Thornbury Wayfinders

I led a Walking Well walk this morning with the help of Kath and Elaine. I do this twice a month on the first and third Tuesdays of the month and Clive suggested that I ought to do a write up.

These walks are organised through South Glos., and we meet at 10 am outside the MS charity shop in the St Mary Centre in Thornbury. Kath reckons we should rename ourselves Walkie Talkies. Whilst we were waiting to set off, Peter B came over to report on an interaction with a notorious path blocker he had encountered whilst out checking paths for the Wayfinder project. Then two of our partners at the Museum came over for a chat. Eventually we set off on a simple route that avoided the wet and slippery paths.

Our first objective was the Streamside Walk that starts opposite the primary schools in Gillingstool. I was surprised to find that there was still ice on the path, but luckily I was the one to slip and I was able to warn the others.

The water in the stream was running clearly, where we could see it. We felt that it was a shame that the walk was not being maintained as a linear park, which was surely the original intention. Brambles have an important place in the ecology of the countryside, but there is no need to let them have their way entirely. They would take over completely if they were allowed to. There are stony cliffs hidden behind the vegetation that if revealed could make the walk look like the miniature gorge that it is. Perhaps, we could get various voluntary groups to work together to bring out its true potential.

I left the front of the group to check on a couple of people behind who had admitted that they had had some health issues over the Christmas holiday. All was well, but the change around led to a mix up so people had a variety of chat.

At the end of the original Streamside Walk, we turned right along the Morton Millstream. The water was noticeably more cloudy than the water we had been following. I wonder where the sediment came from? Did it come from the farmland at Buckover or was it leaching from the new housing estates off Morton Way?

Across the Gloucester Road, we crossed the stream to take the path above the Community Orchard. We were headed back on a shorter than usual route that comes out behind the One Stop Shop. I tried to take some photographs of the group in action and the light was so clear, but it didn’t really work as all I was getting was pictures of my shadow. We really need a separate photographer. Clive suggested his dog could do it, but I don’t have a Go-pro to attach to his harness and I am not sure pictures of our knees would be an improvement.

We came back via the Men’s Shed, which didn’t entirely avoid the mud on the path, but we got back nice and early for the visit to Hawkes House for coffee and cakes, which is for many the point of the exercise.