We first stopped in the village of Walliswood several months ago on the way home from work and took a short walk through the wood. With temperatures soaring over the last few days we decided to revisit the walk and take advantage of the natural shade and coolness the wood offered.
Parking opposite to the Scarlett Arms pub, we set off down the path to the right of the pub and headed into the woods. The woods are a wonderful mix of native trees including British oaks, ash and hawthorn which provide the perfect home for a wide range of wildlife. The paths that run through the woods are easy to walk and initially follow a meandering stream with several small, wooden bridges to cross at the bottom. Once at the bottom we decided to step out of the woods and walk through the churchyard of St John, The Baptist church before picking up another footpath on the other side.
The footpath led us around two sides of a horse’s field before entering the woods again. At the opposite side of the field, we turned back and had a straight-line view to the tower on Leith Hill. Given the heat, the view was a little hazy, but the tower was instantly recognisable. As we walked through the next section of woodland we were aware of all the squirrels playing amongst the branches and we glimpsed a couple of birds of prey in the tops of the trees which was a real treat. Looping round in a circle, we entered back into the churchyard where we sat in a shady corner and enjoyed the small picnic we had brought with us.
Retracing our steps, we crossed over the stream and headed back up through the woodland a little way before the path led us alongside a large, open field where, much to our delight a herd of alpaca live. Under the shade of the trees we spent some time watching the herd who, with their shorn coats and fluffy heads did make us smile! Carrying along the path we passed hedgerows that were alive with butterflies dancing in the afternoon sun. Getting closer to our starting point we walked down some of the lanes of the village of Walliswood, passing the Old School House and stopping in the very lovely garden of the Scarlett Arms for a well-earned drink before heading home.
For most of the routes that we take, we us the OS map app. It isn’t 100% perfect but for the most part it shows us the footpaths, bridleways and permitted access paths that we tend to follow, and it does allow us to stop in an area and plan a route there and then.
We'll see you down the trail
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