Thornbury Wayfinders

5 Woodlands about 11 K or 6.8 miles

This walk explores an arboretum and woodlands on both sides of the A38 including some mentioned in the Forest of Avon Plan, which refers to establishing small woodlands to the [west] of Thornbury to link existing woodlands together. 

To get to the start, use the T1 bus from Rock Street, Thornbury to the Hortham stop. 

From the Hortham bus stop, head back along the A38 and turn into Hortham Lane. Continue into Hickory Lane.

After you pass Camellia Drive (on the left) join the yellow gravel path on the right that goes anticlockwise through the arboretum around the new Hortham village.

The arboretum, a collection of ornamental trees, was planted to create a pleasant atmosphere around Hortham mental hospital and the colony for those with special educational needs. At present it is looked after by Hortham Village Open Spaces Ltd of The Stables at Hortham Farm.

After you pass a kissing gate on the right, you should be able to make out the remains of Woodlands Wood on the far side of a field. Woodlands Wood has been decimated by the intrusion of the M4 through the middle of it. Woodlands Wood lends its name to a golf course on the other side of the Almondsbury Interchange.

Turn right just past a metal safety fence to emerge on a circular area that would make a cricket pitch if it were a bit bigger. Head past a red dog poo bin on the far side to access Hortham Lane.

Turn right on Hortham Lane.

On the right, you pass the Quarters, Bristol Rovers’ Almondsbury Training Ground. 

Hortham Farm on the left is a two hundred acre arable farm that also welcomes caravans (if you are a member of the Caravan Club.) 

Turn left on a bridle path a hundred yards after Hortham Farm on the embankment just before you reach the motorway bridge. 

Follow the path around the right hand edge of the field alongside Hortham Brook. 

There is a secure enclosure for storing caravans in Hortham Wood, which also has a circuit of private paths for caravan customers.

Turn right on the access road to the caravan enclosure and then left on the bridleway between Hortham Wood and the perimeter fence of the caravan enclosure. 

At the T-junction turn left and follow the bridleway past Hortham wood on the left.

There are also facilities for Wood Camping and SG Forest Schools in the woods. Whatever the etymologists say, Hortham Wood certainly feels like part of Horwood Forest.

After you come out of Hortham Wood, you will see Tockington Park Wood ahead on the right.

Tockington Park was presumably at one time a deer park, and these woods were associated with it. The remains of a Roman villa were found in the farmyard at Tockington Park Farm.

You will come out onto Woodhouse Avenue, which will lead you to the A 38. Turn right and cross the carriageway at the traffic island. 

This area is known as Woodhouse Down.

Turn right and then left down an enclosed path. This will lead you over a track joining parts of the Woodhouse Park Activity Centre, which is run by Avon Scouts.

The Activity Centre exemplifies a modern idea of how woodlands should be used. You will see an area for telling stories around a firepit on the left.

When you come out of the woods, follow the left hand hedge through two fields, then follow an obvious farm track through two larger fields down to a gate onto a driveway past a couple of houses.

When you come out onto the road, follow the pavement on the right up into Tockington village.

Go past Hardy Lane. Then take the left hand fork (unless you plan to visit The Swan on the right.)

When you get to the green, take the right hand fork, which takes you to a lane/footpath between the houses. Keep to the straight and narrow and you should come out over a stile into a field.

Turn left and follow the left hand hedge through one field boundary. At the next field boundary, keep straight ahead with the hedge now on your right, You will come out through an iron kissing gate at the bottom of Haw Lane.

Cross the road into a footpath that goes more or less straight ahead around the right hand edge of a housing estate. Continue to follow the hedge on your right past a playground until you come out over a stile onto Vicarage Lane.

Turn right and then left down a drive that doubles as a footpath. When you have passed the house, continue straight ahead following a hedge on your left through four field boundaries.

If you look up the right, you will see the woodlands surrounding Old Down Country Park. If you are old enough you might remember Mike Oldfield who used to live there and who is most famous for “Tubular bells.” Latterly, it has been associated with Aaron Banks.

When you reach the Church of St John at Elberton. Turn right and follow the path along the other side of the hedge up to Vineyards Brake.

Vineyards Brake is the first of a series of woods called “brakes” on this walk. A brake is “A clump of bushes, brushwood, a thicket.” It is not clear what was the function of a brake. It could have been a fox covert or a covert for pheasants. Or it might have provided brushwood for bread ovens. However, it is difficult to see why anyone should need so much brushwood. If a wood were regularly cut for brushwood, it would more commonly be called a copse or a coppice.

In any case, one would not expect a brake to provide good quality timber.

Follow the path along the edge of the wood until you emerge on a B road. 

There is an iron age hill fort hidden in Vineyards Brake, which might be the reason it was not developed into a timber plantation.

Cross the road into Sweet Water Lane.

The woods on the right are called Brocketty Brake. I thought that might have something to do with Brock the badger, but reference to the Shorter Oxford dictionary reminded me that a “brocket” was a two year old stag, which had just grown its first set of antlers. Perhaps a tree with ash dieback might be described as “brocketty”?

The stream running down the left hand side of the lane is Sweet Waterings, which gives its name to the lane. On the other side of the stream on the left is Fiery Pits Brake, which shows signs of earthworks on old maps. Maybe the fiery pits needed brushwood to fuel some process.

Next on the left is Broadrush Brake. At the end of this wood, Sweet Waterings crosses from the other side of the lane. It appears to rise on Thornbury golf course near some ponds.

After you have passed the entrance to Mumbleys Farmhouse Livery Yard, turn left up a bridleway. Which will bring you out onto another bridleway called Bond lane. 

This is quite a good place to consider the scope of the Forest of Avon Plan. You have just passed several pieces of woodland. Littleton-on-Severn is over to the left beyond a considerable wood called Hay Wood. Over to the right is Kington Grove and the “parkland” associated with Thornbury Golf Club.

Turn right. When you rejoin Sweet Water Lane, keep straight ahead until you come to a T-junction at Mumbleys Plat. Go straight ahead over a stile into an enclosed path that leads to another stile onto Thornbury Golf Course. Follow the edge of Kington Grove around to the left. 

Kington Grove is a good example of Ancient Semi Natural Woodland. There are wood anemones in it, particularly at the bottom, and bluebells, which are good indicators of ancient woods according to Michael Martin and Mick Aston. (Their publishers wouldn’t let them call this the Aston Martin method in case it infringed some copyright or other! The golf course is a good example of modern parkland.

Follow the path through some rough ground until you emerge through a kissing gate into a field.

Head straight down the field to a kissing gate into another field. Go straight across to another kissing gate, a stone bridge and a stone stile next to a gap.

You are now in Mundy’s Playing Fields. Follow the path around the football pitch ahead. Bear left to pick up the tarmac path past the play equipment. This will lead you via The Close into Thornbury High Street. 

Turn right and then left into Chapel Street to access the main car parks and bus stops.