A long way to Great Hinton

The shortest way to Great Hinton from where I live is to walk to Little Marsh, cross the A350 (carefully), and then just walk up the hill.  Walking back via Brickfield farm brings you back to Little Marsh through the recently cleared tracks on either side of the A350 – thank you that Ramblers working party.  You can make this slightly longer by walking over Hag Hill where the crossing of the A350 is more dangerous because it’s on the brow of the hill with poor visibility.

But if you wanted an even longer walk to Great Hinton, you should first head east to Giles Wood, either along the canal or through the fields above Manor Farm.  Once at the wood, cross the swing bridge and keep going east towards Seend Cleeve before swinging round to cross Semington Brook – having first noticed the lovely boundary marker between Seend and Semington parishes.  Following the brook brings you to Littleton Mill where you head south along a green lane to cross the A361 before heading up another green track and through the fields into Great Hinton.

The open views as you head from the swing bridge towards Seend Cleeve are the highlight of this walk, but note that wellingtons will often be needed as this is the Semington Brook flood plain – where it’s to be hoped that a Melksham by-pass will never be seen.