The Plan
Winterborne
Clenston to Winterborne Whitechurch
Who Turned Up
Wendy,
Tricia, Trudy H, David
The Walk
Firstly,
let me apologise for a gap in the recent flow of blogs. The blogmaster has been
on holiday in Somerset.
Today,
the forecast was perfect for a country walk, dry but not too hot. We parked, as
usual, in the grass parking area beside Winterborne Clenston parish church.
This church, built of stone and flint, dates from 1840 and stands on the site
of an earlier church. The nearby manor dates back to the late fifteenth, early
sixteenth century. The Winterborne river runs through the village, as you would
expect from its name. In 1312, the patron of that earlier church was Roger de
Clencheston. That’s how the village got its full name. Bet most of you didn’t
know that.
Our walk
took us through Oatclose Wood and across Whatcombe Common and down into
Winterborne Whitechurch, a walk of about one and a half hours. Along the way,
we gave way to a party of horse riders, the only other people we saw on the entire
route. We saw the dyke known as Combs Ditch, probably an Iron Age fortification
but one that was modified in Roman times. An excavation in 1864 turned up four
bodies here, along with arrowheads and a bucket urn. In 1086, in the Domesday
Book, the village we now call Winterborne Whitechurch was recorded as simply Wintreborne. It was in the hundred of Combsditch
and the tenant-in-chief was Milton Abbey. Until 1933, there was an anomaly in
which the Winterborne Whitechurch church stood outside its own parish. This was
because the village was part of the parish of Milton Abbas.
After
lunch, we took the shorter route back to the car, through Lower Whatcombe and
through the fields parallel to the Whatcombe Road. All-in-all it was a very
pleasant walk. Thanks to Wendy for guiding us, and for the tea and biscuits
when we got back to her house. And a big thank-you to Trudy for the photographs.
The Pub
The
Milton Arms at Winterborne Whitechurch. This pub has been recently refurbished
and has a clean, pleasant interior. There were no pies on the menu, so all four
walkers opted for one of the chef’s specials. It went by the name of Smoked
Haddock Monte Carlo. It had a base of sauté potatoes, then a layer of spinach,
smoked haddock on top of that, and a poached egg atop the haddock. Finally, the
whole was smothered in a rich creamy sauce. As ever, the secret is in the sauce and this chef has got it right. There was some greenery on top of
all that, but it seemed to be more for decoration than taste. This was a very
tasty meal, enjoyed by all. We asked how it got its name and were told that the
chef had been taught the recipe in Monte Carlo. Seemed like a reasonable
explanation.
Next Week
A walk
around Stourhead. The details will follow later.
