotel tired but very pleased with our weekend adventures.

Poppy & Max

Spring is upon us again and what a great time it is to pull on a pair of walking boots and head off into the countryside. There’s nothing like a bit of sunshine and fresh air to blow way the winter blues and clear the cobwebs from the old grey matter.

As Max is now old enough to venture out with Poppy, my weekends are now spent exercising myself and two small Yorkies on our local walks. We’ve been lucky with the weather the last few weeks, which has allowed us to complete three of my favourite walks in the North Wiltshire countryside.

Walk 1

Cherhill White Horse & Lansdowne Monument

After a short drive along the A4 through Calne and on towards Avebury and Marlborough, the road climbs up through Cherhill with the Wiltshire downs on the right hand side. Near the top of the downs are several lay byes to park up and join one of the many footpath routes up to Oldbury Hill and it’s ancient hill fort and white horse carved into the chalk hillside. The walk up the hill is steep from the lower end of the hill, but more leisurely the higher up the road you decide to park. We chose the longer route from the base of the hill, as both the dogs and I needed plenty of exercise after the lazy winter months.

Once away from the road, and with no sheep in sight, the dogs were very pleased to get off their leads and chase along the steep chalky paths that lead up to the summit. The 125 foot high Lansdowne monument leaves you with no doubt which way to go and it’s a well worn route for locals and visitors up to the top. The views on the way up and at the summit make the effort of the climb well worth while, and once you reach the large plateau beyond the obelisk there are plenty of ways to explore the old earthwork remains of the iron age hill fort. From here on a good day you can see much of Wiltshire,

Lansdowne Monument & Oldbury Hill Fort

from Swindon to Bristol as well as the neighbouring towns of Bath, Chippenham, Calne, and Marlborough.

The descent down past the Cherhill White Horse is much easier than the climb up, but still slippy in places so care is needed to avoid an embarrassing slide down the hill. After a short stroll down the footpath beside the A4, the circular route back to the car was completed and a very good few hours was had by all of us.

Walk 2

Castle Combe has to be one of the prettiest villages in England, and is perfect for a springtime walk along its narrow streets which can often be busy with day trippers and then down past the By Brook River and off up into the woods and hillside of the steep valley that the river has carved over thousands of years. Most of the visitors don’t venture far off the main road, leaving the footpaths free for locals and the more determined to stretch their legs and lungs.

Castle Combe & By Brook River

After parking at the main visitor car park above the village, Poppy and Max were eager to get going on this familiar route although the first half a mile had to be kept on their leads as we walked down the steep road winding down into the village. Before getting to the busy main street and market cross, we turned left up a steep rocky path that takes you above the village to the east and through Parsonage Woods. The path gradually descends back down to meet the main path heading to Ford. This is a very picturesque walk, with old mills and farm houses in the valley far below, steep hillsides full of flowers and trees, and plenty of space for the dos to run freely and not interfere with too many other walkers or their dogs.

With enough time you can follow the route over the A420 at Ford and onto Colerne, but as we had ventured far enough for one day and my knees are not what they used to be, we turned back at Ford and retraced our steps back towards Castle Combe. As we got near to the village, we took the lower path this time taking us back onto the main street and past the luxury Manor House Hotel, the pubs in the village centre and the crowds sitting outside and around the market cross. After a steep walk up the road to the car park, the dogs were thirsty and we all enjoyed a long drink before heading home for tea.

Walk 3

Having walked from Castle Combe to Ford the weekend before, this weekend we decided to do the next leg of the walk from Ford along the By Brook River towards Slaughterford.

Car parking is a bit of a challenge in Ford, so we decided to make use of one of three car parks at the White Hart Inn and hope the owners didn’t take too much offence. We would return for a drink later and perhaps the offer of some free advertising on NeverBeBored would help keep them happy.

The weather wasn’t looking good as we started the walk and it felt like rain was heading in, but after a few minutes the sun decided to break through and the views along the river valley were stunning. The river meanders gently along the river valley and over several small weirs, and the footpath crosses from one side of the river to another over small wooden bridges. The stiles presented a few challenges for the dogs which, being so small, usually found a way underneath rather than following me over them.

We reached the small road at Slaughterford and as the weather still couldn’t decide if it was going to stay sunny or not, we decided to make today’s walk a shorter one than planned and headed back up the road through the little village and over the fields past the Church of St. Nicholas.

Slaughterford

We picked up the narrow single track road again from Slaughterford back to Ford, which is not much more than a muddy track and very few cars venture this way so it was fine for the last leg of our walk. After a nice cold drink at the White Hart Inn, and a bowl of water for the dogs, we headed back to the car feeling very pleased with ourselves.

The main A69 road passes tantalisingly close to Hadrian’s Wall, with regular visitor signposts reminding you how close you are to one of the great Roman remains in England. On a recent business trip, my car journey took me across the Pennines from Newcastle to Carlisle, and despite being the middle of February the sun was out and the weather was remarkably mild for a winter’s day.

The road was a pleasure to be driving along, with very little traffic in the middle of the day and beautiful scenery as we climbed out of the urban sprawl of the north eastern conurbations and into open countryside. After passing signs to Hadrian’s Wall at the junctions for Corbridge and Hexham, I was getting intrigued by just how close I was to this World Heritage Site and whether I had enough time to take a short detour and see it in real life for the first time. I passed Chesterwood and a few miles further saw a signpost indicating I was only 2 miles from the wall and the Once Brewed visitor centre. Without further hesitation, I turned off the main road and immediately found myself climbing up narrow winding roads through small hamlets and out into the open countryside near the top of the fells.

The Once Brewed visitor centre, with its own Youth Hostel and next to the Twice Brewed pub, is well worth spending some time browsing around, with plenty of information about the rich history and scenery all around this area. Despite feeling a bit out of place in a business suit and surrounded by more appropriately dressed walkers and climbers, I decided to make the most of the occasion and asked where the nearest point was to actually see and touch the wall itself. The very helpful assistant at the centre showed me the short car drive up to the nearby car park at Steel Rigg which is on the route of the wall itself.

The views from Steel Rigg are truly inspiring, with long stretches of Hadrian’s Wall snaking along the top of a granite ridge carved out by a glacier which passed down this valley. I only had time to take a short walk from the car park to the wall itself, take a few photos and then head back to the car for the rest of my journey to Carlisle. One day I will return with walking boots, rucksack and perhaps our two dogs to take a much longer walk along this most fabulous of Roman remains.

One of the cheapest and most fulfilling leisure activities, that anyone in reasonable health can enjoy, is a good long walk. Whether you’re a city dweller or country bumpkin, one of the greatest free pastimes is to pull on a pair of sturdy shoes and head off into the outdoors. Fair weather is always preferable, sunshine is an added bonus and rainy days are best spent indoors unless you’re a really determined individual.

The United Kingdom is blessed with thousands of miles of public footpaths to explore, and even in the largest of cities you can find good walking routes through parks and open spaces to get away from the hectic hustle and bustle of modern living. If you’re heading off into more rural and remote places, you’ll need to better equipped and prepared, so check out the Ramblers Association  website for more information if you’re not familiar with the great outdoors, and better still pair up with some experienced walkers.

Add in a small dog as a walking companion (Poppy the Yorkshire Terrier in our case) and a long walk becomes an endless game of canine amusements. She is always a good talking point when we meet fellow walkers on our journeys, and it’s nice to have a reason to talk to complete strangers as long as they’re feeling sociable.

Living in rural Wiltshire, on the edge of the market town of Chippenham, there is no shortage of good walking routes to choose from both in the town and the surrounding areas. Town centre walks include gentle ambles around Monkton Park, strolls through John Coles Park or longer walks along the banks of the River Avon following the North Wiltshire Rivers Route linking Melksham, Lacock, Chippenham, Calne, Cherhill and Avebury

Some of my favourite routes are around the olde worlde local villages of Biddestone, Castle Combe, Lacock, Corsham, Kington St Michael, Kington Langley, Derry Hill, Langley Burrell, Sutton Benger and Christian Malford.

Going further afield allows us to explore the ancient abbey town of Malmesbury, the medieval wool town of Tetbury, the industrial textile town of Bradford on Avon, the World Heritage Sites of the Avebury, Stonehenge and the historic Roman city of Bath.

For our walk today we set off from the western outskirts of the town at Derriads Pond, across the bypass and through the fields down to the A4. After a short stretch on a tight lead along the footpath running along the side of the busy Bath Road, we crossed over at Chequers Farm and into the Corsham Park estate. The sheep were in the first two fields so Poppy had to stay on her lead, much to her annoyance as she tried to charge at any sheep within easy reach. After a few failed attempts she calmed down except for the occasional sheep that was quite happy to tease her by not moving out of our way quickly.

The third field was mostly sheep free and offered some wide open spaces to let Poppy off the lead and play her favourite game of chase the ball. Yorkies were bred to be rat catchers in northern textile mills during the industrial revolution, so it’s always amusing to see the real passion that a game of ball brings out in her. The rubber balls have a short life as they soon get shredded by razor sharp teeth, or left behind when she gets distracted by something else more interesting.

She is a crafty little dog and one trick she has learned is that if she wants to go in a different direction to where we are heading she only needs and drop the ball and carry on walking after me. When I notice she no longer has it, I have to go back in the direction she wanted to go. Despite much chastising for this little trick she still tries it on most walks – and today caused me to retrace my steps across half the field to recover yet another dropped ball.

As we came within site of Corsham Court we entered the Capability Brown designed parkland leading down to Corsham Lake. The history of Corsham Court and the Methuen family who built and still own it is well documented as a quick online search will reveal. It is now leased to Bath Spa University as a centre for art and design, although a notice on the entrance today states there is an on-going dispute with the owners about the current usage of the building.

Corsham itself has a very picturesque high street, which today was decked in flowers and garlands as part of the annual Corsham in Bloom event. Plenty of people were milling around and one or two smiled at the sight of such a small dog in my company – little do they know that she thinks she is really an Alsation !

After taking a few pictures for the blog, we headed back to the grand gated driveway leading back to Corsham Court, then followed the public footpath along the side of the lake and out of the eastern side of the estate. I was now in new territory as we hadn’t walked this way before so the Ordnance Survey map was suddenly in demand as we worked away around various farms and lanes through Easton and back onto the A4 to retrace our steps home.

This was a long walk for Poppy, after nearly 3 hours and with such short legs, but there were no signs of her tiring. She’s still a youngster unlike me who was by now feeling a few twinges in the feet and legs. A welcome bowl of water and tin of food awaited her in the kitchen, for me a cup of tea and some chocolate biscuits hit the mark very nicely.

Poppy now has a younger sibling called Max, who is not yet old enough to venture out on our long walks but is starting to explore the outside world in lots of small leaps and bounds. It won’t be too long before an episode of a long walk with two small dogs will be on the cards for part 2 of this article !

So, we’re finally up and running, which is just incredibly exciting! However, as with all new adventures we’ve had a couple of teething problems! We say couple…we mean London! For anyone living in or around the area, we’re sorry if things are a bit muddled at the moment. We’re having a wee re-jig as we speak…so do check back for a new and improved Capital city experience! (This isn’t in anyway a parody of the London 2012 campaign!)

Asides from that thing’s are going splendidly. We’ve already had some ace suggestions coming in, so thank you to all of you who have taken the time to do so. Please do keep them coming in and please keep telling your friends about us. And don’t get forget 3 easy ways to win an Amazon Kindle or £100 Amazon Gift Certificate!

www.neverbebored.co.uk

Keep your eyes peeled on the site for new articles that we’re adding all the time. They’re short, funny and to the point…the best kind we think! Click on the links below to find out which are our top ten favourite UK music festivals, and what the top ten free attractions in the UK are…

http://www.neverbebored.co.uk/articles/best_british_music_festivals.php

http://www.neverbebored.co.uk/articles/top_10_free_attractions.php

Don’t forget to check back soon!

We don’t know about you, but we LOVE music! In fact, we’re 99.97% certain we wouldn’t have been able to put NBB together without an uninterrupted supply of brilliant music courtesy of our heroes at Spotify. Here’s 3 lists we had on the go whilst setting up the site. Never was the term ‘something for everyone’ more appropiate. Let us know what you think…unless you want to demand to know where the Bruno Mars is!

1)

Morning – When coffee simply isn’t enough

2)

Afternoon – Hitting your stride

3)

Evening – Winding down

NeverBeBored.co.uk is now live and starting its online journey.

Our mission is to make sure there is always an answer to the question –  “What shall we do today?”

The UK is a land full of leisure opportunities, but it’s not always easy to find information in one place about all the things that you would like to do. Hence the need for NeverBeBored.co.uk

We have added a new article to the site explaining how we can help you make the most of your free time and find great leisure activities throughout the United Kingdom. So come and take a read, then start to explore what we have to offer.

Finding Leisure Activities Throughout the United Kingdom

Welcome to our world!

The NeverBeBored team