I've mentioned before my old copy of No Through Road. It was published by the AA in 1975 and contains details of 205 walks across the length and breadth of England, Scotland and Wales. Time moves on, and inevitably the walk descriptions become less accurate with every passing year. Last Monday, however, I decided it would be fun to try out the only walk in the book that's local to me – Edge End.
I immediately hit a problem. The car park and picnic site at the starting point no longer exists. Fortunately, though, I soon found a convenient pull-in on a nearby road.
Thankfully, the footpath between the former car park and Worral Hill is still there, even though most of it is not shown on OS maps. A Post Office, mentioned at point 3 of the walk, has however passed into history.
The wide track, half left, was clear enough, but of the stile there was no trace. Notice how much the trees have grown since the artist sketched this scene, more than 46 years ago.
Those same trees have obliterated the artist's view down the valley towards Lydbrook, consequently this photo is the best that I could manage. Incidentally, the guide mentions that Lydbrook's main street, at over a mile long, is reputed to be the longest of any village in England – an accolade that I feel sure actually belongs to Coombe Martin, in Devon. Sorry, Lydbrook!
This seemed a good spot to stop for a picnic essential sustenance.
Streams abound in the Forest of Dean, but it's unusual to find one confined to a concrete channel. No Through Road offers no explanation, nor does it mention the stream's strange name – Ropehouse Ditch. According to the website Edward Hunt's Forest of Dean Miscellany, miners wished to improve the flow of this stream and used wire rope from abandoned mines to reinforce the concrete. Well, I supposed that explains the rope bit of the name, but why house? Mmmm.
About 500 yards before point 9 of the walk, an old spoil heap, now covered with trees, was clearly visible in the distance.
The large spoil heap was difficult to spot at point 9, as it looked like a natural hill, so I was glad to have spotted it earlier. 46 years ago it must have been much more obvious. The stone sets, which used to secure the rails of the old Wimberry Tramway were, however, as clear as ever.
We followed the course of the tramway until it fizzled out amid some old quarry workings. When I spotted this old tunnel mouth, I thought I must have found an entrance to Hopewell mine....
... but this 1878 map shows that it was just a tramway tunnel to another part of the quarry. As you can doubtless tell, I love trying to relate present-day features to the old OS maps.
Finally, something of a mystery. The last point on this walk was No.12 - The Machen Oak. The 1975 illustration clearly shows the tree enclosed by a fence, but no fence was to be found. I think, though, that this must be the oak in question. Already some 350 years old in 1975, it is, you may notice, a little the worse for wear. Perhaps, in a forest of countless trees, it was felt unnecessary to preserve a fence around one ancient oak.
Edward Machen surely deserves something in the forest to keep alive his name. Back in the early 1800s he was the first of what we would now term a Deputy Surveyor of the Forest and had a profound impact on the Forest landscape that survives to this day.
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Well I hope you've enjoyed reading about this 5 mile walk as much as I enjoyed hiking it, photographing it, delving into old maps and recording it on this blog. It does show that books of walks never truly lose their usefulness.
