Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Lineover Wood, seen from near Old Dole Farm
Through a kissing gate bear right round the corner of the next field, and
via another gate enter an upper section of Lineover Wood, the successor
to a forest mentioned in documents as being here as long ago as the ninth
century.
The delightful woodland path makes a steady descending traverse of the
slope amid a riot of birdsong, and finally emerges near Old Dole Farm
(with a small reservoir below it). Go up the sloping meadow beneath power
cables to the top corner where a gate will be found among a group of
trees. Through the gate bear right to skirt the lower edge of a steep hill-
side meadow, but soon break away left onto a narrow path climbing diag-
onally up to the wood-crowned crest of Wistley Hill.
There's a welcome seat at
the top of this ascent where you can collapse, catch your breath, and enjoy a panoramic
view that includes Cleeve Common to the north.
Turn right alongside Wistley Plantation, where the path keeps to the
edge of the escarpment, and continue when the wood ends, now curving
slightly left. About 200 metres from the woodland go through a gate on
the left, then turn right on an enclosed path which takes you round two
sides of a large field, then into Wistley Grove. At a crossing track turn right
and descend to a gate beside the A436. Here you cross a private road,
then go through a gate into a field where you walk along its left headland.
SEVEN SPRINGS
Seven Springs is often claimed to be the source of the River Thames, although this is
a moot point, since it is the River Churn which begins here, and that is only a tributary
