Laughter on the wind

Invigorated by yesterday's walk Woodpeckers and I set off at lunchtime to continue our exercise, despite the understandable lethargy. I suggested that we deal with the problem of the steep and very muddy path down to the stream, which would normally be our starting point when heading for the waterfall across the valley which we both wanted to see, by driving. It wasn't far to go and would provide a good base for a round trip to include the stream, the falls and the Heavens, whilst ending up with a walk back down Claypits Lane.

We parked in the woods on Claypits Lane, from where we could walk along the old track leading into the fields, round the head of the what Helena calls Happy Valley, to where the waterfall flattens out to become a stream. We live in a classic limestone valley landscape where the different strata of the rocks gently incline downwards as you head eastwards. When the water, which is trapped underground between the relatively porous limestone and the underlying impermeable clay beds, reaches the surface it has a massive downward erosive force. This geological process over millions of years has carved out the deep valleys upon which Stroud was built and with the large amount of rain in recent days, the process was still evident today.

A waterfall is not a feature one might normally associate with the Cotswolds, but at the top of this valley there is a spout which permanently emanates at high pressure and then forms a stream. This stream then runs down from the top of the hills at a site where a few houses are sited that has been named The Heavens. It tumbles rapidly downhill, falling at least a hundred feet in a vary short distance, much of it as a fast stream, but in places becoming a waterfall where it runs down over hard rocks. The waterfall we walked to was probably as full of water as we have ever seen it and the old track way which normally easily crosses it has been eroded away. There the falls end and become a stream which begins to flow down through meadows as it forms an ever changing valley bottom. I have blipped this area before and would have done so again today, except that the light was very poor under the trees compared to the sunshine that was illuminating the more open landscapes nearby.

We then walked further along the track back towards our house, before then turning back on ourselves again, to head up another very ancient and probably prehistoric trackway that was used as a route into and out of the valley from the open flatlands of the traditional Cotswold farmlands above. This took us past the spout, which we dipped our hands into to taste the fresh water, marvelling at its force as it escaped from the underground springs. We carried on along the track eventually passing out of the woodlands on the steep hillsides, and were able to marvel at the open views right across the Severn Vale looking westwards as well as the high ridges which occur between the five interconnecting valleys where Stroud is sited.

The sun was bright, and the wind light so it was a perfect time to enjoy a proper winters's day. Sheep were grazing on the flat fields which have been farmed since medieval times. Horses were dotted about marking the more contemporary local use of fields as leisure industries. Polo is big around these parts.

Helena had said she only wanted a short walk, but by the time it came to turn back down the hill into Claypits Lane she was keen to continue the last few yards up to the top of the hill. There we followed the old single track road to Nether Lypiatt House, a Queen Anne period mansion, formerly owned by a minor royal until their use of the Civil List was limited by parliament. Now it is probably new money that has paid for the extensive and very good restoration works on the house, its gardens and masses of farm buildings and fields.

We turned around and on the way back to Claypits Lane, I heard some loud laughter being carried on the wind, and turned my head towards the sun to see what was happening. In the distance there some young people running and clambering across one of the fields, where sheep were grazing, and they were outlined against the sun, so I took a couple of pictures hoping the silhouettes would turn out ok. I liked this one most of all.


I am adding some pictures here to this Flickr gallery, showing some of the varied views we saw today.

It appears that Woodpeckers has blipped a view of the hills, as we returned to the car from Nether Lypiatt, and whilst I was taking a picture of her, as seen in the gallery.