Walking in England - Somerset
The Historic Leyland Trail - Glastonbury,King Arthur and Camelot
Following in the footsteps of John Leland, commissioned by Henry VIII to travel around England to seek out antiquities, records, writings and treasures for the King.
The commission gave Leland carte blanché to any place where documents and historical treasures were kept. Every item was carefully recorded and these notes became his life’s work, five volumes which he named his itinerary. But the Itinerary is not just a list of things it is also a record of his travels and his notes contain some of the earliest descriptions we have of places in England at the end of the Middle Ages.
Somerset - The Leland Trail - Ancient Rights of Way
Leland took particular note of things that affected the traveller in his day - rivers and streams, the prosperity of the towns, the village churches, the landscape. Following in Leland’s route through south Somerset we can walk along ancient rights of way, wander through villages that are mentioned in the ‘Itinerary’, and visit churches that have changed little since he came this way.
Somerset - The Leland Trail - Free Information Pack
The instructions contained in the information pack produced by the South Somerset District Council are excellent. The route is divided into seven easy stages, printed on laminated cards, and is very easy to follow. On each card is printed information taken directly from Leland’s Itinerary and reproduced in the Tudor English that he would have spoken at the time - but still easy to read.
Somerset - The Leland Trail - Sights Along the Way
The trail starts near Brewham at King Alfred’s Tower which marks the spot where Alfred the Great defeated the Danes. A few yards down the road a green and white metal plate decorated with a drawing of Leland indicated the beginning of the trail.These appear regularly along the route.
We ended our first day in Castle Carey, the home of Parson Woodforde, whose diary, published as ‘Diary of a Country Parson’, is a classic of 18th-century country life The main street has some lovely old houses and shops and behind the 17th century Market Hall is a 1779 circular lock-up, built like a stone bee-hive.
The Church of St. Michael the Archangel in North Cadbury was rebuilt for use by a college of priests about 1422 and contains an alphabet in the vestry to teach mediaeval children. The beautiful North Cadbury Court, a large Elizabethan mansionbuilt in the 16th century, can be seen from the churchyard, on whose wall, in complete contrast, is a series of contemporary sculptures depicting Resurrection, Redemption and Fall. They hang from the bricks as though trying to escape the confines of the wall.
It was in the church that we realised the Camelot legend is alive and well in this part of Somerset. We picked up booklet entitled A guide to the Camelot Parishes. These are a group of eight rural parishes who work together on joint activities. It is thought their collective name comes from the nearby hill known as Cadbury Castle, reputed to be Arthur’s Camelot.
There’s a short diversion from the Trail to Cadbury Castle which rises high above the plains of Somerset, near the village of Queen Camel. Glastonbury can clearly be seen to the north west. Excavations in 1967 revealed defences built around 500 AD and the possible foundations of a cruciform church, suggesting this might well have been the fortified castle of a great Christian military leadersuch as King Arthur. This is a place to let your imagination take over.
Coming down to earth again, literally, we left Cadbury Castle and walked across the fields, over stiles and through kissing gates, towards Ilchester, passing a beautiful weir at Yeovilton. Ilchester, a Roman town, is full of history.
Next day, off again, our destination Montacute - only four miles away - where we stayed overnight and spent a good chunk of the following day visiting Montacute House, a late 16th century stately home with beautiful gardens and a wonderful collection of tapestries and embroideries.
We walked through ancient woodland to St. Michael’s Hill, believed to be the site of the last Saxon rebellion against the Normans, which was bloodily repressed. The end of the trail, Ham Hill, is nearby - an ancient neolithic earthwork,used by the Romans as a garrison and later an important location in Arthur’s Britain. Wonderful views from here of the Mendip Hills, the Somerset Levels, Glastonbury Tor, and in the distance is Alfred’s Tower where we began our walk through history.
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