Shepton Mallet — Midsomer Norton
Shemid two
Slow Way not verified yet. Verify Shemid here.
Slow Way not verified yet. Verify Shemid here.
By panifex on 01 Jun 2022
Description
This is an alternative route to Shemid One avoiding Harridge Wood, which sadly is unsafe at the moment due to Ash Dieback. It is slightly more direct (1 mile shorter) but a touch more up-and-down. It also passes directy by The Oakhill Inn, which is a very welcome pit-stop (the other route did pass close to the old Nettlebridge Inn, but that is now houses).
There is some road walking on both this and the original route, and the narrow lanes can be busier than expected so do take care. There are two busy road crossings (again on both routes) - the worst is crossing the Old Frome Road when near Beacon Hill which is very fast, but has good visibility. An important point to note at this crossing, when travelling from Midsomer Norton direction, do not head directly on the path straight into the trees which appears more direct - it will lead you to a very steep cliff. Instead walk through the trees parallel to the road to the car park and follow the footpath
This is an alternative route to Shemid One avoiding Harridge Wood, which sadly is unsafe at the moment due to Ash Dieback. It is slightly more direct (1 mile shorter) but a touch more up-and-down. It also passes directy by The Oakhill Inn, which is a very welcome pit-stop (the other route did pass close to the old Nettlebridge Inn, but that is now houses).
There is some road walking on both this and the original route, and the narrow lanes can be busier than expected so do take care. There are two busy road crossings (again on both routes) - the worst is crossing the Old Frome Road when near Beacon Hill which is very fast, but has good visibility. An important point to note at this crossing, when travelling from Midsomer Norton direction, do not head directly on the path straight into the trees which appears more direct - it will lead you to a very steep cliff. Instead walk through the trees parallel to the road to the car park and follow the footpath
Status
This route has been reviewed by 2 people.
There are no issues flagged.
Photos for Shemid two
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Information
Route status - Live
Reviews - 2
Average rating -
Is this route good enough? - Yes (2)
There are currently no problems reported with this route.
Downloads - 4
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Geography information system (GIS) data
Total length
Maximum elevation
Minimum elevation
Start and end points
Shepton Mallet
Grid Ref
ST6188943653
Lat / Lon
51.19081° / -2.54673°
Easting / Northing
361,889E / 143,653N
What3Words
compress.scrambles.frost
Midsomer Norton
Grid Ref
ST6642254172
Lat / Lon
51.28568° / -2.48286°
Easting / Northing
366,422E / 154,172N
What3Words
amending.deputy.shuffle
| Shepton Mallet | |
|---|---|
| Grid Ref | ST6188943653 |
| Lat / Lon | 51.19081° / -2.54673° |
| Easting / Northing | 361,889E / 143,653N |
| What3Words | compress.scrambles.frost |
| Midsomer Norton | |
|---|---|
| Grid Ref | ST6642254172 |
| Lat / Lon | 51.28568° / -2.48286° |
| Easting / Northing | 366,422E / 154,172N |
| What3Words | amending.deputy.shuffle |
Sorry Land Cover data is not currently available for this route. Please check back later.
reviews
Andrew Davies
03 Jul 2023I walked the northern two thirds of this route from Oakhill to MN. The route was fine until after Ashwick church, where I ran into trouble on descending into the woods. I lost any path and had to scramble up a steep slope through vegetation and then barbed wire to reach a lane. I then stuck to the lanes (the wonderfully named Tother side the hill and Moon's Bottom) to reach Chilcompton. So if the route looks too wild, this is an alternative. Be aware that the main street of Chilcompton looks lovely with a stream beside it but has no pavement for walkers. The last part into MN was a pleasant lane beside the fields of Somervale School.
Panifex
01 Jun 2022I walked this route in the direction Midsomer Norton to Shepton Mallet. The gpx file I've uploaded has been tweaked as a result of this, and now avoids all the pitfalls I found along the way (missing footpaths, locked gates etc.). I popped into The Oakhill Inn on the way past, which is a great pub. Highly recommended!
It is not a particularly accessible route - there are quite a few styles, and some steep and narrow footpaths - but it is quite direct, and mostly very easy to navigate - especially the sections out of Midsomer Norton, and along the Fosse Way into Shepton. The original route would also have suffered from the same accesibility issues (I changed it as little as possible) and there really isn't a viable alternative.
I do think the route through Harridge Wood would be lovely when it is possible again - it is one of my favourite local woods - so it might be that these are both viable Slow Ways.
Overall, I think it is a great, interesting, useful walk.
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