Blabis two

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An excellent route through very interesting and delightful scenery. There is a shop at Blagdon which is open most of the time and one at West Harfleet (again open most of the time) and only a little over half way. There are hostelries in Blagdon, Compton Martin, West Harfleet (no food) and Bishops Sutton.
The route was quite muddy around Yeo Valley dairy because of torrential rain when I walked that section on 22nd Dec '23 but the rest was OK when I walked the second half today (16th Jan 24).
The footpaths of the route are well marked.
Westlink buses pass through the area and can be booked using their App.

A delightful route along the southern edge of the Chew Valley using easily navigable pathways between villages that are well-walked by the locals, with lovely views over Blagdon and Chew Valley lakes along the way. I have walked it several times. This review goes west to east.

From Blagdon the walk makes its way through greenways and the pastures of the well-organised Yeo Valley organics HQ to Ubley, and on from there via farm tracks and arable fields with reasonable paths along headlands to Compton Martin, where there is a pub.

Approaching Compton Martin village,
this route uses a good alternative permissive path instead of the footpath marked on the OS map. Keep straight along the hedge line east until you reach a metal kissing gate into the byway of Villice Lane (along the route of the Monarch’s Way). It is much nicer than the confusing and badly-signed footpath through paddocks and the yard of the big dairy by the road, which additionally leads onto a section of the sometimes feisty A368 Into the village that partly lacks a footway.

There is a pub in this village, and from there a short section of the Limestone Link path goes to West Harptree, which has another pub and a shop. Take care crossing the minor road near Beaconfield farm. It is quite a well-used route and cars can go fast up it.

The onward path from West Harptree goes round the southern end of Chew Valley Lake through a pretty area of low-lying pastureland with hedgerows full of mature oak trees. The ground is always damp in the area behind Herriot’s Pool (which you can’t see from the path) and marshy at wet times of year.

If you want to take a close look at the lake and its wildfowl (alongside the birders with telescopes and drivers taking a break) you can take a quick detour off the route from North Widcombe 300m back west along the paved footway by the A368 to a big lay-by, where there is often also an ice-cream van.

The remainder of the walk into Bishop Sutton is via Burledge Hill, which has good views north across the lake. There is a climb up via a stony track and a descent through an Avon Wildlife Trust nature reserve which is full of wildflowers in the summer.

Access includes gates, kissing gates and stiles.

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