Hunting for a ghost and finding Diddly Squat
A walk inspired by the Loremen Podcast. Series 1, Episode 1 told the tale of Poppa Bayliss at the turn of the 20th Century. A brewer who was seeing a girl in the Cotswold Village of Milton Under Wychwood. During his weekly 5 mile walk home, he passed Sarsden Pillars and would always see a ghostly stagecoach overtaking him. Scary enough, until the third week when he heard footsteps and turned around to see a man in Elizabethan dress, carrying his head under his arm.
The podcast puts two and two together and links the fact that he was a brewer meant he was on the pop and the ghostly stagecoach was probably a train on the newly created railway line.
Churchill has a pub, so I head down to Oxfordshire to investigate.
Initially, I find a few monuments.... a much maligned memorial fountain with a sign explaining that running water only came to the village in 1964. Described on wikipedia as;
Memorably ugly. A squat, square tower with obelisks and flying buttresses carrying a dumpy spire. The water drips from a rude spout at the side
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| Not that bad, as fountains go |
Other monuments include a medieval Stone Cross at a junction to the south of the village and an obelisk dedicated to William Smith, the father of British Geology. Born in the village in 1769.
Heading North East out the village along a track marked as Besbury Lane, I find a place to stop for mid walk snacks. Clarkson's Diddly Squat Farm Shop is every bit as forlorn as it looks on the TV Programme. A small hut in a muddy field, although it does appear as though he received planning permission for the car park.
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| TV Filming Location |
A sausage roll provides a break from the geocaching in nearby Chadlington. I should have spent more time on the research, as I am too early for an unexpected Good Beer Guide Tick at the Tite Inn.
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| Geocaching - and Lunch |
Heading west from Chadlington, I come to the Ghostly Ground Zero - the Sarsden Pillars guarding the estate from the A361.
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| The two pillars |
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| And one up close |
No sign of the ghost, so I asked AI to generate some artwork to represent what caused Brewer Bayliss so much grief.
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| Bing Image Creator not understanding the word "Headless" |
Through the wrought iron gates of the Sarsden estate and down their impressive tree lined access road, back into Churchill.
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| The Church, from the front door of the pub |
The Chequers is the most gastro of gastro pubs - all tables are laid with fine dining cutlery and wine glasses. Drinkers get a token six high stools to sit at the bar. I was fortunate to make it in just before the local polo club entered. Had I been faced with such a crush on entry, I would have forsaken my post walk pint.
Which as it turned out, was much better than I had any right to expect. Four cask handpulls on - Hookey Bitter, TT Landlord and an unrecognised IPA vying for attention that was taken by an excellent Butcombe Rare Breed.
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| A thing of beauty |
Walk Details
Distance - 9.5 Miles
Geocaches - 7
Walk Inspiration - 100 Walks in Oxfordshire and Berkshire, Walk 60
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