Really nice easy going route across fields and back lanes. Lovely pleasant walking...

One Woman Walks

At Burrowbridge, where there is another pub, the route switches to the other side of the river to access the lovely walk along the River Parrett trail for the second half of the walk to Langport. For the second half of the walk to Langport, the route takes the River Parrett Trail, which uses grassy paths along the top of the old river ramparts between the Parrett itself and its flood relief channel....

Mockymock

Much of this route is fine but the footpath across the fields between Little Moor and Moorland is currently hopeless....

Mockymock

The other thing I really like about Martock, is that all the footpaths around the village are well maintained, well used and clearly signed. There were plenty of people on the paths closer to Langport, and I found the same to be true when I walked the very similar Lansou route in the winter....

Helen Gough

Some of the fields and paths were a bit overgrown, but the earlier detailed review has pointed out most of the pitfalls (read that before setting out!)....

Andrew Davies

Although the route was apparently clear (follow the River Parrett Trail) in practice I didn't find it as clearly signposted as it should be. I needed the map and Slow Ways guide to follow the route on the ground, especially where it crossed overgrown fields. Also many of the gates and stiles were heavily overgrown (in June after a rainy May), and at one point I had to squeeze under barbed wire to reach the necessary bridge over a stream....

Andrew Davies

I saw that a lot of the route was over footpaths across farmland, none of them part of a recognised trail, and I was prepared for a battle with crops, livestock and overgrown paths. There were a couple of places where crops were across the path, but in the first case (at Stockbridge) there was a path around the field edge, and the second time it was easy to walk through the crops without damaging them. I would advise a map and/or GPS to find the exits, some are easy to walk past....

Helen Gough

The route closes in more after Kingsbury Episcopi, and becomes rather workaday for the last mile or so into Martock when it crosses some fields grazed by a herd of cobby ponies and uses arable headlands. On the way it briefly skirts a sewage farm (can’t see it from the path but a slight whiff and lots little flies - a less lovely form of insect abundance!) and some huge blank buildings housing an intensive poultry operation (depressing), but it does the job fine and gets you into the village easily, so I didn’t dock a star from the overall rating....

Mockymock

Between Kingsbury Episcopi and South Petherton the route closes in more, with sometimes not much to see bar the grassy fields immediately around, but it becomes more varied heading into South Petherton, where it uses a gardeny tree-lined path along the course of the North Mills Brook. There is often (but not always) a visible path on the ground across the fields. Note that this Slow Way shares a course with the route between Langport and Martock for much of the way....

Mockymock

Once past the church, it briefly joins a main road (pavement along the north side) before turning up a track just beyond a pub which leads to a pleasant enclosed wooded path, often frothing with cow parsley today, which goes all the way up to the B3153, crossing the mainline railway over the track on the way. This little piece of road is on a rather busier local through-route and cars come round the bends from both directions without much sight of you. You just go through a gap in the hedge (no sign that I could see) and the way out onto the lane at the end of it is somewhat to the right of the right of way shown on the OS map (the Slow Way plot is correct). There is a metal footpath gate towards the north-east corner of the field that goes through a little enclosure with an electric horse-walking barn in it. If you miss this, there is another stile at the top of the hill just before the road, again on a little path heading right. Once on the open access ground of Walton Hill, follow the steep path up and then around the old windmill building and on along the ridge (lovely big views from up here) until you are about opposite the lane on the far side of the busy adjacent road which will take the Slow Way northwards down towards Street. There is a little path through the grass down to a stile and the visibility for the road crossing is good. A few cars use this little lane as a short cut to Walton, so keep an ear out, but it is fine for walking along and soon reaches a path across some cow and sheep pastures. the path eventually winds up in a new housing estate via a little piece of woodland, and from there it is a reasonably quiet, easy walk into the centre of Street through suburban housing....

Mockymock

I am flagging this route for safety because it uses several hundred metres of road at Walton Hill near the old windmill (w3w ember.valuables.emeralds to dizziness.scrub.ended) which has fast, frequent traffic including heavy vehicles, no verges and poor sight lines. There is even a notice at the end of the footpath approaching the road from the south advising people not to walk along it. Luckily the area of open access land right next to it can be used instead....

Mockymock

This is a nice, easy, flat, peaceful, riverside walk in The Levels....

Helen Gough

For the remaining five miles to Langport, the route takes the River Parrett Trail on grassy paths along the top of the old river ramparts between the Parrett itself and its flood relief channel. And at the Langport end it is easier (at w3w goes.inflamed.zone), to continue on under the railway on the River Parrett Trail across Northstreet Moor and arrive into the centre of town from the west rather than using the suggested route which initially goes north of the railway line. Another optional variation, if you are enjoying the canal path at the Bridgwater end, is to stay on the River Parrett Trail between Huntworth Bridge (w3w most.length.hill) and rejoin the mapped route at hammer.drips.drums via Fordgate instead of using cycle route 339 along the road....

Mockymock

I walked from Somerton and the route begins with a long section of lane walking, but the lanes are quiet so perfectly fine. The worst section was Lowerfield Lane, where the vegetation was tall enough for me to lose sight of my dog for most of it....

Helen Gough