Marbur three

Slow Way not verified yet. Verify Marbur here.

This route is more indirect than Marbur two, and this is its main weakness, but it is a really nice walk, and having walked Marbur one, which is a flawed route overall, but used the lovely path through the lBroadmead Brook valley, I felt that it would be good if that option was kept available to Slow Ways walkers.

The first mile and a half from the edge of Marshfield to the quiet hamlet of West Littleton is on a minor road between the stone-walled arable fields. It had nice flowery margins in June and some views of the area around, and at lunchtime on a sunny weekend I was passed by one car the whole way along it and met several people using it for walking and running.

From West Littleton the route takes a gravelly track east along the edge of a shallow valley. It is easy walking. Where the track meets the incoming one from Rownham Farm and curves away up and left, make sure to head a little to the right off the track and along the grassy bottom of the valley ahead to keep on the footpath. You soon reach a stile onto the Tormarton Road. Once across that, it is a tranquil, pleasurable walk along the valley of the Broadmead Brook, with access through iron field gates with little chains that you need to lift over the gateposts to undo them. One gate was a bit jammed and too stiff for me to open easily so I gave up and climbed it but they were well-maintained generally so I hope this is a temporary aberration.

Eventually the valley narrows into an enclosed wooded footpath to the lane through West Kington, and heads uphill to the church. From there it follows around through a horsey farmyard and its access road and paddocks to Nettleton Green. Apart from a couple of curious but calm youngsters who came up to sniff me, the horses were all utterly uninterested in me and there were some beautiful mares and foals in neighbouring fields.

From then on the route is a mixture of villagey paths and short sections of minor road, with a few hundred metres of safe on-road walking into Burton. The village has a pub and a cafe/farm shop which was busy with visitors.

Both Marshfield and Burton are on bus routes, but there is nothing on a Sunday.

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