Thornbury Wayfinders

The first event in what is definitely not a Walking Festival was a Walking Well walk exploring some of the boundaries of Thornbury.

We started from our usual spot in the middle of the St Mary Centre and headed for the Borough Boundary Stone in Gillingstool. A strange ceremony took place to honour Terminus, the Roman god of boundaries.

Honey, grain and wine were offered on the Boundary Stone.

We continued to the tunnel under Streamleaze which looks like another sort of Boundary, where there is a convenient natural outcrop for another offering.

After this, we headed up Grovesend Road towards the traffic lights. These stand on the watershed between the stream that runs along the bottom of Cleve Wood towards Morton Bridge and the Slad, a valley that runs down towards Tytherington and the Ladden Brook/Frome River catchment. So, as a couple of us had peeled off at this point, we decided that an offering on the railway bridge near the buffers on the mineral railway would satisfy Terminus!

So, we returned via Grove Farm, where there are tremendous views over Thornbury (a little murky today!) and the disused railway line.

We all met up in Hawkes House, where there is a new and excellent cake! I hope it is there the next time we visit.