LIFETIME of WALKS by DEREK HARWOOD

I parked in a field by the pond and Court House, paid parking fee in honesty box. Sylvia was reading a book in the car. I passed several fine cottages from the car park to the A39, then crossed the main road with extreme caution to Townsend Farm. Care is required to leave the farm with the stream on the right hand side. There were no footpath signs and no metal gates after '8'. The first gate was wooden, the second only a gap in the fence. I continued ahead to ruined farm buildings, passed a stream just before the ruins and continued to the right hand corner of the field. I crossed the stream again to a gate on the edge of the wood. I turned left and crossed the stream again before a climb and right fork to the top of Pardlestone Hill. There was no obvious track to Smith's Combe via Beacon Hill. Picking my track with care, my route was to take the left track at a bush near the top, then the right track from Bicknoller Post to the summit. A helicopter flew by just before I reached the top. It was a steep descent down Smith's Combe along the edge of the wood. There were many crossings of the stream before the finger post at the exit of the hills to fields. I saw a lone young lamb near the bottom of Combe sitting amongst last year's bracken. Although it's mother was nowhere to be seen, the lamb was not in any obvious distress. I crossed one long, grassy field to a gate and hedged track to the road. I again crossed the A39 with extreme care as visibility was very poor. Signposts were good back to the car park. There were cows with calves in the field by a stile so I took no chances and diverted on the road from '14' to '15'. .

Location Map: - www.streetmap.co.uk
By pond, East Quantoxhead

Cross the A39 with extreme care.