Nine of us gathered at the Willsbridge Mill Car Park and with a half-decent forecast set off downhill to Siston Brook, turning left at the bottom of the hill along the North bank. We crossed the brook at the Oldland footbridge and headed up School Lane towards the Bristol Bath Railway Path, turning right just before the bridge and up the Fifty Steps onto the path.
We passed Bitton Station, headquarters of the Avon Valley Railway, and walked along parallel to the railway until just short of Avon Riverside Station, where we dropped down onto the North bank of the River Avon.
We had had a light shower whilst on the Railway Path, which was then followed by a beautiful rainbow over the fields.
The riverside path is known as the Avon Way, which merges with the Monarch’s Way approaching Keynsham. The Monarch’s Way is a 625-mile long-distance footpath in England that approximates the escape route of King Charles II after the Battle of Worcester in 1651. We soon reached the Lock Keeper which marked the halfway point of our walk and provided a useful pit stop in the sunshine.
Suitably refreshed, we set off to continue along the river, crossing over Siston Brook at the point where it enters the river and continuing with views across to the Chocolate Quarter and Keynsham Church across the water.
We followed the river round to Hanham Lock, passing several residential wide and narrow boats on permanent moorings, and then headed up the hill alongside the garden wall of Hanham Court. Sweeping round Hanham Lodge, we were able to see the church and entrance to Hanham Court before heading back up the hill towards Willsbridge. The first section was alongside woodland, and it was starting to rain, so waterproofs were donned as we came out into the open. Another short uphill path led to the famous stile, which as you can see from the photo is quite spectacular.
We set to wondering where the stone used to build the stile had come from as it was beautifully dressed, particularly the gateposts, but the short wall quickly became a hedge a few yards beyond the stile. The likely answer came when one of the more observant walkers noticed a ruin just inside Cleeve Wood, which runs alongside the path on this section. Speculation was that it was connected to Hanham Court, and Dr Google has since confirmed that it was a keeper’s cottage which was part of the Hanham Court Estate.
We continued alongside Cleeve Wood, which apparently is an SSSI known for its significant population of Bath Asparagus. The Bath Asparagus in Cleeve Wood represents what is considered to be the largest and most stable population of this plant in this, its centre of distribution.
We then headed back to Willsbridge Mill for our lunch stop. Leaving the Mill a gentle rain had settled in, but it was just a short walk back to the car park, giving us a total distance of just over eight miles.
From photos, it looks as if you had a great time