Hayhedge Lane, Bisley
The poem I mentioned in the Bulls Cross article mentions Bisley Barrows, so off we went to B. and found Hayhedge Lane at SO 905058. The Barrows we never saw, but these precious neolithic(?) tombs were virtually destroyed in the C19, soon after discovery. The Giant’s Stone is only ten feet from the lane, at 917611 opposite Battlescombe Farm, but it is apparently “underwhelming”. Hard to spot, in fact. And we failed.
As we walked along Hayhedge Lane I remember remarking to Christine how narrow it was (#1). The hedge either side looked old enough to have been there in drovers’ times but I thought that cattle or sheep would need a grazing/resting place sooner or later...
... And then we came to Battlescombe, and I think we found it. The stingers (#2) are evidence enough for me that cattle had rested there, but just to make sure of this, we asked the farmer on the return journey how long they (the nettles) had been there for. He replied ‘As long as I can remember’. Each time they get mown down, he said, up they come again. How did I make such an intelligent remark? It’s never happened before.
Then we came to the high spot of our journey that foggy day. Geographically low, it nevertheless gave us an experience we’d never had before: walking along the path & through the water at the same time (#3). We had found Holy Brook; or it had found us. It reminded me of paddling as a youngster. How those cattle must have loved it! The water was clear as crystal, too.
After that, it was a ruthless slog up Juniper Hill (#4) to Halfpenny Belt, which was a miserable anticlimax: so much so that I forgot to photo it. Chris had been keen to see it because anything with Halfpenny in the title is drover-connected – in case you forgot, the drovers were charged a halfpenny a beast to overnight their cattle.
That hill made us feel our age – to such an extent that we both individually decided to call off the Edgeworth walk there & then – well, after lunch. It was foggy, raining and we were tired. Also, I wanted to return & ask the farmer the question I asked in paragraph three... So that’s the official reason.
Edgeworth was definitely on the track east to Duntisbourne Lear, which leads to Perrots Brook and the Welsh Way etc. etc., so no doubt we should have persisted...but...
