WALKS IN WILTSHIRE at STOURHEAD (INC STOURTON, STOURHEAD GARDENS AND THE SOURCE OF THE RIVER STOUR)
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- Опубликовано: 2 окт 2024
- In this episode of my series “ Walks in Wiltshire”, I take a 6 mile circular walk around the Stourhead Estate. Once again I am accompanied by my Whippet, Logan.
I park my car at the National Trust car park at Stourhead (Stourton) which is free for National Trust members (£4 for non members).
I start off with a wander through Stourton, past The Spread Eagle Inn & the Bristol High Cross and visit the church of St Peter.
My circular route takes me around the outskirts of the Estate - there is no charge for this but there is an entrance fee (covered by National Trust membership) if you want to visit Stourhead House or walk around the gardens & lakes.
I take a footpath heading North towards King Aldred's Tower which sits 2 miles from the start, high up on a ridge. The path takes my past Turner's Paddock & the waterwheel and uphill along the side of Park Hill.
At the top of the ridge, I divert to the West to explore King Alfred's tower and I manage to find the “plague stone” which is hidden away on the other side of the road, North of the tower.
I then double back along the ridge, heading Eastwards & then Southwards down a pretty valley to visit St Peter's Pump - the “nominal” source of the River Stour. Continuing South, I pass the Lily pond and then an impressive obelisk before walking past the magnificent Stourhead House.
Before I ended the walk, I used my National Trust membership card to have a quick look around Stourhead Gardens.
The Spread Eagle Inn is closed on Tuesdays and as I was visiting on a Tuesday (!), my final destination was the cafe opposite the pub.
NB: I should have removed my cap when I was in the church - please accept my apologies for the oversight.
Map courtesy of Google Maps.
For further videos in the series, please go to: / @daveford or my website at daveford5966.w...
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I use a GOPRO HERO 7, 8 or 10 Black Action Camera (sometimes with a Gimbal) & a Rode microphone (either a “Shotgun” or a Rode Wireless Go) together with a Canon Powershot SX530 HS.
Music by Original Spruce (Copyright owner). Permission for me to use this track has been given to me by the copyright owner. 2022. Tracks (in order of appearance in the video): 1) Pembrokeshire, 2) Eko Eko 3) Marching The Moors, 4) Open The G , 5) Nicely Stone, 6) Marching the Moors, 7) No Time For Lillies & 8) Martin Down. (To download these tracks & other music by Original Spruce go to: spruce1.bandca...
NB The “Harp music” track is not by Original Spruce.
![WALKS IN DORSET at STURMINSTER NEWTON & FIDDLEFORD (the RIVER STOUR) [4K]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/WeaEvLSFvUs/mqdefault.jpg)
Lovely walk. Thank you
Glad you enjoyed it Catherine.
lovely country walk around the Estate, Stourhead House is magnificent
It is an amazing place to visit - especially when the weather is good.
Amazing walking tour of the countryside with stunning views
Many thanks Keith. :)
Thoroughly enjoyed this walk - thank you Dave.
Thank you Jeff. :)
What a beautiful place. Somewhere I must visit. I must avoid Tuesdays though as that pub definitely looks like it's worth a visit 🙂.
It really is lovely there. I am hoping to go back in the Autumn to check out the colours .... and like you, will avoid a Tuesday!
Beautiful scenery, this ones on my to visit list. lots of great information brilliant video as always.
Thank you. A great place to visit, especially in the Autumn.
By back yard so to speak. I rang a peel on the bells at Sturton church, for the marriage of princess Di and Charlie boy.
An interesting fact that surround the bottom lake. 8:47 into video. In 1917 18 acres of water formed by damming the fledgling River Stour at Sturton. On the night of 28-29 June, the lake suddenly burst through, destroying both bridge and dam and releasing millions of gallons into the valley. The force of the water gouged a 30-feet-deep chasm from the roads on either side, uprooted trees and washed out the foundations of the Gasper Mill and had far reaching affects down into Dorset. So much history in this area.
It is an amazing place to visit - the gardens look stunning .... especially in the Autumn.
UK one of my favorite places, maybe because of my love of history. Your walk and talks are absolutely delightful. The vistas are beautiful, love all the local bits. Dogs are the best companions. Logan must love your jaunts around the countryside. Just came across your Utube, so lots to catch up on. A Canadian who is plotting my next UK visit, my last visit was 2017, its time.
Thank you Denise and indeed welcome to the channel! I hope that you enjoy the future videos in the series. Thanks for watching.
I have been so busy i haven’t had time to catch up with you Dave . Looks like such a beautiful day for a walk with you and Logan. The area is so pretty. Thanks Dave .. hope you and Logan are well and having a wonderful day.☀️
Thanks Melissa. It was a warm day for that walk but so beautiful around there.
Beautiful as usual
Thank you Olivier & indeed thanks for watching.
Lovely to see views of Stourhead again. In the mid80s I did a week long NT camp there doing volunteering work in the landscape. A wonderful opportunity to spend time in such a glorious place. Thanks, Dave and Logan this was a well crafted video.
A quite stunning place to visit, especially on a sunny day.
Good to see you crossing "the border" Dave! Maybe the start of some more walks in the Cranborne Chase area perhaps? Old Wardour Castle, for example, would make a great walk. Best John
Thanks for the recommendation about a walk at Wardour Castle John. I will add it to my list for next season.
That was a lovely walk Dave. We visit Stourhead most years, but generally favour autumn when the leaves are turning, although it's difficult to get the timing right. All it takes is a couple of windy days and most of the leaves are on the floor. I've been up to Alfred's Tower once or twice, but not since I've got a little too old for the climb. I must admit that I wasn't sure exactly where you were some of the time, but it was still enjoyable. I was surprised to see the rhododendrons still in bloom at that time of the year.
@@lionelmarytravels6003 Thanks Lionel. Yes, I imagine that the area must look amazing when the Autumn colours are at their best.
A magical place Stourhead. A photographer’s paradise especially in autumn
Yes indeed, especially around the lakes.
Great monuments, lovely sights! Thanks for sharing!
Thank you Hannu. :)
Brilliant Dave! What an amazing interesting place. All the buildings and history and so beautiful. Is on our hit list to visit. Wouldn’t of known about it if we hadn’t seen your video. Thanks so much. God bless Ralph and Sheila
Thank you both. Well worth a visit for sure - especially when the weather is good!
Very familiar territory this week Dave, as I grew up in Mere and still live nearby, so we visit Stourhead and Alf's tower frequently! I know some of the history, but still learnt plenty from your commentary, and did not know about the plague stone - must look out for it. The tower was closed for many years after being hit by the plane, but is now open on Saturdays: views from the top are great!
Thanks Pauline. I must go back to the Alfred's Tower when it is open as I imagine that the views from the top will be amazing.
Great video. Been to Stourhead many times.
Never knew about the plague stone, thank you for sharing 👍
The Hoare family still are around today running their private bank in London.
Thanks Lee. At one stage I didn't think that I was going to find that plague stone - it was well camouflaged under that tree!
Another wonderful walk in a part of Wiltshire with which I’m not familiar, in spite of chunks of my paternal ancestors having lived in that area. Aristocrats certainly liked their stone monuments and Stourhead doesn’t disappoint. I find it interesting that the people for whom these landscapes were designed and built never lived long enough to see them mature so magnificently. They probably wouldn’t have liked or welcomed hoi polloi such as us wandering about that’s for sure.
Yes, there are plenty of monuments to explore in a relatively condensed area that is for sure!
Super interesting video. Thank you. Well done Logan on finding the plague stone! Last week you were at the end of the Stour river walk - this week at the source. So only about another 60 or so miles to fill in the middle between the two!!
Thanks Jean. We have done a fair few sections of the Stour Valley Way - we are starting to get to know it quite well!
Stourhead is one of my favourite places, beautiful in all seasons.
I must go back there later in the year and capture some of the Autumnal colours.