I then left the Nadder valley without exploring it much or interacting with the river. I climbed the ridge to its south, through Fovant Wood, walked through Fovant village, and up Fovant Down.
On Fovant Down, there were lots of hawthorns covered in fruit, which I decided to collect to make jelly. I haven't foraged for anything much before, and I didn't want to start by depriving other creatures of their food. So I took just a small handful of haws now and then as I passed particularly full trees.
I descended the ridge at Broad Chalke - into the valley of the river Ebble - where I stopped at the Queens Head for a pint of bitter. I didn't interact with the river here, other than by crossing it to walk up onto Knighton Hill. I descended back into the valley at Croucheston, and walked uneventfully through Bishopstone to a place I'm calling Throope. This also doesn't exist on the Ordnance Survey Map, but there is a Throope Manor, Throope Farm, Throope Hill and Throope Bottom Cottages. I think it's reasonable to call this place Throope.
The last few kilometres were Arcadia for me. I left Throope along a track that became a sunken lane, dropping down the hill through a small wooded area into Stratford Tony. Here I found a beautiful thatched cottage, sitting on the bank of the Ebble where it was shallow enough to ford. Leaving the hamlet, I closely followed the river downstream. I walked this part very slowly. After half a kilometre, I found a hidden place amongst the trees to sit on the riverbank and put my feet in the clear water. This was a really nice moment, and I felt I'd established a connection to the Ebble. I walked the final half a kilometre into Coombe Bissett where I said goodbye to the stream, stopped for a pint of bitter at the Fox and Goose, and took the bus back to Salisbury. I made hawthorn jelly that evening.
- Dinton
- Catherine Ford
- Fovant Wood
- Fovant
- Fovant Down
- Broad Chalke
- Knighton Hill
- Croucheston
- Bishopstone
- Throop
- Stratford Tony
- Coombe Bissett