I love the sheer variety of this walk. It passes some of the finest country houses and gardens in Wiltshire, then ascends Huish Hill to give superb views over the Vale of Pewsey. Plus there is an intriguing discovery at Huish church..
Nestling on the slopes of the Vale of Pewsey, the linear Anglo Saxon village of Oare dates back to 934 though there are earlier prehistoric earthworks on the hills above.
The White Hart Inn is reputed to be haunted by the ghost of a small dog but he bothers no one these days as the pub is sadly shuttered.
We parked just to its south on the main road by a handy bench. An eroded 1935 memorial in the form of a stone carved crown commemorates the Silver Jubilee of King George Vl in the wall above it. From there, Rudge Lane, its sunken character speaking of its great age, delivered us to the front gate of Oare House. The road bisects the stately daffodil strewn avenue that leads to the imposing facade of this lovely house which was built for Henry Deacon in 1740.
Its present owner has enjoyed a very distinguished life: Eton, Trinity, Scots Guards, owner of the Spectator, chairman of Jardine Matheson. Sir Henry Keswick, born in 1938, is certainly enjoying his retirement. As we followed the perimeter of the gardens through pleasant tree studded parkland, we saw a large lake under construction. Lakes seem to be the lockdown projects of the rich – lesser mortals made a beeline for the Aldi hot tub!
Snake head fritillaries bloomed on the grassy edges and through a bluebell carpeted forest we glimpsed a large pavilion. It is the only building in England by the renowned Chinese American architect I. M. Pei, who was also responsible for the pyramid at the Louvre.
Newly minted fluffy lambs cavorted with heavy uddered ewes as we followed the field edge to emerge on a small road. A minor detour to the left revealed the entrance to Huish Manor with its expansive gardens which have an interesting variety of trees. On the opposite side of the road, a gate warns users that they will be fined 4 shillings if they do not shut it. Deer seemingly grazed beyond but proved to be decorative models.
Backtracking to where we had emerged we continued on beside the Manor gardens, ducking into a small opening in the hedge to continue round their northern edge. The track segued into the next gardens, this time belonging to Manor Farm.
For a short while our feet crunched on white gravel; the house, with requisite barking dogs, lay beyond a mini Stonehenge and cultivated borders. Rounding a corner, we came upon a giant metal hen and, hiding in the willows of a nearby stream, huge shiny silver dandelion clocks – a smaller version of the Anzac fountain in King’s Cross, Sydney!
There is much fun to be had in gardens and I do appreciate them, but am happy to let others put in the work. We let ourselves out onto a road where a right turn took us to the simple 13th century church of St Nicholas.
Just as we entered the churchyard, four horizontal tombs caught my eye. They belonged to members of the Rollo family from Cold Blow House, but I was surprised to find that one of them also contained ‘Primmie’ or Primula, the first wife of David Niven, the famous British actor who died in 1983.
Primmie died on 21st May, 1946 at the age of 28 after only 6 years of marriage. Returning from Hollywood to join the Army, Niven met her in 1940 whilst she was serving in the WAAF. From an aristocratic family – her father was a leading divorce lawyer – Primmie was the archetypal English rose, or Primula! After a whirlwind romance, the couple married at St Nicholas’s Church on 21st September 1940.
Two sons followed. At the end of the war, the Nivens set off for Hollywood and it was there, only 6 weeks later, that Primmie died: playing the after dinner party game of sardines, she opened a door to what appeared to be a closet but fell down a flight of stairs into the basement.
Sprinkled briefly with stardust she came to rest a mile from her family home within the grounds of the simple Huish church which was rebuilt in 1784.
A permissive path led beside the church and on through flinty plough. Emerging in a field, we turned north for a short, sharp, climb that took us up to the western side of Gopher Wood. The heavenly scent of bluebells hung in the air and looking back expansive views over the Vale of Pewsey had opened up. The Pavilion could be clearly seen, albeit at a distance.
Swinging right and following the Tan Hill Way alongside the wood bought us to a junction of tracks. The trees fell away and we had good views as we approached Huish Hill House, which enjoys a beautifully isolated position at the top of the escarpment.
Following the Mid Wilts Way, we took the right hand track through a gate in front of the house and descended to a very scenic bench right on the edge of the downs with superb views over Oare immediately below us. Cold Blow House is quite distinctive in pink with its thatched roof.
Slightly to the east at the bottom of the hill is a heart shaped wood, planted in hawthorns by Lady Keswick in 1999 in memory of her 2 brothers. It is a little hard to spot: your best way to appreciate it may be Google’s satellite image!
Eastwards Rainscombe House was visible, nestling on the lower slopes below the iron age fort on Martinsell Hill. It was built in 1810 for the Rogers family and today hosts the annual vintage steam fair.
We enjoyed a lengthy pause here to appreciate the stunning views in the soft evening light before descending on a short but very steep path to the bottom of the downs. A last hedgerow ramble bought us into Oare where a left turn led us back to the main road and the pub – the end of a surprisingly varied walk.
NOTES
The circuit takes approximately 2 hours but you may find it much longer by the time you have appreciated all those views.
Oare lies about 2 miles north of Pewsey, on the A345 road towards Marlborough. We parked on the main road just to the south of the pub, with a handy bench and information board.
Grid reference: 51°22′00.73″N 01°46′27.42″W
Map: Ordnance Survey Explorer 157. Marlborough and Savernake Forest.
