Briwed three

Verified Slow Way

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Similar to Briwed 2. But avoiding the crop field.

This review is almost exactly the same as the one I wrote for Briwed two. That route has since been found to be prone to a seasonal crop blockage in one place by another reviewer, hence this minorly adjusted version. My original walk was in Spring 2023 so the conditions reported are for that time of year.

I have been really enjoying exploring the Slow Ways on the Somerset Levels and Briwed is no exception. It is mostly a meditative, pleasurable plod through this peaceful landscape of big skies and many drains, ditches and rhynes of all sizes. It is fairly easy to navigate and although not much seems to change for miles at a time, there are usually views around the route, near or far, including to the Mendip and Polden hills, and even a distant Glastonbury Tor, which makes it an absorbing, visually-rich walk.

The only reason I don't give it a full five stars is that it entails a lot of (very quiet) walking on paved roads, and the first mile and a half out of Bridgwater is an unavoidable, convoluted hike through housing estates. When I walked through a house construction was blocking one footpath at (w3w countries.erupts.handle) and I had to take a minor detour. I don't know if this is permanent thing. Just use the path around the green with the playgrounds instead of going via Mendip Road. Its nicer anyway.

Once at the edge of town there is a quick hop across a field to take the little footbridge over the M5. There are ominous planning notices on the gateway and it looks as though this whole narrow strip of fields between the edge of town and the motorway are going to be built on over the next few years, so there may be disruption to this exit from town in the future.

Beyond the motorway, the path skirts some arable fields and onto a track past the barns of Fishers Farm - a path that looks to be reasonably well walked - to meet the minor road to Chedzoy. Once in the village, a path through the churchyard leads out to edge round another big arable field and a field of mowing grass before crossing into a slightly rougher sheep pasture. It then reaches the corner of another lane which leads into Bawdrip over the bridge across the broad King’s Sedgmore drain. Nice views around from this area and it looked as if at a least a few people walk the path across these fields.

At the other side of the village the Slow Way uses a mile of cycle path through an old railway cutting to traverse the Polden ridge and heads on up into into Cossington, where a short section of a lane and a little alleyway across a dip lead to the minor road which takes the Slow Way downhill onto the moors. There are long views ahead towards the Mendip Hills ion the descent. From here follows miles of flat walking, mostly along the classically lumpy Somerset Levels roads with lovely views of the moors around and very little traffic, interrupted by one off-road section along a drove and through some fields just after the crossing the Huntspill River at Gold Corner. Turn in on the track through the pair of gates just past the scruffy farmyard beyond the pumping station.

Eventually the way swings east and the walk switches to green droves and tracks for the last few miles across the levels. There were some big puddles after heavy rain in March and the first half of April but not so bad that I got wet feet. This area is rushier, damper and less intensively farmed with several nature reserves close by. I watched a marsh harrier skimming low over the fields as I headed up to Sand on the only real hill climb of the whole route. There were great views back down over the Levels from there.

The last bit from Sand to the end of the walk is on quiet lanes, alleyways and tracks, some rather muddy today. The B-road crossing on the way into town has the most lively traffic seen since Bridgwater.

I believe there is a pub somewhere on the outskirts of Cossington and one in Chedzoy just off the route. Didn't pass any kind of a shop on the way but there are some in Wedmore. Public transport connections are good from Bridgwater and at the time of writing there is a fairly sparse community minibus service from Wedmore to Wells and sometimes also Highbridge and Burnham on weekdays only.

This is a good Slow Way route!

(More of a review and some photos to follow).

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