Friday: Bath city guided tour
Twenty-one Polys met outside the Pump Room for an extremely interesting tour with Mike King, Mary’s brother, who is one of the Mayor’s Guides. The theme was to show us why Bath is a twice designated Unesco Heritage Site. He started with a summary of the history of the area from Celtic times until the Georgian Era, aided by a banner with a timeline sewn by his wife. We heard about some rather unpleasant aspects of Roman bathing before moving to the Abbey doors, where we learnt that this is the third to have been built here. Proceeding through the city admiring some of the exceptional buildings designed by John Wood the Elder and his son, John Wood the Younger, we discovered how Bath was ahead of its time in social change. Richard ‘Beau’ Nash played a big part in this, by opening up balls and other social events to anyone who could pay, rather than these being limited to those invited by the aristocracy. Our tour concluded in front of the magnificent Royal Crescent from where we dispersed to various restaurants for dinner. We all felt that we had gained a fascinating new insight into the fabric of this beautiful city.

Saturday
Hikers: Bath to Bradford on Avon
We met on a beautiful sunny morning outside Bath Spa station and started our climb up on to Claverton Downs. After a slight issue with a path which had disappeared, we descended to Monkton Combe, passing the buildings and sports facilities of the huge Monkton Combe School. We were soon at the picturesque Brassknocker Basin, the only remaining section of the Somerset Coal Canal, for our coffee stop at the Angelfish café. The next leg took us along the towpath of the Kennet and Avon Canal via the impressive grade 1 listed Dundas Aqueduct to Limpley Stoke. Here we left the canal and after crossing the River Avon, we followed it through lush meadows to Freshford, a village in the Cotswolds AONB and a conservation area. After a quick picnic in a field near the station, we continued to the Inn PH to meet up with a member who had not been feeling well in the morning but had now revived and caught the train from Bath. After a refreshing drink one of our members, who is a local resident, gave us some very interesting information on the unlikely wartime association of the village with the Royal Navy. Our walk took us along the River Frome to Iford where we passed the elegant Manor House, and on to Avoncliff where we rejoined the Kennet and Avon Canal towpath via the grade 2 listed Avoncliff Aqueduct. We descended to the River Avon path just before Barton Manor Country Park. Unfortunately, we were too late to visit the 14th century tithe barn, but just in time for a welcome cup of tea at the little café. From there it was just a few yards to Bradford-on-Avon station. Some hikers decided to stop to look around, and a few stopped to eat. The rest made their way back to Bath. We had had a varied walk with plenty to see and lovely weather. Nobody took advantage of the options to drop out at 6 and 9 miles!

Strollers :  The Two Tunnels Greenway
Saturday morning in Bath was bright and sunny when nine strollers gathered at the bus station to make the half-hour journey to Midford for the start of our walk on the Two Tunnels Greenway. This a shared cycling and pedestrian path along the route of the closed Somerset & Dorset Railway. It is 3.8 miles long and it opened in 2013. We started by the remains of Midford Station and then traversed a leafy section which took us to the restored Tucking Mill Viaduct. Here there were good views of the surrounding countryside, including a folly called Midford Castle which was once owned by the actor Nicholas Cage. A little further on, we reached the start of the mile long Combe Down Tunnel, the longest walking & cycling tunnel in the UK. Fortunately it was illuminated but it was still somewhat eerie with ghostly cyclists passing every so often. With some relief, we reached its end and we came out into Lyncombe Vale. We had to navigate the shorter Devonshire Tunnel before we could adjourn to the nearby Moorfields pub for a lunch stop. Suitably refreshed, we returned to the last section of the Greenway and then crossed over to the towpath of the River Avon. Passing lots of new apartment blocks, being constructed in disused industrial areas, we reached the end of our walk at Green Park Station. This was the terminus of the Somerset and Dorset Railway. It has been tastefully refurbished and is now restaurant area as well as a supermarket.

Sunday
Hiker:  Between Cotswolds and Mendips
We convened at Bath bus station for a short ride to Peasedown St. John and after crossing the busy A367 we were soon in beautiful countryside with rolling hills and the occasional wooded area. Our first stop was at Stoney Littleton Long Barrow, one of the country’s finest accessible examples of a Neolithic chambered tomb. Dating from about 3500 BC, although a tomb may have been present as far back as 5000 BC, it is 30 metres long with multiple burial chambers. Some members had brought torches and crawled in to get a better view. The rest of us read about it on the information boards. We continued to the village of Wellow, also in the Cotswolds AONB and a conservation area. Following a picnic in the grounds of the 14th century grade 1 listed St. Julian’s church, we visited the Fox and Hounds PH for drinks. Refreshed, we split into two groups, Gillian leading a shorter route back and Susan leading the longer one. The longer hike took us up and down via the three hamlets of Twinhoe to Combe Hay with wonderful views. This area had been a coal field from Roman times until the last mine was closed in the 1970s. We passed the weir which helped manage water levels for the steep flight of 22 locks on the Somerset Coal Canal. While trying to avoid a mistake made on the recce, the next section involved a path which was very overgrown and we missed it. Most of the group assisted each other and climbed over a barbed wire fence to avoid retracing their steps, but one member kindly returned, found the gate which led to the footpath and finally all the group was on the correct side of the fence. It was then just a short walk back to catch the bus to return to Bath. We had been blessed with good weather all day which enabled us to enjoy the beautiful, peaceful countryside.

Strollers:  Bath Skyline
The next day was again sunny as the strollers met at Grand Parade overlooking the river and the Pulteney Bridge. From there, we took a bus to the University of Bath campus, high up on Claverton Down. It was purpose-built and construction started from 1964 in the modernist style of the times. The University received its Royal Charter in 1966. After wandering through the numerous campus buildings, we came out onto the adjacent Bathampton Down with its wide-ranging views of the city beneath. We passed the folly called Sham Castle and then climbed past a golf course before following a tree-lined path beside the University boundary. Entering the campus again, we stopped at its cafeteria for lunch before catching a bus back into Bath.

Group meal

Monday 
Canal and riverside walk
15 members took a stroll along the River Avon to Pulteney Bridge. We took some photos from the viewing platform at the rugby stadium and the weir, which regulates the water to alleviate flooding from the river. We passed through the beautiful Sydney Gardens, the only remaining 18th century pleasure gardens in the country, where we paused to read information on their history. We returned to the station along the Kennet and Avon Canal, noting the various remnants of industrial buildings which had been designed to fit in with the local architecture to avoid opposition from the wealthy residents. Just as we were leaving the canal, a kingfisher was spotted! A very fitting end to an enjoyable weekend.

Susan and Danny.  Photos by Ida, Jane, Mick, Rochelle, Hilary