Wolfhall and Wiltshire’s Transport Heritage
- Paul Timlett
- May 25
- 14 min read
I want to thank Louise Powell for the inspiration for this walk. If you are on Instagram I would urge you to follow Louise’s account where she regularly posts circular walks in Wiltshire. She includes a route map, detailed instructions and many photographs for each walk. Just click on the link below:
I love ambling along canal towpaths. Whilst I also love walking in the hills it’s nice to do a less challenging walk from time to time and of course canal towpaths are completely flat. And as a photographer canals are the perfect place to find a blaze of colour and intriguing vignettes. I also find the industrial history fascinating and it was a pleasant surprise to find some railway history on this route too. But the icing on the cake was to discover an even older historical connection dating to the 16th century.
Louise helpfully provided a What Three Words reference for a parking place in Burbage for this walk. Parking in villages is often difficult. Usually I make straight for the church or village hall. The church is certainly an option in Burbage but the large village hall car park is reserved for parking by users of the hall. So the place to park is on Eastcourt Road at statement.kept.bidder.
We’d had a spell of warm dry weather when I did this walk so I set off with just a light fleece over my T-shirt. However, there was a bitterly cold north-easterly wind blowing so, with my ancient fleece being full of holes, after five minutes I returned to the car for a windproof jacket. I was very grateful for this over the course of what proved to be a long slightly chilly day.
From the parking place the route takes you along Eastcourt Road, past the almost empty village hall car park. It was bin day so I followed the dustbin lorry along a road that, after the village hall, was lined with pretty thatched cottages. I waited for it to disappear round a bend before taking a photograph but of course the cursed wheelie bins were everywhere somewhat spoiling the shot! Passing the thatched cottages I came to a builders’ yard, Chris Wheeler Construction. There is a footpath on the right immediately after the entrance to the yard.
No Hidden Wiltshire walk would be complete without a blocked public right of way. It seems to be endemic in Wiltshire. I walk in a lot of other counties and I can honestly say that in my experience the situation is particularly bad here. Reporting them to Wiltshire Council is almost pointless. Rarely is anything done about it and over the course of decades I have never once had any feedback from the council, just an automated response after several years to say my case has been closed. The situation is totally unacceptable – it is illegal to block a right of way. Today was to be no different although I was later to find an example of how landowners are seeking to improve access to the countryside.
So the first issue I encountered was the footpath next to Chris Wheeler’s yard. The yard is bounded by a high wooden fence. On the other side of the footpath is a garden fence and bushes which were so overgrown I had to fight my way through. The path itself was little more than a couple of feet wide. Having battled through I crossed a couple of stiles including one that led me across someone’s garden (there is a right of way here and the owner has kept if clear) before being confronted by a field of crops. The map shows the right of way straight across the field so that’s what I did. I then crossed another garden before being confronted by another field of crop. It was only when I crossed it through the crop that I could see the next stile in the corner of the field. I would have walked along the field boundary had I realised. I was already bloody angry and I had barely started the walk!
The path then took me across a meadow with a house to my right with some interesting topiary. Here I came to a junction of rights of way where I continued straight ahead. After a few hundred metres along the broad track my foul mood was lifted and my heart sang as I approached Suddene Park Farm! Now I knew that across the fields was to be found Wolfhall Manor, and I could see it in the near distance. I had already ignored a footpath that would have taken me to a road that leads to the Manor but something told me I’d find another way. On the map I could see a track leading from the farm towards Wolfhall Manor. It’s not a right of way but I’d decided I was going to risk it and charm my way out of it if I was stopped. But the lovely people at Suddene Park Farm made that completely unnecessary. They have created a permissive route down their drive to the road that passes Wolfhall. I had already passed another permissive path through the trees across their farm so they really are to be applauded. OK so the trouble with permissive paths is that permission can just as easily be withdrawn – it is at the whim of the landowner. But let’s not look a gift horse in the mouth, which is only a slightly unintended pun since the farm is a livery centre as well as offering a campsite.
It is well worth the diversion to Wolfhall. The place that inspired Hilary Mantel’s novels. I’ve not read her books or seen the BBC dramas but I was certainly aware of its history. This Tudor manor was visited twice by Henry VIII and was the place where he met the daughter of the owner, Sir John Seymour, Jane. Sir John Seymour was courtier to both Henry VII and Henry VIII. His son Edward was Lord Protector for Edward VI, and as such was effectively Head of State. The family indulged in the perilous occupation of Tudor politics which was to lead to Edward Seymour’s demise.
But is what we see today the original Wolfhall? Sadly it seems not. The original Wolfhall was built in the early1530s with financial assistance from Thomas Cromwell but fell into ruin only 40 years after it was built. The Manor we see now dates to the early 17th century. Its present owners are direct descendants of the Seymours. Sadly it too seems to be in a sorry state of repair although the family is trying to raise money to restore it. Archaeologists have undertaken work on the site and found the sewer system for the original timber frame manor but little else remains. When I visited the location the light was particularly beguiling and seemed somehow fitting. I was so engrossed in taking photographs I failed to see the little private property sign until I left. Despite its current state I think the house is occupied so you will have to admire it from the road.
I retraced my steps up the drive to Suddene Park Farm before rejoining the route across fields to join the minor road, Wolfhall Road, that led to the Kennet and Avon Canal. But before joining the road I noticed on the map that there was a very significant junction of railways here – all now disused and dismantled. Whilst I looked for evidence of the old lines (an embankment here, some concrete fence posts there) I messaged our chum Paul Whitewick for some historical background. Paul directed me to a video he made about six years ago which you can find here (Honestly he’s a lot better at making YouTube videos these days!)
The junction (which I believe was known as Wolfhall Junction) needs to be looked at in the context of the wider area and the modern day railway that runs alongside the canal. In summary the current main line you see today, which runs east-west, was the first line to be built here, by Great Western Railway (GWR) – the Berks and Hants section of the Paddington to Penzance line . A branch line to Marlborough was then added. Another company, the Swindon Marlborough and Andover Company (one component of what was to become the Midland & South West Junction Railway (M&SWJR)), wanted to build a line north-south between Swindon and Andover so used the branch line built and owned by GWR. This involved building a bridge over the Kennet and Avon Canal. The two lines met at a junction which subsequently became a bottleneck, so an opponent of GWR, London and South West Railway (LSWR), became involved and built a traverse not only over the junction but also over the canal – a second traverse over the canal (see map below). What we are left with today is not only the large railway junction, now dismantled, but also the remains of two bridges over the canal. This all left Dr Beeching with plenty to do a century later!
But before reaching the remains of the two railway bridges over the Kennet and Avon Canal I took another short diversion to the site of another chapter in Wiltshire’s transport history, one that pre-dates the railways – the Crofton Beam Engines. Quoting from the Crofton Beam Engine website - “The first design of the Kennet & Avon Canal by the distinguished Scottish civil engineer, John Rennie, called for a 4.5 km (2.5 mile) tunnel between the Wiltshire villages of Crofton and Burbage but, in those days, tunnelling was a very expensive and uncertain process and a cheaper alternative was sought. This involved raising the summit level of the canal and constructing a much shorter tunnel. However, this new summit was 12 m (40 ft) higher than any reliable local, natural water source and so a pumping station was needed at Crofton to keep it topped-up. It was estimated that this scheme saved £41,000 (equivalent these days to about to about £8,000,000) in the cost of canal construction…”.
The two steam engines are fired up from time-to-time and this is a spectacle well worth seeing. I knew that the day of my visit was not a steam day but I also knew that there were picnic tables overlooking the canal at the site, a perfect place for a coffee I thought. Unfortunately when I got there I found the whole site gated and locked. I’ve included a photograph of the opening times here so if you can time your visit to coincide with an open day I would thoroughly recommend it.
So I returned to the canal at Sam Farmer Lock and sat on the bench to drink my coffee just in time to watch two narrow boats approaching the lock. The chap on the right had come all the way from Western Australia for a canal holiday and had rented the boat in the picture. The second boat was waiting further along the canal.
At the next lock I came across the remains of the eastern traverse of the old railway across the canal where the GWR east-west line branched off to join the Swindon to Andover line. Just after the next lock was the location for the two previously mentioned traverses of the railway over the canal and of one railway line over another.
From here, after which I came to Wolfhall Bridge, it was a case of simply following the canal for a kilometre or so in blissful peace and tranquillity, disturbed only by bird song (including a very vocal Sedge Warbler) and of course the occasional train on the adjacent main line. (There was actually a surprising number of trains!) I saw only two other walkers for the entire time I followed the canal. But I came across some wonderfully decorated barges as I ambled along. This is what I love about walking canal towpaths – the bright colours of the boats and the mad inventiveness of their owners which range from just a few garish pieces of canal ware to entire miniature gardens. Here are some examples.
My next objective was the Bruce Tunnel. The tunnel was built between 1806 and 1809 to carry the canal which reaches a summit at this point. In order to manage the gradient a series of locks would have been required which would have necessitated a deep cutting through the land. The landowner Earl of Ailesbury, Thomas Brudenell-Bruce, didn’t want an unsightly cutting on his land and insisted on a 502 yards (459 metres) tunnel instead – a very expensive alternative. It struck me as odd that a memorial plaque was installed at the eastern portal to celebrate Bruce when his stubbornness cost someone a great deal of extra money! Unless of course he paid for it?
Above the tunnel were later built two railway stations – both called Savernake Station. One was for the GWR line and the other for the parallel M&SWJR perfectly illustrating the crazy inefficiency of that era of railway history.
As I stood before the tunnel portal framing a shot for a photograph I heard voices from within the tunnel. This was great as all I needed to complete the shot was a canal boat - I had only seen one motoring along the canal since Sam Farmer Lock. I tried to peer into the tunnel but there is no towpath, the old barge men in the days before boat engines had to pull the boats along by use of chains fixed to the tunnel wall. So I waited… and waited. After what felt like an age I caught a glimpse of a light and the boat appeared. A sign by the side of the canal says it takes around six minutes for a boat to travel the length of the tunnel. Since the tunnel is only wide enough for one boat at a time it’s necessary to sound the boat horn before entering the tunnel. But the couple on the boat I saw said theirs had broken so they were reduced to talking very loudly which is why I heard them from 500 yards away! You can see them in one of the photographs in the little collage above.
In those days of horse drawn barges the horses had to be unhitched before the tunnel and led up the bank to cross Savernake Road. Next to the road is the impressive looking Savernake Forest Hotel which was built in 1864 by George William Frederick Brudenell-Bruce as a hotel serving Savernake Railway Station on the Berks and Hants Extension of the GWR line. There are several stories of hauntings associated with the hotel but today it is divided into a number of private residences. As you can see, at the time of writing the building was for sale.
My route took me along the old pony path past the hotel then down some steep steps to pass beneath the mainline railway to the western portal of the tunnel. I’m not sure I’d want to be underneath the line when one of the huge freight trains passes overhead. From here it was a walk of about one kilometre along the canal to Burbage Wharf, passing underneath the very busy and noisy A346 Marlborough Road.
Burbage Wharf was a goods station providing an interchange between the railway, the canal and the road to Marlborough. It’s on the opposite bank of the canal which sadly is now private land. The restored timber wharf crane was originally built by the Ailesbury Estate in 1831. Materials transported away included locally made bricks as well as timber and agricultural produce from Savernake Forest. Goods transported in included coal and lime for agricultural use.
A further kilometre along the towpath you come to a pedestrian railway crossing which I used to reach the final leg of my walk. There are good views both ways along the railway line so it’s a safe crossing. This led me into the delightful Ram Alley Copse. I thought I’d seen the last of this Spring’s bluebells but the wood was still full of them so it was time for my last shot of 2025’s crop. The sunlight dappled floor of the wood was lovely, although the A346 droned continuously in the background, joined on occasions by the sound of a train horn as they warned of their approach to the railway crossing.
From the copse I followed the field boundary back in the direction of the Marlborough Road before turning sharp right, south, across the field following the line of the public footpath. There was no path evident on the ground so I had to cross a ploughed field to the crop in front of me. But there was a clear boundary between the cropped area of the field and the half that was uncropped so I walked between the two. This led me to a part hidden gate next to a thatched cottage onto a short section of gravel drive leading to the road through the delightfully named hamlet of Ram Alley.
Around 20 years ago I used to commute from home in Wiltshire to my office in Reading, sometimes by train and sometimes by car. When I drove I used to cut through Savernake Forest and along this road, turning left by the Forest Hotel. I always promised myself I’d take a leisurely trip through Ram Alley to look at its beautiful thatched cottages. It took me 20 years but here I was. After a short stretch along the road I turned right onto a very narrow bridleway signposted to Stibb Green, passing a tennis court in the garden of one of the cottages.
Following the field boundary I came to the edge of a wood in which the map said in Gothic script there were fish ponds. I decide to follow a route that led me through the wood by two of the ponds. The surface was a carpet of what I think were petals from the cow parsley on the banks. I assumed the ponds were stocked for a large house nearby although I could not see anything obvious from the map. The only thing that stood out to me was on the 1894-1903 OS 25" 2nd Edition map which shows a sheep wash immediately to the north on the on the Ram Alley road. Maybe the ponds fed the sheep wash - I've no idea? Meanwhile I stood in the quiet looking at these ponds where the only sound was the birdsong and the bark of a Muntjac deer alarmed at my presence.
From here I followed the bridleway through fields before reaching a small wood. The OS map shows the route as passing through the wood but this was impassable so I followed along the edge before reaching a wide track towards Bowden Farm then on to Westcourt on the edge of Burbage. At the end of the track at the junction with a minor road I turned left and followed the road over the A346 Marlborough Road. Just before reaching the crossroads with the Savernake Road I noticed to the right a large thatched cottage that was little more than a ruin. It was surrounded by site fencing with CCTV signs but the wisteria growing through the thatch grabbed my attention so I walked up the short drive and pushed my phone through the fence to get a photograph. It looked like the cottage may be about to be restored – I do hope so.
At the aforementioned crossroads, on the opposite corner, was The Smithy Art Forgery. I loved the play on words. Whilst it was closed on this Thursday early evening the sign promised music, poetry and the occasional glass of something as well as rooms for the night – “A Creative Community Hub for Art, Culture & Wellbeing”. I liked the sound of this but not tonight! The route took me along the narrow lane beside an outbuilding at the rear of the centre into Burbage itself.
Before returning to the car I had one last thing to do – visit All Saints Church. There is a delightful green with some lovely old houses at the western entrance of the churchyard. The churchyard itself has, like so many churches now, been left to grow wild and was all the better for it. Unfortunately time was getting on and the church was locked. So I just soaked in the beauty of my surroundings for a while, taking photographs before continuing through the churchyard to Eastcourt Road on the other side that led back to my car.
Despite the inauspicious start to this walk I thoroughly enjoyed it. OS Maps says it was 7.9 miles (12.7 kilometres) but I made a number of detours and had to backtrack on a couple of s occasions so I clocked up 9 miles. But the terrain is virtually flat and it’s easy going with only a handful of stiles to cross so is achievable by anyone with a degree of fitness.
Great walk, thanks, I did this last year but just walked down the road so missed the front of Wolf Hall. I can't recommend the BBC Drama enough, it's a must watch. Also Tottenham House was a ruin in 2006 when Radiohead turned up to record 'In Rainbows'. Thanks for the walk!