On a sunny but cool windy day 6 Dorset members arrived for this circular walk, taking us through the idyllic Dorset village of Evershot, visiting Lewcombe Manor north and west of us, returning via the attractive parkland and woodland of Melbury Park and the Grade 1 listed Melbury House.
Starting in Evershot from the Village Hall, walking through the village on raised pavements, we passed the Acorn Inn. Turning right after St Osmond’s Church, up Buck Lane, we come across St John’s Well, said to be the source of the River Frome, a holy well (now dismantled & capped of) and sacred spring.
Picking up the Macmillan Way we followed the waymarked trail north and west across fields & stiles to Girt Lane, offering views to the west of the Somerset border and a large mound looking like an up-turned boat or “flying saucer”, said to be the possible site of a Norman "motte and bailey" castle.
Passing Lewcombe Woods Farm Cottages we followed a track that skirts the western border of the Melbury Park, and suddenly were blessed with a photo opportunity of many deer, a harem looked after by a solitary buck antelope, after checking us out, running, heading deeper in to the park.
After pathways across grass fields and a brook crossing of stepping-stones we arrived at Lewcombe Manor, a grade II listed building, dating back to the 18th Century. We followed a permissive path that led us to visit St James Lewcombe Manor Church, East Chelborough. A church has stood on the site since the 12th century, but the present church was rebuilt on the original footprint in the early 16th century. The west wall was rebuilt in the 18th century. The walls are Middle Jurassic Forest Marble with windows and doorway of Ham Hill stone from Somerset. Unusually it faces East-West. The interior was surprisingly bright and well-maintained, and the circular east-facing stained window, outstanding.
After the church we picniced in a woodland clearing opposite the gardens of Lewcombe Manor house, above the stream we had earlier crossed via the stepping stones.
Continuing our walk the route east to Melbury Osmond proved less muddy than expected. Melbury Osmond village was another photo opportunity with a country road being forded by a river, and a raised pavement and bridge provided for pedestrians, on a road that leads to the north entrance of Melbury Park, and Ilchester Estate.
We timed our arrival well with the herding and rounding up of sheep on the estate, by the farmer and his 7 dogs all working in unison, manipulating the herd without any sense of menace. Approaching Melbury House we came across a fairy ring (of mushrooms).
Melbury House is an English country house in the parish of Melbury Sampford near Evershot, Dorset, This Grade I listed mansion is the home of the Honorable Mrs Charlotte Townshend, a major landowner in east Dorset, through her mother, Theresa Fox-Strangways (Viscountess Galway).
After exiting the gate of the Estate we retired to the Acorn Inn, an historic pub of some note, dating all the way back to the 16th century when it was originally a coaching inn.
The inn still has a charming interior with atmospheric old beams, oak panelling, log fireplaces ready for cold nights, and an original skittle alley. They are known for their high quality food, so we retired to the garden pation in the last of the day’s warm sun.
