Training for The Himalayas

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TRAINING CONTINUES....

Well, we've kept walking every Monday, but poor old Sarah Drake has been poorly recently and so that has put her back quite a lot so we are starting all over again in the hope that she can regain the fitness level she was at and we can go forward from there.

I've been walking a lot on my own to keep my fitness levels up and intend to increase the distance and frequency of the walks to progress.

Sue Winter and myself completed a lovely walk yesterday and it was a shame the weather wasn't brighter because the views would have been fantastic. but at least it was dry.

We started at The Black Horse in Clapton in Gordano and started our ascent up wood Lane. Wood Lane continues uphill, under the M5 motorway. At the top of this lane, we turned left over a stile into a field with three horses and the glimpses of magnificent views of the Gordano Valley over to Portishead and beyond to the Welsh Hills. We skirted the right side of this field with the woods on our right still climbing until we got to a stile leading into the woods. Once over the stile, we continued our climb upwards and took the left fork which took us to a very steep incline. At the top of this hill was a kissing gate which we entered and saw Naish House and farm. The building is fantastic, all stonebuilt and the gardens were alive with daffodils. To the left of the garden towards the gate looking out over the valley we saw a strange sight. It was a bomb (or what looked very much like a bomb) half buried in the ground. After we had finished taking photographs of this strange sight, we continued our walk down the lane by the side of the farm. At the bottom was another stile into a field full of sheep and their lambs, a wonderful sight.

Our walk then continued uphill through another stile until we reached Cadbury Camp Lane. At this point, you will see another public footpath opposite which is Chummock Wood. When I walked this a couple of months ago there was snow on the ground and it was like a winter wonderland. It was still very pretty today as the buds on the trees were coming alive and the wood anenomes and daffodils were brightening the place up. The path then veers off to the right a little on the edge of the gardens in Cadbury Camp Lane and starts descending. This is quite peaceful and secluded. You continue the downhill walk and after awhile you can see glimpses of Tickenham on the lefthand side. The downhill walk is further than you imagine until you get to the bottom behind The Star and onto the busy Clevedon road.

Heading towards Clevedon, walking on the right hand side of the road as close to the verge as possible to avoid the traffic coming towards you, walk until you get to the Golf Driving Range and take the path up towards Folly Farm. The driveway heads uphill once again and just before you reach the house, turn right following the bridlepath which skirts the edge of the golf course. This bridlepath keeps heading uphill with fantastic views of Tickenham and Nailsea behnd you, until you reach a very pretty cream and green property sitting on the hill. You go through the gate and back out onto Cadbury Camp Lane. Here, you take a right hand turn and continue uphill until you get to a sharp left turn which you take until you see a turning on the right not far down the lane, which is marked as Clapton Circuit. This lane then takes you down towards the M5 motorway, where you will have to cross a footbridge over onto the other side. Once you have gone over the bridge and down the steps, the path then takes you through several fields towards Clapton Stables. Here you will once again enjoy the magnificent views of the Gordano Valley. As you stand in the fields, count how many horses you can see, I have never seen so many horses in fields before it was quite surprising. Obviously lots of money in Horse Livery! All the horses are very friendly, but if you have dogs, please keep them on leads.

After you have walked through the stables you come down onto Nortons Wood/Clapton Lane and turn right as you approach Clapton Court. As you turn the corner past Clapton Court, there is a footpath on your right that leads up to St Michaels Church (a beautiful old building) and you take a gate and follow the parishioners path back to The Black Horse. The bonus for us at the end of this walk was discovering that The Black Horse now serves food at lunchtimes. We had the best leek and potato soup ever! And Sue enjoyed her glass of Thatchers Heritage!

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