The Ankerwycke Yew & St. Mary's Priory

15th October 2023

 

 

While I was walking along the nicely resurfaced towpath alongside the Thames at Runnymede someone stopped me to ask if I knew how to get across the river to Ankerwycke as they wanted to visit the ancient yew tree there. They’d been told there was a ferry but apart from one reference on a blog from 2018 to a proposed ferry I’m not aware that there’s been a ferry here in recent times. I directed her to the road route via Runnymede Bridge and the B376 to the small car park in Magna Carta Lane. Then I thought about how long ago it was that I last went there, which appears to be September 2015, so later in the afternoon I followed my own directions to Magna Carta Lane. From the small car parking area by Ankerwycke Farm a path leads along the edge of the field to an avenue of trees which you follow to your right to get to The Ankerwycke Yew & St. Mary's Priory.

 

 

 

 The yew tree sits in a slightly raised grassy clearing with some simple wooden benches around three sides. It’s not particularly tall and is surrounded by much taller trees. But for a small sign you could walk past it and hardly notice what is at first sight another large bush. Walk clockwise around it though and it reveals a different face altogether.

 

 

 

 The tree is at least 1400 years old and it is believed as much as 2500 years old. He (for this is a male yew) has like most of us increased in girth over the years and if he needed trousers would be looking for a 26’ (8m) waist size. His trunk is deeply fissured, almost hollowed out and branches reach down to the ground on almost all sides.

 

 

 

 It is cool under here, in more than one sense and when there’s no one else about eerily quiet. You get a sense of being in the presence of something old. Old enough to have witnessed had he had eyes to do so, from his slightly raised area in what would then have been a marshy flood plain King John and the barons sealing Magna Carta on the far bank of the Thames. Also allegedly Henry VIII “courting” Anne Boleyn at a somewhat closer distance, although those two seem to have got it on all over the place if all such stories are to be believed. In here you can see that even the thicker parts of the trunk still sprout leaves and where the trunk is bare people have fastened small ribbons, a practice that might date back a long way.

 

 

 

 Or maybe just to the 1980s, who knows? The tree obviously but he’s saying nothing.

 

 The tree hasn’t noticeably changed since last I was here but coming out from under the canopy I found something that has. A few yards away stand the remains of St. Mary’s Priory, a Benedictine nunnery established around 1160 and dissolved in 1536 - maybe history would have taken a different course had the nuns chased Henry out from under that tree. In 2015 the ruins were securely fenced off and looked like this:

 

 

 

 In 2022 they were excavated and seem to also have been given a thoroughly good scrubbing so that in this afternoon’s bright autumn sunshine they were so bright it almost hurt the eyes!

 

 

 

 The fence has gone, along with the signage, though whether that removal is permanent I don’t know as the site still has a bit of a building site air about it.

 

 

 

 From the abbey I walked through the woods to the bank of the Thames opposite Runnymede Pleasure Grounds and then back again via the yew. It was quiet, especially compared to the hubbub on the far side of the river where I’d been earlier.

 

 

 

 It’s worth visiting this slightly out-of-the-way part of the National Trust’s Runnymede properties, even though it can be rather muddy getting to it, not too bad this time but evidenced by the row of boot-cleaning brushes fixed to the bottom of the sign in the Ankerwycke car park. If you want to get hands-on with the yew tree I suggest you visit sooner rather than later though. This has appeared at the end of the avenue of trees leading to the yew and abbey.

 

 

 

It reads "The National Trust is working with a team of consultants to improve your experience at Runnymede and Ankerwycke.
The Ankerwycke Yew is an ancient tree and we’re taking steps to protect it for the future. We’re building a new boardwalk a safe distance away from the Yew so visitors can view the tree without damaging its sensitive roots.

More to come
Scan the QR code to find out more about what we've been up to."

 

I can find no plans online detailing how they are going to “improve my experience” and the QR code doesn’t link to anything useful. I’m unconvinced regarding the protecting the roots thing and the official National Trust walk guide encourages you to "Make sure to stop and have a look underneath the canopy of this venerable old giant.”. If footsteps have been a problem for 2500 years the tree doesn’t seem to be doing too badly. It’s hard to see in the above photo because of the light behind the translucent hoarding but the artists impression looks as if the boardwalk will be some distance from the tree, possibly the other side of the stream that runs across the site. If so you won’t be able to visit the tree, only visit a place where you can see the tree “over there”. Your Ankerwycke Yew Experience will be a bit like your Stonehenge Experience. Though with fewer “Druids”.

 

Speaking of the National Trust, if you are a member and reading this blog at the time it was published can I please encourage you to vote in the AGM to prevent the Tufton Street crooks, GBNews poundland-fascists, and the frog-faced f*ckwit of “Retore Trust” from taking over.

 

And if you’re reading from the future I hope that you can still get up close and personal with the Ankerwycke Yew. No licking it though for obvious reasons and wash your hands afterwards :-) 

 

 

September Things

Seven Things I did in September.

 

September 7th

 

Hidden London Baker Street Station tour. The newest addition to Hidden London’s in-person explorations of disused bits of London’s transport infrastructure is Baker Street from the remains of the original Metropolitan Railway station right the way through to the space formerly used as a staff rifle range. And yes, you ge to look down on the trains from inside the hidden spaces.

 

 

 

 

 

 September 10th

 

Amersham Heritage Day saw the main street of the town filled with vintage and classic cars, trucks, tractors, steam traction and more. Plus free historic buses ferrying visitors between the town and the railway station. Also I had some of the best samosas ever from a stall in the market.

 

My first car was one of these.

 

 

 

 

 September 11th

 

 Open House London, weekend one. I did three churches, St. Mary Magdalene near Paddington, St. Mary-le-Bow in the city, and the Fitzrovia Chapel. All with spectacular interiors in differing styles.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 September 16th

 

Open house London weekend two, opposite ends of the scale and opposite sides of London. The National Audit Office, formerly the London Air Terminal next to Victoria Station where I had a guided tour but couldn’t take photos inside (except of the view out) and Lewisham Arthouse, an artists collective in the decaying former Deptford Central Library where I could take photos but was so interested in what the guide was saying that I took hardly any.

 

 

 

 

 

 September 21st

 

 Open weekend at the London Transport Museum Depot in Acton. Friends Members go free so I did and as ever found something interesting I’d not spotted before.

 

 

 

 September 25th

 A visit to Hatchlands Park, a National Trust property near Guildford that I'd somehow not been to before. Because it's let to a tenant (with a huge collection of historic keyboard instruments) no photos are allowed in the house but it was a terrific day for a walk around the estate during which I came across an unexpected Routemaster.

 

 

 

 

 

 September 30th

 

  Went to the Chelsea Physic Garden taking advantage of the free entry during Chelsea History Festival. Despite being late in the summer there was plenty of stuff still in bloom and among the many medicinal and poisonous plants I was surprised to find a large Pomegranate tree. With Pomegranate fruits ripening on it.

 

 

 

 

 

 I really must try harder to update this blog more frequently in October, yes, I know we're halfway through October already.

 

The English Riviera - too wet to too hot.

31st August to 4th September 2023

 

I had a late summer getaway and booked a hotel in Paignton for an extra-long weekend. The weather forecast was a bit indifferent and as it turned out completely inaccurate. Driving down on the Thursday it gradually got wetter and when I arrived although the rain had paused it was humid and cloudy. My hotel room had a sea view and a balcony but initially the sea view was theoretical as shown below.

 

 

 

 It soon cleared up though and I grabbed a waterproof coat and went off to find food and explore. First down to Paignton seafront which was busy and noisy then after dinner back via the harbour and up over Roundham Head on the coast path, by which point I was carrying the coat, and down the zig-zag cliff path to Goodrington.

 

 

 

 My parents spent their honeymoon in Goodrington and it’s been interesting trying to match up fuzzy black and white photos fro 1959 with current locations. As far as I can make out "The Goodrington Quay” hotel at which they stayed is now the Premier Inn on the seafront.

 

On Friday morning the view had improved considerably.

 

 

 

So had the weather forecast so I decided a trek along the coast path would be nice and help to walk off the excellent full English provided by the hotel. Brixham is “only” 4.8 miles (7.7km) away and I checked beforehand that there was a frequent bus service back to Paignton. So off I set, down through Goodrington. Then up again and down, and up, and down, seeing a steam train crossing Broadsands Viaduct

 

 

 

 And along the front at Broadsands where I stopped for a cup of tea and to hide under a parasol because it was now unseasonably hot. Up and down the path went on dropping down steeply into each cove and steeply up again the other side.

 

 

 

 It was not an easy stroll, even in the welcome shade of the trees it was still hot and several sections were steep, uneven steps. Not that that stopped the nutcase in shorts and tee-shirt that shot passed me running down them. He was on his way back up the other side of the beach above before I’d carefully picked my way one step at a time down to the bottom! So it went on until I reached Brixham Harbour where I rewarded myself with a pint at the Sprat & Mackerel and sat overlooking the harbour. I felt that I deserved it anyway. Then I went for a wander around Brixham. Last time I was here was almost exactly 5 years ago and the fishing boat “Accumulate” was bedecked with pro-brexit banners.

This time it was in the same spot and looking pretty abandoned so I guess it’s going well for them. I’m struggling to summon up any sympathy.

 

 

 

 Anyway the bus back from Brixham was much easier than the walk there. I had takeaway fish and chips for tea because it was Friday. And only had to fight one seagull to keep them.

 

Saturday morning, another full English, another walk planned. This one pre-planned before I left home routeing from Brownstone car park to the Daymark, then to Brownstone Battery and east along the coast path to Coleton Fishacre where there’s a National Trust cafe and toilets. Also a big house but I skipped that on this occasion. I parked in the NT car park above Brownstone and followed the track south to the Daymark, a 25m tall stone tower built in 1864 as a navigation aid for shipping. A sort of non-lighthouse for diurnal sailors.

 

 

 

 Carrying on down the lane brought me to the remains of Brownstone Battery, a second world war defensive position which had gun emplacements and searchlights defending the approach to Dartmouth from Froward Point. There are several small buildings hidden in the trees, the remains of two gun emplacements, the lower one served by its own railway from its magazine above, and the searchlight positions down closer to the water.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 And having walked all the way down to that searchlight hut meant climbing back up along the path east along the coast. It was going to be another up and down walk day. Fantastic views though you had to stop to look at them as the path is a bit sketchy in places with long and terminal drops to the sea. Tripping on a rock might prove to be the last thing you do.

 

 

 

 At Padcombe Cove I turned left up the steep vally to the NT place at Coleton Fishacre. It was pretty busy but plenty of free tables at the cafe so I stopped for a pot of expensive (because NT) tea and a flapjack. Worth noting for non-members that there appears to be no checks on entry to the grounds from the seaward side and I was able to use the “facilities" without being asked to show my membership card. I suppose if I’d wanted to visit the house I’d have had to go out and join the reception queue to get back in. But I didn’t so I just exited through the mandatory gift shop and up the drive to the top of the hill and back to the car park. I spent most of the rest of the afternoon sitting on that nice shady balcony reading and watching the activity in the bay.

 

 “So where are you walking to today?” asked the waitress serving my now usual breakfast. “Only as far as the railway station,” I replied. With the forecast being overcast (yeah, no it wasn’t) I’d decided to take a ride on the Dartmouth Steam Railway. I’ve been before but don’t need much encouragement to ride on it again and it’s a good way to get to Dartmouth which is a nice place to visit.

 

 

 

 I’ll tell you what it’s not though. It’s not a cheap way to get to Dartmouth. Most heritage lines these days for £20-£30 allow you to roam up and down the line all day (e.g. my recent visit to the North Norfolk) The Dartmouth Steam Railway by contrast have closed all their intermediate stations and when you buy your £21 ticket insist that you pick which train you will return on. You are then allocated seats out and back. Now it’s a pleasant enough 20 minute each way ride and the trains weren’t even busy - which meant I could grab an empty seat with better views on the way back - but £21 for what is in effect a one stop advance return ticket represents crap value for money. OK it includes the ferry run by the railway from Kingswear to Dartmouth and back which would otherwise £2 each way (although the adjacent Higher Ferry is only £1 single for foot passengers). 

 

I took a look around the town and got an ice lolly (go to the Co-op the queue is shorter and it’s cheaper than the riverside kiosks) and walked along the river side to the Tudor Bayard’s Cove Fort and then to Dartmouth Castle.

 

 

 

 It was too hot to enjoy scrambling around old ruins really. The castle cafe was bedlam. I’d resigned myself to a hot walk back to town and never was the sign for the castle ferry, which I didn’t know about, so welcome. One short river cruise later I was back in Dartmouth drinking beer in The Crab PH by the river. I got the four o’clock train back to Paignton.

 

Later I went down to Paignton Harbour as I had before to watch the sun set over the top of a glass. Alas the Crab & Hammer wasn’t open so I walked into The Still House instead. Which was a mistake. No decent choice of beer - lager only - and first question was what’s your table number. Didn't have a table number but ordered a pint of Devon Rock Lager. Which the barman insisted on carrying following me out to a table outside like some sort of performance art piece. I noticed all the tables had a QR code nailed to them so they hope you’ll order via your phone. They can FRO with that ‘spoons wannabe idea. Also Devon Rock is watery tasteless pish. And the sunset wasn’t up to much so here’s a photo of the previous night’s.

 

 

 

 All in all an unexpectedly good weekend, unexpectedly good hotel, unexpectedly hot weather. Here’s the usual Flickr Album

 

 

 

Since I decided to take the scenic route home on Monday and avoid Stonehenge for a change here’s a picture of a figure carved into a chalk hillside of a man waving his massive weapon about. 

 

 

 

 Yes, just for the opportunity for the childish humour :-)

 

Imberbus 2023 - the video.

Get that bus out! Some video from Imberbus 2023 if you've nothing better to do for 15 minutes 🙂

Imberbus 2023

 19th August 2023

I made my annual visit to Salisbury Plain to ride bus route 23A, and I was far from alone! Imberbus has been running since 2009, taking passengers from Warminster railway station to the “lost” village of Imber and on to other villages around the edge of the military training area. I have been before and wrote about it here, here, and linked to a video here. It has become more popular as the years progressed and this year exceeded the expectations of everyone - including the organisers I think.

Last year there was a national rail strike coinciding with the event so I drove down and made a weekend of it, staying two nights at Market Lavington which is on the bus route. It was uncertain whether this would be the case again for 2023 and I considered doing the same but hotel prices had risen considerably and in the end the trains were running - sort of, more on that later.

 

 Half an hour later than planned due to a late running train from Reading missing the connection at Westbury I exited Warminster station, crossed the road and bought my £10 ticket (from none other than Baron Hendy of Richmond Hill himself perchance) and joined the queue for a bus to Imber. Ah yes, the queue. I queued for around 20 minutes. Later in the day the queue reached somewhere between an hour and three hours depending who was reporting on it. Rumour also has it that the manager of Lidl, whose shop and car park were entirely encircled, had a bit of a sense of humour failure and threatened to call the rozzers!

 

 At Imber I alighted for a bit of photography and a look around again. There was a very long queue for the church but I’ve seen that before so didn’t join it. Imber is often called a lost village but more truthfully it was stolen by the Ministry of Defence on behalf of the US Army in 1943 and never given back to the residents. For a few days of the year the roads are opened to the public to visit - mostly to give access to the church - and on an August Saturday opened just for the buses. After a while I joined the lengthening queue for a bus to the interchange “bus station” at Gore Cross. In previous years it was possible to be choosy about which buses you rode with obviously the classic Routemasters and RTs being preferred but it became obvious that with so many people this year it was going to be a case of just getting whichever came along next.

 

 Gore Cross is the hub of Route 23A, a windswept gravel patch in the countryside through which almost all the buses pass. For that reason it’s a top spot for taking photos and for MWLB. The buses approach via a narrow track from the public highway and circle around to one of stops A, B, C, or D depending on their destinations. Brazen Bottom (always gets a snigger) and The Lavingtons, Tilshead and Chitterne, New Zealand Farm Camp, or back to Imber and Warminster. I milled around for a bit watching the comings and goings and then the excitement occurred.

 

 The convoy of buses leaving Gore Cross stopped. The last bus reversed back up the track. Something had obviously gone tits up down at the junction of the tracks where the buses turned right towards the road. A busload of passengers walked back up to the bus station and a lot of others walked down to find out what had happened.

 

 What had happened was that a New Routemaster had fallen in a hole. A combination of a tight turn and an 11m bus whose driver didn’t quite swing wide enough and had dropped the rear offside wheel off the concrete and into the soft verge where it quickly dug itself a cosy little home. There was of course a bit of jollity and piss-taking from both onlookers and other passing drivers because this is England and such is traditional. It was apparent that LTZ1009 was going nowhere without assistance from the recovery truck which is always kept on hand for Imberbus at Gore Cross. It was also fortunate that buses could still get in and out via an alternative track while the stricken bus was winched out of the hole and eventually returned to service.

 

 It’s not the first time I’ve seen a New Routemaster come a cropper at Imberbus, in 2018 one dived into a large pothole in the car park at Imber and grounded the low-slung front, rendering it unable to go forward and unable to go backwards without very expensive sounding noises from beneath. Good for accessibility but they don’t have the ground clearance or approach and departure angles for off-roading!

Once the excitement was over I got a proper Routmaster to Chitterne to have my late picnic lunch and a very nice cup of tea from the village hall which derives much of its annual income from Imberbus visitors and more importantly has one of the few available toilets.

 

 At Chitterne I decided that it was getting on in the day and that I should start heading back towards Warminster to get a train home (Ha!) but first I wanted to do the loop via Brazen Bottom and the Lavingtons, a pleasant run through the country with some pretty steep hills, always interesting in a Routemaster. My ride for this journey would be AEC Routemaster RML880 registration number WLT880. There being no room up top I opted for the longitudinal seat over the rear wheels on the grounds that I wouldn’t have my knees jammed up against the seat in front. This area also tends to be where the other bus drivers and owners gather so it’s where the interesting and informed conversations happen. Not to mention quite a bit of banter.

 

 There is a timetable for Imberbus but this had gone somewhat awry early on due to the sheer number of passengers to be loaded and unloaded and not helped by the incident at Gore Cross. From Chitterne we headed to Tilshead. Well almost Tilshead as the driver forgot to turn right so the couple of passengers who wanted to get off there had an unexpected chance to stretch their legs from just outside the village. Then to Gore Cross where there was to be a driver change which we were assured would enable us to make up some lost time on the loop out through Brazen Bottom, Market Lavington, West Lavington, and back to Gore Cross before continuing to Imber and Warminster. Staying on the same bus at Gore Cross and at Imberbus on the way back was a good choice as the queues at both places were still very long.

 

 RML880 deposited us right at the head of the line of buses outside Warminster Railway Station ready to get the train to Westbury or Salisbury depending on final destination.

Except.

There weren’t any.

Not wanting to be outdone by Imberbus GWR had decided to mount their own attempt to win the Longest Queue In Warminster Championships. I and many others should have been able to catch the 1730 to Westbury but it was cancelled due to a shortage of train crew. As was the 1803. And the 1833. And some of the trains to Salisbury. The next train to Westbury would be at 1903. If it didn’t get cancelled before then that is and then there would be the fun of trying to get four train loads of passengers onto a two coach train.

I joined the refugees at the bus stop in the Market Place along with some surprised locals to get a Stagecoach D1 to Westbury where hopefully there would be a train to Reading. That train was late as well resulting in a long wait for a connection at Reading so I joined the usual Saturday night Reading Station ritual of a can of lager on the platform while I waited. I arrived home somewhat after 10pm.

 So what about 2024? Assuming it goes ahead I doubt that I'll be trusting GWR to get me there and back. There has been some suggestion that managing the number of passengers by using pre-booked timed tickets but that would detract from the whole hop on hop off go as you please nature of the event. Being able to roam about all day stopping for refreshments, taking photos, or a pint in a pub is one of the event's great attractions. Given the unreliability of the train service being on a fixed schedule would make getting there even more stressful. 

In spite of the travel issues I still enjoyed my Imberbus experience, it’s a quite barmy idea so I’ll see you there next year, maybe.

Here’s the photos that I took on the day, on Flickr

 

 

Freddie Mercury: A World of His Own

Anyone interested in the man, the legend, his art collection, and maybe cats should get themselves down to Sotheby's in Bond Street before the end of September if they can. There are two floors of art, furniture, and ephemera excellently presented.

 

 

 

This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity as Mary Austin has decided it's time for it all to be sold so the collection will never be in one place again.

 

 

 

Details of this free exhibition are here:

https://www.sothebys.com/en/series/freddie-mercury-a-world-of-his-own?locale=en

 

 

 

 

Allow at least an hour, avoid weekends, ten-to-one on a Wednesday wasn't too busy although by no means quiet.