A few months ago I went on a walk that started from Upton Lovell. It was an area I had not previously walked and there were some cracking views. Today I have decided to return and explore the area a bit more. Despite a pretty awful weather forecast ,with heavy rain predicted from around midday, I am joined on this jaunt by my walking buddy Mandy.
Our starting point is the car park for the village hall and church in the centre of Upton Lovell. It had been our intention to leave the car park by heading down the entrance driveway and turning left to reach a footpath heading across fields to Corton. However, on reaching the footbridge over the River Wylye it is clear that the river has burst its banks and flooded the fields we planned to cross. There is no joy in walking in wet boots so we decide to head back to the car park and instead follow a footpath that passes the church and then reaches a road where we turn right to walk through the village.
We are walking along Water Street, which soon crosses the Salisbury to Exeter railway line and continues out of the village to Suffers Bridge crossing the swollen River Wylye.
After crossing the bridge we reach a road junction and turn right towards Corton. This is a relatively quiet road but it is not devoid of traffic so we need to keep alert. It would have been more pleasant to follow the route we had planned across the fields. We continue into Corton and just before reaching the Dove Inn take a track on the left going beside a thatched cottage.
This path heads steadily uphill to reach a junction of tracks, here we turn right and head towards Model Farm.
The track descends gradually and on reaching a junction of tracks and a minor road we turn left along the road. This long straight road leads to Tytherington where we enter the village by the church of St James, the notice board outside says it was founded prior to 1083.
The church is open so we pop inside to look at its simple interior. Apparently the church is just 49 feet long and 13 feet wide.
We now turn to the left and walk in a south westerly direction through the village soon passing a granary, with dovecote above and stable besides. The buildings are said to date from 1810.
A bit further on we pass Milestone Cottage, so named because it is next to a cast iron milestone dating from 1840.
We follow the road out of the village and when it bends to the right we take a drove on the left. This heads steadily uphill towards Downlands Church Farm.
We stay on the track until we reach the farm which has a large equestrian course laid out in fields.
The drove now turns to the right across the downland.
I find walking along ancient droves fascinating. These routes have been used for centuries and we are following in the footsteps of drovers who would have taken this route to take livestock to market.
After passing through an attractive valley, which the map shows is the site of an old settlement we continue uphill towards a copse.
After passing through gates and going through an area of scrub we continue on the drove to reach Little Sutton Wood where we find a suitable fallen tree to stop for our elevenses.
Refreshed we continue along the drove and soon tracks join from our right. On reaching a junction of paths at the 209 spot point on the OS map we turn left and head in a south easterly direction towards the edge of woodland. Reaching the woodland at a junction of tracks we turn left to pass two silos.
After a few hundred yards the footpath turns right into West Wood, at this junction there is a stone memorial to the crew of a British Aircraft Corporation One-Eleven. The prototype airliner was on a test flight and was on its fifth stalling test when it failed to recover sufficient flying speed and crashed to the ground and caught fire. All seven of the crew lost their lives.
We now head east along a broad track through West Wood.
We stay on the track, ignoring paths to the left and right until we meet the site of an old enclosure. Here at a junction of tracks we turn right and then after a couple of hundred yards take the second path on the left which goes along a track, soon reaching a shooting shelter. The rain has just started so the shelter is an ideal dry spot for us to stop for lunch.
Resuming our walk we continue along the track as it heads through Sherrington Wood. It leads to a junction of tracks where we turn left and start to descend on a track through the trees.
The track leads to a tarmac lane which we follow northwards.
At a junction of tracks we turn left and go through a gate and then head north west on a track which rises above Park Bottom and continues up over Boyton Down.
After passing an area of woodland we continue along the track to Corton Field Barn where we turn right.
This track heads steadily downhill to reach a minor road at Suffers Bridge.
From here we retrace our steps along Water Street into Upton Lovell. We have walked just over fourteen miles over some stunning downland. The poor weather has diminished the views rendering them less extensive than I had hoped, but I will return to walk this route again on a dry day.
You can view this 14 mile walk on OS Maps and download the GPX File Here
To follow my walk, you will need Ordnance Survey Explorer Map OL 143 – Warminster & Trowbridge
4th January 2024
© Two Dogs and an Awning (2024)
All information on this site is provided free of charge and in good faith and no liability is accepted in respect of damage, loss or injury which might result from it. To the best of my knowledge the routes are entirely on public rights of way or within areas that are open for public access.
Walking can be hazardous and is done entirely at your own risk. It is your responsibility to check your route and navigate using a map and compass.