Vistas of an ancient land.
- Jen Blaxall.
- 3 days ago
- 3 min read
Today I took advantage of the beautiful weather and took a walk to Clearbury Hillfort. It's amazing how much difference a few weeks make. The last time I was here with friends, we were struggling to stay upright on the wet and claggy chalky hill, but today it was full of blossom, butterflies, and birdsong, as well as being much drier and easier underfoot!
Starting my walk from the gypsy-cursed church, I wandered along the lane, where the inquisitive cows came to say hello at the fence line. Pretty gardens in the village were full of magnolia and cherry blossom, and the verges were decorated with wild primrose.
It wasn't long before I was heading along farm tracks with the distinct smell of silage in the air. Cows were meringand mooing from the nearby field, and a woodpecker drummed on a tree. The trees hugged my path and were starting to burst into leaf. The vivid green from a horse chestnut canopy was illuminated by the bright sun bouncing off its leaves. Pheasants and grouse dashed across the dusty track, and as I glanced down a field's edge, a hare looked back at me.
Leaving the track behind, the terrain changed once more, as I made my way up the pastures edge on the gradual hill, up to the impressive Iron Age Hillfort. The higher I progressed, the most vast the views over this ancient landscape, peppered with barrows and folklore.
Red kites swooped and called across the blue skies and butterflies and bees were abundant on the densely blossomed blackthorn. At the top of the hill, I circled the Hillfort on the wild pasture and stopped to take in the sights, sounds and smells of this magical landscape on a beautiful day. Skylarks sung from great heights and butterflies fed on dandelions. The landscape dipped and raised in a patchwork of farmland and woodlands, with Breamore wood in the distance and the rape flower is just starting and created a gentle yellow hue across the pastures, divided by blackthorn blossom, resembling fluffy clouds kissing the land.
I sat for a while and was mesmerised by a hovering bee-fly before hearing the true sound of spring, the first call of a cuckoo, and took advantage of the abundance of wildflowers and picked some ground ivy, cleavers, plantain, and nettles, while leaving more than plenty for the wildlife. The sweet aroma of young, freshly picked nettle tips just added to the spring energy I was enjoying, and I couldn't help thinking if the people who lived on this land in the Iron Age would have foraged the same pastures.
The rest of my walk was downhill and as I descended, I focused on the stunning views as they disappeared out of sight. Back to woodland-lined lanes, I could hear hungry broods calling from nest sites amongst the trees and wild hedges. Sweeping fields of green edged the woodlands and as I neared the village, I found myself surrounded by banks of bluebells and stitchwort, dog mercury and wood anemones on this holloway lane.
Before resuming my return to the church, I stopped and sat by the River Ebble and lost time watching the clear water babble its way along wildflower riverbanks.
What a joyful walk through ancient and wild land. If you would like to come along next time you will find more detail at this link.
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