Sociable Strollers
The July walk for the Strollers was something of an expedition. A group of just under 30 walkers, including almost the youngest and almost the oldest members of our congregations, set off on the train to Bradford-on-Avon early in the morning, at the start of a most enjoyable day out. 
(photo: George Shears, Josie’s grandson)
We had coffee at a lovely Victorian coffee shop in Bradford and then had a little time to browse around that pretty town – surely worth a day trip on its own merits! Meeting up again, we set off to view the Saxon Church and the Tithe Barn complex before commencing the walk – ostensibly the purpose of our trip! The gentle stroll along the towpath of the canal was delightful, chatting to some of the owners of the many canal boats lining the banks, greeting the dog-walkers and cyclists and seeing if we could spot an elusive kingfisher along the way – I failed on that one! We walked along to Avoncliff, where we had lunch and sampled the Real Ales on offer, before splitting into smaller groups who chose to sit and enjoy the sunshine before catching the train home, walk back into Bradford along the river rather than the canal, or walk on towards Bath to pick up the train at Freshford, the next stop along the line. We managed not to lose anybody in these evolutions and were all reunited on the train, for what must be one of the prettiest rail journeys in this area.
This day out was so successful that we are thinking of making it a regular part of our programme. We are already working on a whole day trip to Beer for one of our summer walks next year!
We began August with a walk from The Wise Man, in West Stafford. A fine drizzle did nothing to dampen the enthusiasm of the Strollers, although the wet weather of the preceding week made it necessary to alter the route, forsaking the water meadows in favour of the drier roads and paths around Lower Bockhampton and Kingston Maurward. We stopped off at Stinsford Church, which I had visited many times to see Thomas Hardy’s grave, but had never been inside. It is a delightful church, and the informative booklet mentions our own former architect, the late Roy Fewtrell, as being involved in its care. As ever, our persistence in the face of adversity was rewarded by a delicious lunch.
The next walk will be on August 29th and will be locally based, to avoid the holiday traffic. See the pew sheet for details – it will probably be on Portland but we may decide to go to the Elm Tree Inn at Langton Herring and walk along the Fleet. The September walk has not, at the time of writing, been finalised, so again keep a lookout in the pew sheet. The date is fixed, though, at September 26th.
Liz Williams
10 August 2009