The Sherborne Estate is cut in half by the section of A40 that runs from Cheltenham to Oxford. It is about 18 miles to the east of Cheltenham and about a mile from the A40. On one side of the road you have Lodge Park, now owned by the National Trust and on the other is the main part of the estate, car parking, the village of Sherborne and the walk I am talking about here.
Sherborne House was built for Thomas Dutton after he bought the manor of Sherborne in 1551. Elizabeth 1 stayed at the house in 1592. In 1624-40 John 'Crump' Dutton acquired land 2 miles south-west of the village to create a deer park. He had Lodge Park built as a grandstand to watch deer being coursed by greyhounds and to fuel his passion for gambling, baqueting and entertaining.
It became the National Trust's first restoration project in 1998 and relied on archaeological evidence to return the building to its former glory. It is situated two and a half miles from Sherborne village and the wider Sherborne estate, the other side of the A40.
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| Ewe Pen Barn Car Park |
The three marked estate walks all begin from Ewe Pen Barn car park. There is plenty of parking here and the National Trust ask for a donation of £1.00. It is worth mentioning that there are no toilet facilities here.
Before you begin your walk, you may want to go into the barn where you will find some useful information about the estate.
Before you begin your walk, you may want to go into the barn where you will find some useful information about the estate.
We have been walking here for several years, since our children were quite small. It is popular with families because the walks are not too long. We tend to follow the circular family trail which is about 3 miles long. Along the route there are two rope swings to find, a see-saw, several climbing structures and also some sculptures to spot. You will need to look for these (in the case of the rope swings, just listen for the squeals from other children!) because they are not all immediately visible from the path.
The walk begins through open farmland before descending into woodland for a short while. Here you will find two sculptures along the route. It emerges from the woodland onto the road that passes through the village of Sherborne (please be aware that there is no gate or stile at this point so nothing to prevent eager children or dogs from running out into the road).
You then walk for about half a mile along the pavement, passing some beautiful old Cotswold stone houses, former workers cottages and estate buildings, until you come to the village church and then the war memorial. This section provides some lovely views of the river Windrush. Here the walk turns a sharp right, heading almost back on itself, through a gate in a high wall.
At this point you might want to make the short detour, by continuing along the road, to the Sherborne Village Shop & Tearooms which are definitely worth the very short detour from the route. The shop sells ice creams and sweets for weary travellers (!). There are three tables inside if you are unlucky enough to have bad weather but plenty of tables in the pretty garden to the front. There is also a toilet at this point. The food here is simple but delicious and it is well worth a stop. It can't be a coincidence that all of our walks here seem to fall over lunchtime! The owners are incredibly friendly and welcoming and are very popular with the round brown spaniel because they have a stash of doggy biscuits that they offer to well-behaved dogs!
Resuming the walk, you will follow a field boundary for a few hundred metres. A glance to your right will reveal the back of Sherborne House. The walk then turns right into more woodland along a well-trodden path. It is in these woods that you will find the swings, see-saw and climbing structures and also the ice-house that once stored ice for the occupants of Sherborne House.
You will pass through the woods before entering more open farmland. As you continue you will see the buildings of Ewe Pen Barn car park ahead of you.
If you are looking for an easy to follow, short. circular walk through some varied Cotswold countryside with the opportunity for extending it with a nice lunch or cooling drink and an ice-cream then this could be the one for you.
The walk begins through open farmland before descending into woodland for a short while. Here you will find two sculptures along the route. It emerges from the woodland onto the road that passes through the village of Sherborne (please be aware that there is no gate or stile at this point so nothing to prevent eager children or dogs from running out into the road).
You then walk for about half a mile along the pavement, passing some beautiful old Cotswold stone houses, former workers cottages and estate buildings, until you come to the village church and then the war memorial. This section provides some lovely views of the river Windrush. Here the walk turns a sharp right, heading almost back on itself, through a gate in a high wall.
At this point you might want to make the short detour, by continuing along the road, to the Sherborne Village Shop & Tearooms which are definitely worth the very short detour from the route. The shop sells ice creams and sweets for weary travellers (!). There are three tables inside if you are unlucky enough to have bad weather but plenty of tables in the pretty garden to the front. There is also a toilet at this point. The food here is simple but delicious and it is well worth a stop. It can't be a coincidence that all of our walks here seem to fall over lunchtime! The owners are incredibly friendly and welcoming and are very popular with the round brown spaniel because they have a stash of doggy biscuits that they offer to well-behaved dogs!
Resuming the walk, you will follow a field boundary for a few hundred metres. A glance to your right will reveal the back of Sherborne House. The walk then turns right into more woodland along a well-trodden path. It is in these woods that you will find the swings, see-saw and climbing structures and also the ice-house that once stored ice for the occupants of Sherborne House.
You will pass through the woods before entering more open farmland. As you continue you will see the buildings of Ewe Pen Barn car park ahead of you.
If you are looking for an easy to follow, short. circular walk through some varied Cotswold countryside with the opportunity for extending it with a nice lunch or cooling drink and an ice-cream then this could be the one for you.
Liking the sound of the tea shop!
ReplyDeleteI'm sure you would love it - they even do a fish finger sandwich!
ReplyDelete