20: Erlestoke Wood and the "1917" Field

Hidden Wiltshire Podcast

Someone has called Glyn and Paul the Whitehouse and Mortimer of the podcast world but with more sheep. We’re not sure if that was meant as a compliment but we’ll take it. We just need to decide which one of us is Paul Whitehouse and which one is Bob Mortimer.

Before getting on to the main subject we discuss the last two weeks in the world of Hidden Wiltshire. It was the final Hidden Wiltshire/Wiltshire Museum guided walk recently which took us to Fyfield Down where we led a sell out six mile tour that included the Devil’s Den, the Valley of the Stones, the Polisher Stone and the Toad Stone. A superb walk marred only by the fact that one of the guest’s car was broken into at the Manton House car park. Beware if you park here and don’t leave valuables in your car.

The guided walks have been so successful that we’re going to plan some more.

Regular contributor and podcast guest Steve Dewey has posted a new blog about Nine Mile River. It’s neither nine miles in length, nor a river for part its length at the moment! As we’ve come to expect from Steve the blog is thoroughly well researched with beautiful photographs and packed with little known facts. You’ll find a link to Steve’s blog below.

We’ve also been filming our first video podcast (is that a VLOG?) around the Pewsey Vale, assisted by Glyn’s son Rohan and Paul’s son Adam. The star of the show was David Carson, whose family has farmed in the area since the 1880s. This has been a long time in the planning. Recording video as well as audio on location is a whole different ballgame. Glyn has a lot of editing to do but mercifully we were blessed with beautiful weather.

On the video front, Paul recently posted a short 30 second video on the Facebook Page and Group of the location for the 19th century hamlet of Down Barn Cottages on Maddington Down near Shrewton. But his video was trumped by Hidden Wiltshire follower and contributor BBC South Today’s Paul Clifton, who recorded a 2:20 film at and around this location for the BBC earlier this year. Paul Clifton is a friend and neighbour of Paul’s and they both spend a lot of time walking the same part of Salisbury Plain, sometimes together! Apart from filming at the site of Down Barn Cottages Paul Clifton also filmed his walk along some of the hollow ways that radiate out from Shrewton. The BBC finally aired his film on 21 September and Paul kindly gave us permission to use it. You’ll find it on the Facebook Page and the Closed Facebook Group for members. It’s a lovely short film and well worth watching. You’ll also find it on the Hidden Wiltshire YouTube channel which we’ll be making greater use of in future. You’ll find a link below.

We then moved onto this episode’s main subject, a previous Hidden Wiltshire/Wiltshire Museum walk to Erlestoke Wood and the 1917 Field. You can follow the walk using the link below. The walk starts in the village of Erlestoke itself. The village has connections with the Special Operations Executive, the secret British organisation that was active during the Second World War. In the graveyard next to the car park where the walk began is the gravestone of Marie Louise Huntley Walker who died in 1980 and who was a member of the French Resistance. Surely a nod to Erlestoke’s SOE activities?

From Erlestoke village the walk climbs the steep slopes through Erlestoke Wood up to the Plains. The woods and lakes appear to have been created by the new owner of the manor John Smith in the 1780s. He enclosed the common land, turfed off the villagers and relocated the village to its current location in order that he could create a landscape for the enjoyment of him and his family. Nice.

The walk then takes us through the woods parallel to Coulston Hollow before joining the Imber Ranger Perimeter Path. After a stretch along the track we come to open fields with views across the Imber Range. And there, in the middle distance, is the famous Lollipop Tree that features in the closing scene of the film “1917”. With no sign of the huge film set built here, we headed down to Cheverell Hill Farm before returning to Erlestoke via Hill Wood.

A thoroughly enjoyable, and at times lung busting walk which will be very muddy if you attempt it in the winter.

Then on to the wrap up:

Steve Dixon’s piece leading into the discussion about the walk is entitled “When Swallows Rise”. As ever the piece in the introduction and at the end of the podcast is entitled “The Holloway”.

Don’t forget to subscribe to the Hidden Wiltshire Newsletter from the website.

Thanks again to the ever-patient Tim Kington at TKC Sales, the UK distributors of Lowa walking boots and shoes, and for the 20% discount on their products to Hidden Wiltshire podcast listeners. Listen to the show for the discount code. It can’t last forever! You’ll find a link to Lowa Boots’ website below.

And finally, help us keep the lights on by heading to the Hidden Wiltshire Online shop. Link below.

Links:

You can find Steve Dewey’s blog about Nine Mile River here Nine Mile River - Steve Dewey

Paul Clifton’s short film for the BBC about Down Barn Cottages can be found on the Hiddden Wiltshire YouTube channel here Paul Clifton BBC Film - Down Barn Cottages

To follow the walk in this episode click on this link Erlestoke Wood and the 1917 Field

Glyn’s photographs can be seen of course on this website and on his Instagram feed @coy_cloud

Paul’s photography can be found on his website at Paul Timlett Photography and on Instagram at @tragicyclist

Steve Dixon’s sound art can be found on Soundcloud where his username is River and Rail Steve Dixon River and Rail. His photographs can be found on Instagram at @stevedixon_creative and his graphic design business website is at Steve Dixon Creative

You can find Lowa Boots UK at Lowa Boots UK

And finally you’ll find the Hidden Wiltshire online shop here Hidden Wiltshire Shop