I hadn’t been out walking for a few days, despite having a lot of time to myself. I may refer to this time as ‘chilling out’, when in fact I was probably binge-watching Dartmoor-themed videos on YouTube!
Here I was though, standing at the close of 2017. Not willing to join the walking group on a windswept, snow-beaten trek up Pen Y Fan that evening… I decided to stay close to home and rediscover the Mendip Hills.
Boxing Day 2017 walk, from Axbridge in Somerset, to the heights of Crook Peak on the Mendip Hills and back along the Cheddar Yeo river.
There was a time when I would walk up to Crook Peak on a regular basis. Since those days, my desire to explore further afield has grown and I’ve often come close to taking the local hills for granted.
It was Boxing Day. I didn’t fancy travelling far and I knew that, wherever I would decide to walk, there were likely to be others around. Sticking close to home but with a physical challenge in mind, I drove down to Axbridge.
Christmas Eve! Freeom from work for the ten days that would follow!
One day before the highlight of the week and I’d decided to head out for a walk on the Mendip Hills. This walk began in Priddy, which is only a thirty-minute drive from home.
Follow my walk along the first half half of the East Mendip Way; starting in Croscombe, joining the trail near Wells and passing through Shepton Mallet to reach Cranmore Tower. I’m aiming to walk the second half towards Frome quite soon.
I’ve walked the full-distance of the West Mendip Way several times now. But I never venture in the other direction to follow the East Mendip Way.
This is the first of two walks where I attempt to complete the nineteen-mile trail, which crosses Somerset from Wells to Frome.
Continue reading “East Mendip Way: Croscombe to Cranmore Tower”
Walks With Olly 