Bruton Circular or from Castle Cary (via Hauser and Wirth Somerset Gallery) walk
Narrow steep-sided valleys with fast flowing streams and rivers, rolling hilltops, Alfred’s Tower, Hauser & Wirth Somerset art gallery
Length | 25.1 km (15.7 mi), with 504m ascent/descent. For a longer or a shorter walk see below Walk Options. |
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Toughness | 7 out of 10, with 6 ½ hours walking time. For the whole outing, including trains, sights and meals, allow at least 12 hours. |
Walk Notes | This excursion is centred on the remote Somerset town of Bruton, with its honey-coloured stone-built cottages, a large dovecote on a mound overlooking the townscape and a fine selection of lunch and tea options. It leads through a scenic South Somerset landscape of narrow steep-sided valleys and coombes with some fast flowing streams and rivers, with the route dipping in and out of the Brue, Alham and Pitt valleys. From the rolling hilltops you get some far views across to the range forming the boundary with Wiltshire and Dorset, with the local landmark Alfred’s Tower, a folly, on top of it. The route leads close to the renowned art gallery Hauser & Wirth Somerset, and a short version of the walk leaves enough time for an extended visit to it and/or its fascinating bar and restaurant. The recommended lunch stop on the main walk is a very fine country inn in Batcombe. A start from Castle Cary (with faster and more frequent trains) adds about 50 minutes of walking. |
Walk options |
As a Figure-of-Eight walk, you can walk the two loops in reverse order.
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Maps | OS Explorer: 142 (Shepton Mallet & Mendip Hills East)
OS Landranger: 183 (Yeovil & Frome) |
Travel | Bruton Station, map reference ST 687 347, is 45 km west of Salisbury, 31 km south of Bath and 168 km south west of Charing Cross. It lies 72m above sea level. Castle Cary Station, map reference ST 635 335, is 5 km south west of Bruton and 43m above sea level. Both are in South Somerset. The stations are stops on the Heart of Wessex line from Bristol to Weymouth. Trains on the London Paddington to Taunton Great Western Main Line also serve Castle Cary (journey time from 82 minutes), but do not normally stop at Bruton. There is also a limited direct service to London Waterloo. From London a change is therefore usually necessary to Bruton, either in Bath Spa or in Westbury, journey time from 112 minutes.
Saturday Walkers’ Club: Bruton and Castle Cary are outside the Network Southeast Railcard zone. Off-Peak returns for morning departures can be prohibitively expensive. Advance tickets are usually the better option. Take the earliest train you can. |
Lunch |
The Three Horseshoes Inn Batcombe, Shepton Mallet, Somerset, BA4 6HE (01749 850 359). The Horseshoes is located 8.9 km/5.5 mi into the walk. Currently closed.
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Tea |
The Montague Inn Shepton Montague, Wincanton, Somerset, BA9 8JW (01749 813 213). The Montague is located 21.5 km/13.4 mi into main walk (or 12.7 km/7.9 mi into the shortened walk) if following the afternoon extension, and a friendly gastro pub.
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Profile | |
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Help Us! |
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By Train |
Out (not a train station) Back (not a train station) |
By Car |
Start BA10 0EH Map Directions |
Amazon | |
Help |
National Rail: 03457 48 49 50 • Traveline (bus times): 0871 200 22 33 (12p/min) • TFL (London) : 0343 222 1234 |
Version |
Jul-22 Thomas G |
Copyright | © Saturday Walkers Club. All Rights Reserved. No commercial use. No copying. No derivatives. Free with attribution for one time non-commercial use only. www.walkingclub.org.uk/site/license.shtml |
Walk Directions
Full directions for this walk are in a PDF file (link above) which you can print, or download on to a Kindle, tablet, or smartphone.
This is just the introduction. This walk's detailed directions are in a PDF available from wwww.walkingclub.org.uk