Heaven's Gate

Today Fossey and I did a bit of a mammoth trek that took 3hrs 40mins ...

We started up at Heaven's Gate, part of Capability Brown's landscaping of the park around Longleat House. The present owner/occupier, the Seventh Marquess of Bath, commissioned some standing stone sculptures and this ringed gateway, that is made up of 13 smaller stones, to commemorate Capability Brown.

I had plotted a walk that I thought would take a couple of hours, but was enjoying myself so much ( and up til then it had been quite a flat walk ) I decided to extend it a bit. I was following a guide, so wasn't totally stumbling around in the dark. However, I came to a set of instructions telling me to climb over two styles. I couldn't find them anywhere and figured out that where they should be was now just a fence. Apparently the farmer had decided to remove them. The fence was too well boarded up to get Fossey through, so we had to walk along and try to find a way into the field we were supposed to be crossing. By now the walk had become a hill climb!

I was eventually able to rejoin the guide, but had to go a roundabout way which added on some length to the walk. Still, we found our way back eventually ( down dale and yet more uphill! ) and this time I had no trouble getting Fossey to jump into the boot to go home, whereas normally she pulls a sad face as if to say " I don't want to go yet "!