Bus Challenge No 57!!

With a change in the weather forecast, I gave up on my plans to take a trip to IKEA and instead took the bus into Bath to meet up with my Bus Challenge friend, and then take a second bus out to the village of Midford, to the south of Bath.

It was another beautiful, but cool day (though still warm enough for a picnic lunch), and we had a lovely time walking along the tow path of the former Somerset Coal Canal, before climbing up to the village of South Stoke. It was a gorgeous walk, with stunning views across the valley and beyond into Wiltshire, and with fields, woods and hedgerows bursting with Primroses, Cowslips and Bluebells.

The canal is now dry but some of the locks, that formed a chain of 22 locks, still remain, though in far from working order (see extra photo). This is one of the many old stone bridges that used to cross the Somerset Coal Canal:

"The Somersetshire Coal Canal (SCC) was authorised by an Act of Parliament in April 1794. The canal was promoted by the mine owners of the North Somerset coalfields as a cheaper means of transporting their coal to the markets in Bath and the surrounding area. (At that time the only transport was by pack-horse or horse and cart, over rough terrain. These animals could only cope with limited quantities, which resulted in high prices )."  www.bath-narrowboats.co.uk

Bus journey time = 1 hour 30 mins
Waiting time in between buses (incl a wait of 50 mins for the return bus!!) = 1 hour 25 mins
Total journey time = 2 hours 55 mins