4. Woods, Views and Wild Flowers

Walk A - approximately 5 miles
Walk B - approximately 4 miles (this has a different middle section)

These are pleasant walks into the country where in season you will see bluebells in the woods, and masses of snowdrops in Higher Combe, followed later by rhododendrons. You will be in Wiltshire for most of the time. It can be very muddy in the woods in wet weather.

Walks A & B

From the Town Hall, with your back to it, go right down the High Street. Where it bears right at the bottom of the hill, continue straight ahead up Coppice Street, between the Post Office and a baker’s shop. There is a free car park off the left hand side of this street.

Cross the A30/A350 by-pass at the end, turn right and almost immediately left into Mampitts Road. Continue straight ahead, passing a school and cemetery to Langdale Farm. There is a footpath sign on the gate.

Bear left on the track past the farm and continue to a stile by a gate. Cross this, and keeping the hedge on your left, go straight ahead across three fields and into a lane next to Blackmore Farm Depot. Follow this to a T-junction, then turn right along the lane to Wincombe Farm.

Go through a metal farm gate and almost immediately turn almost immediately right up the first track with cottages on your left. Go ahead on this, continuing on it as it goes through trees and then winds in an S bend.

You now have a choice of 2 routes for the middle part of the walk.

Walk A

Continue straight ahead on the path through the trees (ignoring the main track which goes on to a field through a metal gate) until you reach a crossing of tracks.
(The view on your left now opens out across Gutch Common)

Turn right here and go straight ahead past a large stone house on your left hand side. As you begin to descend look for a signpost on your left hand side indicating a waymarked gate on your right hand side. Cross this and walk down under the trees, with a fence on your left, and go over a stile at the end. Go straight across the field and through a field gate beside a water trough.

Continue straight ahead over the rise, to the left of an oak tree, and head for a gate in the lower corner of the field. You are now in the Hamlet of Higher Combe. Go through to the road and turn left downhill crossing a stream which is sometimes easier to hear than see, and then uphill passing a junction on your left to a T-junction.

Walk B

Take the track on your right and go ahead for about ½ mile through the trees, and continue straight on down into the Hamlet of Higher Combe. Go up to a T-junction.

Walks A & B

At the top pause to look to your right at the view across a lake. Turn right along the lane with the "No Through Road" sign. Continue between two houses, and up the next incline. Go over the stile and through the left hand metal gate.

Keep on the left hand track. Continue, going over a stile and straight ahead up the centre of the valley.

At the end of the valley, go over the stile on your right and up the slope to the school drive. Turn left on this and after approximately twenty metres turn right into the coppice just before the bridge. Follow this path through the trees and climb the stile on your left into the field.

NB. The footpath now crosses land which is part of an equestrian establishment and dogs must be kept on a lead.

Go half right to a stile by a metal gate in the top corner of the field and straight ahead over a waymarked stile.

Cross the field diagonally right, past the corner of Mampitts Farm garden, to a stile half-way along the fence. Cross this and turn left down Mampitts Road.

Return to the Town Hall by the route taken at the start of the walk.

Map 4. Woods, Views and Wild Flowers