Length: 22.7 km (14.1 mi) [Longer Walks possible, see below]
Ascent/Descent: 490m
Net Walking Time: ca. 5 ¾ hours
Toughness: 6 out of 10
From Westbury and Frome , take the Weymouth train at 10.22/10.32, arrives Bruton 10.43.
From Castle Cary , take the London Waterloo train at 10.07, arrives Bruton 10.12 (and start walking or wait).
From London , take the 08.51 Penzance train from Paddington (09.18 Reading), change at Westbury (10.00/10.22), arrives 10.43.
Return trains to Castle Cary: 17.20 (via Westbury), 18.58, 19.12 (via Westbury), 21.59.
Return trains to Frome/Westbury: 17.20, 19.12, 21.19.
Return trains to London (change in Westbury): 17.20 (long wait), 19.12, 21.19.
This excursion is centred on the small 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 tea options. It leads along the vigorous River Brue and through bucolic pastures up to the wooded range forming the boundary between Wiltshire and Somerset, with the dominant local landmark Alfred’s Tower , a folly, on top of it. From there you drop down through enchanting woods to the heart of the Stourhead Estate at the source of the River Stour, with its breath-taking 18th century landscaped garden with lakeside walks, grottoes and classical temples (National Trust, ticketed entry, although large parts of the garden and most notable buildings are visible from the walk route).
After lunch at the estate pub or an NT restaurant you circle back past the large Palladian mansion with views, then through a U-shaped grassy valley (by the source of the river Stour) and up through hanging woods to continue high above the Brue Valley with fine far views across the South Somerset landscape.
Towards the end the route passes the renowned art gallery Hauser & Wirth Somerset with its fascinating bar and restaurant, and an optional loop routes up to Bruton’s dovecote and through town.
Walk Options:
An out-and-back to the Bronze Age Bell Barrow site Jack’s Castle adds 550m.
A loop through the wooded Park Hill and via its Iron Age hillfort site adds 900m.
A loop at the end up to Bruton’s dovecote and through town past most tea places adds 1.5 km.
Lunch: The Spread Eagle Inn (11.0 km/6.8 mi, food to 19.00) or The Stourhead Estate Restaurant (11.4 km/7.1 mi, food to 16.00), both on the Stourhead Estate.
Tea: Plenty options, including a Hauser & Wirth-managed pub just off route, 4.5 km from the end. See the webpage or the pdf for details.
For walk directions, maps, height profiles, photos and gpx/kml files click here . T=swc.342