Thornbury Wayfinders

From Woodwell Meadow Local Nature Reserve, my first objective was the Boar’s head at Aust.

As I was not, on this occasion, visiting the White Hart, I followed an old version of the Jubilee Way that comes out on the road to Elberton near Home Farm. Austho one does not head down Cote Lane, which heads directly to Cote Farm, but instead it heads through a riding establishment to access a route with better views across the levels. I had a chat with some people who knew the man with the bitless bridle and saw a rather nice Appaloosa horse, which I thought was rare. I was told that they may be rare elsewhere in England but they were common here!

I passed a couple putting up an electric horse paddock, who thought it was a bit hot for a long walk. It was just after this that I came across the first problem on the route, when the path left the course shown on the OS map to join Cote Lane through a Bristol Gate. When I undid the bailer twine to get through the gate, the whole thing threatened to collapse, because the new looking and substantial post holding the hinges turned out to be rotten and broken at the base. I retied the string so that the gate would stay upright while I went through the wicket gate.

Following Cote Lane to Cote Farm, I came across a couple of rotten stiles; but when I greeted the farmer in the garden of the farmhouse, he was aware of these problems and I believe he will soon fix them with the help of the South Glos Public Rights of Way Officer, with whom he apparently went to school! He also told me that the gates on the way into Aust were much better, which indeed they were! I was also treated to the sight of a pair of matching birds of prey, which I think were the same Sparrow Hawks that had been pointed out to me by some expert birders at Asnum Copse next to the Aust Wetland project when I was there some weeks ago.

There were no further problems as I made my way under the motorway to the Boar’s Head at Aust.

I had miscalculated the time, so I had arrived a little bit before opening time. But when I went around to the back, I discovered in the overflow car park a gleaming array of classic cars, which had been excluded from their usual meeting place at Kingsweston House by a wedding reception.

I went around to the back entrance of the pub, where there were some shady seats and the landlord invited me in. I ordered a pint of London Pride and a Chicken and Bacon sandwich with salad, which seemed expensive at a little under £10 until I saw and tasted the sandwich. I thought at first I would not be able to finish it, but it tasted so good that I ended up finishing it – with nothing to wrap up for my tea!

I was accompanied by a gentleman from over the bridge who had polo shirt proclaiming his membership of the Usk Classic Cars Club. He had heard that the Bristol branch was meeting here so decided to join them. The Boar’s Head was so convenient for him now that there is no toll on the bridge that he regarded the pub as his local. He was so impressed by the look of my lunch that he ordered the same for himself.

To be continued