Day 10 A walk from High Ham though Low Ham to Pitney

This is a walk from a collection published many years ago by South Somerset District Council and starts in High Ham.  We park by the Church and follow the route as described on the walk guide.  We have chosen this walk as by and large it follows lanes with only a small number of potentially muddy paths and tracks.

Heading south past the school the walk descends the aptly named Long Street passing some very old farms and farm buildings.  Many of the former milk churn platforms still have churns on them, illustrating the former use of these raised platforms still standing by a number of the farm gates. There are views out towards Langport, round to Pitney and in the direction of Somerton.  At Low Ham the walk passes the ancient Church in the Field before climbing past the ancient stone wall of the old Manor House estate.


Of the Manor House itself there is little trace though the footpath climbs through a terraced field with a large number of unnatural bumps and hollows.

The route returns to the narrow lane for the descent into Pitney, past the church and then through part of the village, past Pitney Farm Shop and onto first Woodbirds Hill Lane which continues into the aptly named Underwood Lane.  This is a grassy track and not too muddy, though Ian does manage to slip at one point and land on his hip and elbow, with a minor bump to his head on the way down!  This is a lovely part of the walk with views ahead and behind, an ancient wood on the right and a cider orchard to the left, which we pass through as we descend further to the road.

This is the lowest point of the walk and the climb back to High Ham follows first a lane and then footpaths through fields and a small local nature reserve as it climbs back to the ridge.  The views in this section are great, the Polden Ridge with the Hood Monument and with Glastonbury Tor clearly visible beyond.  There are also clear views out over Somerton Moor and the Cary Valley below us.

Definitely a "Walk for All Seasons".

5.9 miles