Southstoke and Somerset Coal Canal
Walk 4 - by Monkton Combe W.I.
print version of instructions
print version of map
Distance: 3 miles from Midford or 4.5 miles from
Monkton Combe.
Time: about 1½ - 2 hours
Start: Either from the Hope and Anchor pub at Midford
or follow Walk 3, starting at Wheelwrights Arms, to Point X at
Tucking Mill.
Maps: OS Explorer 155 Landranger 172
Take the footpath opposite the Hope and Anchor and go under
the railway bridge and over a stile on to the old towpath with
the dry bed of the Somerset Coal Canal on the right and the
brook (now the Cam Brook) on your left. Past a house and a
bridge over the canal to the right, cross a stile and bear
left to go back under the disused railway alongside the
Midford Brook, then bear right again and over a stile to
rejoin the towpath. You now have a pleasant stretch of about ¾
mile. The canal on your right and the woods on the
opposite bank. Near the end of this stretch, where the canal
and brook converge, you can see the remains of a lock.
Over the stile you turn right along the bridle path, up the
hill to the lane, and turn left down the lane to the footpath
on the right, nearly opposite a house. Under the railway again
(this is the Titfield Thunderbolt line) and pause to read the
board giving the history of the canal and the remarkable
engineering feats carried out at this spot to convey the coal
barges up the 140ft hill to Combe Hay to avoid a long tunnel.
Boat lifts and inclined planes were tried, before finally
settling on a flight of 22 locks going round a horseshoe bend.
Eight of these locks survive, and some can be seen to the left
of the footpath.
At the gate, cross the stile and continue up the valley
with a stream on your left, and across a field towards a house
above. This house was derelict for many years, but has now
been restored. Cross the stile and the private road in front
of the house and continue uphill, through a "squeeze" and
alongside a wood on the left, full of primroses in spring. The
path swings left, uphill across a field towards farm buildings
on the horizon. Another squeeze on your right takes you into a
lane: turn left into South Stoke.
On your right is a fine tithe barn with stone roof and
dovecot, and the church with a Norman north door. Take the
road to the left of the telephone box (but if you need
refreshment after the climb, the right hand fork leads to the
Packhorse Inn). Continue straight ahead, with the old Brewery
and its vaults and castellated roof on your left and fine
views soon opening up on the right. *Look
out for a footpath sign on your left which points you across a
field to the B3110. Cross this with care, and take the
footpath opposite down into Horsecombe Vale. However, if you
started the walk at Midford and left your car at the Hope and
Anchor, you can return there by bearing right at the (*)
above, down the quiet lane to cross the B3110 below Midford
Castle and straight over the next small crossroads to the
pub's car park.
Returning to the * above, a
broad grassy track leads down into the valley, with a hedge on
the left. Nearly at the bottom of the hill you cross a stile,
bear right across a field, and alongside a barbed wire fence
to the stream, which you cross. Turn right past the parish
boundary stone - "L and W 1894" - follow the stream, pass the
Water Treatment building, under the railway viaduct, beside
the angling lake, and left along the lane back to Monkton
Combe |
