Malmesbury is almost surrounded by two branches of the River Avon which merge just to the south east of the town. It is possible to walk around the town following pathways which run close to these rivers. A good place to start a walk is from the Old Station Yard at Stanes Bridge where situated is the town’s long stay car park. The river here enters the town from the north west, its source being somewhere near Tetbury, and therefore is called the Tetbury Avon, and is also known as Newnton Brook or The Ingleburn.
Close to the entrance of the station yard is the Stanes Bridge this being strengthened and widened in the 1960s by craning in very large pre-stressed, pre-cast reinforced concrete spans delivered by low loaders and placed either side of the old stone arched bridge, its original walls having been removed, this allowed for a much wider road and now with support for a pavement on either side.
Prior to the station yard being built the area was lower and very marshy with the course of the river being different than that of today. These water meadows were often the choice area for 18th century artists to paint and sketch views of the town, William Turner being one of them.
At the Fire Station to the left with the river to your right is a grassed area now covering the old roadway leading into what was the Malmesbury Railway Station and the goods yard beyond.
This first stretch of the walk through the old station yard is on public land but the majority of the walk follows footpaths over private land and is by kind permission of the various land owners, negotiated and facilitated by the Malmesbury Civic Trust, who established this walk as a great tourist attraction in the 1970s.
You very quickly reach the large red brick building just across the river which is known as Stainsbridge Mill, if you turn to your left and look across the road you will see the old railway Engine Shed, now a tyre depot, which housed a steam locomotive known to the locals as “The Bunk” which hauled its trucks and carriages along the Malmesbury Branch Line to and from Little Somerford.
Before the route from Wootton Bassett Junction via the Severn Tunnel to South Wales was constructed the Malmesbury Branch Line continued beyond Little Somerford and Great Somerford and joined the main London to Bristol line at the village of Dauntsey just below the Lyneham Banks and right next to the old Wilts & Berks canal.
Continuing along the river bank you will pass on your right and again over the other side of the river, a narrow lane running up the hill side into Gloucester Road and this is known as Brooky Lane. There are plans suggested to place a foot bridge here so as people can get to and from the long stay car park to your left and up into the western end of the town by this quicker route to your right.
We now come to a large concrete weir which has replaced the old hatches, part of which still stand next to the old Abbey Mill having now been converted into a dwelling house and standing just over the river from here.
When you reach the road at the end of the old station yard which runs over a Mill Lane Bridge to the right, you need to bear slightly up to the left in the opposite direction to pick up the river walk which now runs through Conygre Mead. Here it is maintained by The River Valleys Trust who are responsible for converting the adjoining piece of waste land, used as the town’s refuse tip in the early sixties, into what is now a wonderful nature reserve.
The path through the reserve sets off along the old track bed of the railway heading towards the old tunnel that was cut through the side of Holloway Hill. Before this tunnel, hidden across the river, you will see to your right, Abbey House Gardens and on top of the hillside stands the house itself, said to have been built by William Stumpe a wealthy cloth merchant in the 1600s.
Where the path suddenly drops towards the river, just to your right are the old abutments of the railway bridge which carried the track over the river and into the tunnel. The path now runs on through a wooded area within Conygre Mead, still to your left and on towards Holloway and St Leonard’s Bridge.
On reaching the main road you have to cross diagonally right, over the bridge to the other side, where you will find steps down to a little causeway taking you to a wooden stile giving access to the next field. This field years ago stretched all the way to Baskerville and was known as Longmead or Long Meadow. About half way along, it was cut in two by the construction of an embankment to support the branch line as it exited the Holloway tunnel and travelled over both brooks running either side of the meadow and into the Baskerville Cutting and on out of town.
There are two foot bridges either side of the first meadow quite different to each other. The left one a beautifully re-built stone arch, and the right one, a plain concrete slab giving access to the yard just off of Holloway Hill. The stone arched one possibly standing on the site of the original route out of this side of town and running up Blicks Hill, as the main road over St Leonard’s Bridge was possibly constructed in recent history by a Lord Suffolk to provide a more direct route to his country residence at Charlton Park.
When you pass the old railway you enter the second part of Long Meadow known also as Tom Rich’s Meadow as it was once owned by this man many years ago when he also ran a butchers shop in the High Street. The meadow here is often very wet and boggy and the foot path heads over to the left side stream, a mill race running towards Wynyard Mill, hidden behind the trees in the far corner.
From this meadow you can get a good idea of how well this town was defended way back in history by its steep hillside topped off with a defensive wall which used to run right around the town. This wall was ordered to be destroyed by Parliament in 1646. The present wall is a modern restoration of remnants of these old defences.
When you reach the far corner of Long Meadow there is another stile and over this, a little wooden bridge and the old sluice gates which controlled levels of flow on into the mill by dumping most of the stream into a pool to the right just next to the Bowls club where it flows on out, later to merge with the other branch of the river known as the Sherston Avon, also flowing in from the west but running on the southern side of the town.
When you have passed the end of the Bowls Club you exit into Baskerville with Wynyard Mill immediately to your left and not far from where both branches of the river meet up to form the Bristol Avon. Here you could go on out of town and follow the river towards Lea and Cowbridge but we will turn right and continue on around the town. Next passing over a small hump backed bridge called Goose Bridge you will arrive in St John’s Street.
Here we have the site of the old gas works, the Old Courthouse and what were almshouses standing on the site of what was St John the Baptist’s Hospital. Adjacent and just around the corner we have St John’s Bridge. This provides the main access into town from the south and entering into Lower High Street.
Crossing over the main road towards the bridge you will see the Second World War Memorial Gates giving access to St Aldhelm’s Mead. Once through these gates you’ll need to take the causeway leading to the left and across a footbridge to the main road again that leads towards Burton Hill. In a few yards you will find on the right the Doreen Stratton Gate, entrance to the rest of the river walk.
This first field is what they call Rack Meadow as it was here where the workers from the Silk Mills behind on the corner used to come and lay out their material on racks to dry out after it had been dyed.
Its important here to keep strictly to what you think is the footpath following the river, as you are now crossing more private land all the way to the end of the walk and the various owners here can be very fussy about important tourists accidentally wandering slightly off course, due to lack of adequate signage and a clearly defined footpath for otherwise very welcome walkers to the town.
Under no circumstances venture up left towards the caravan park unless you are staying there or have other business there, it’s not approved of, as their guests greatly appreciate their privacy.
Now the course of the path gets a little tricky as it wanders slightly away from the river’s course and follows instead the contour of the hillside on the left and through bramble tunnels and over the Millennium Bridge then on through various fields until you arrive in an area known as Daniel’s Well. You will know it when you see it because of the Clapper Bridge, a large slab of stone laid across a tiny stream and leading towards the main river and a path back into the town.
If you stay on the gravel track ahead of you, you will arrive at Truckle Bridge on the Foxley Road where unfortunately the river walk ends but you can walk across this bridge to the right and back the short distance into town via Bristol Street.
If you come to Malmesbury to experience this beautiful walk for yourself you will find on sale for a very small sum a proper guided tour leaflet giving far more historical facts and details of what you will see on this walk and it can be obtained from various outlets in the town including the tourist information centre situated in the town hall in the main square and also in the Abbey which has its own book shop and cafe.
