across Herefordshire

Gullet Woods

Life!

We then make our way towards the obelisk, erected by the Somers family in memory of various of their deceased: John Lord Somers, Baron of Evesham and Lord High Chancellor in the reign of William III and Queen Anne; James Cocks who fell in battle at St. Cast in France in 1758; and Edward Charles Cocks who died in 1812 at the Siege of Burgos. The obelisk serves as a useful reminder that in England’s wars, the gentry have not escaped death’s reach.

DRH on his way to the obelisk

South of the obelisk lie the scant remains of Bronsil Castle which once guarded the border area with Wales and are the reputed site of buried treasure. Old Lord Beauchamp hid his gold and silver here before settingorder.

Such were the antics reported by William Schellinks on his visit to England in 1662. While the good-natured intra-national teasing which bounces around these islands is part of British life, to be boorishly anti-Welsh today would be both silly and rude.

It would also make no sense, given my own Glamorgan ancestors and my love of Wales, especially Dewi’s own Pembrokeshire, the lovely cathedral of which we visited (again) last summer, and which I would like to feature as a proper pilgrimage destination soon.

Our first county top for ages, but a real winner. On our way to north Devon we drove through Exmoor. Dunkery Beacon (520m) sits just above the road between Wheddon Cross and Porlock on the Somerset side of the moor. The walk is very easy, barely