Welcome to the Rudloe and environs website.
Here you will find news, articles and photos of an area that straddles the Cotswold Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty in north-west Wiltshire.
Contributions in the form of articles or photos are welcome. Even those with completely contrary views to mine!
Thanks to the website builder 1&1 and Rob Brown for the original idea.
Rudloescene now, in January 2014, has a sister, academic rather than anarchic, website about Box history here: http://www.boxpeopleandplaces.co.uk/
It contains thoroughly professional, well-researched articles about Box and its people.
Contact rudloescene through the 'Contact' page.
We start our January 2024 round trip to Saltford at the Newbridge Road entrance (just east of the bridge over the Avon) to the World Heritage City of Bath. The title image and the first photo below show the care that Bath City Council takes in making a good impression.
The disgraceful state of the verges at the western (Newbridge Road) entrance to Bath
The 'new bridge' over the Avon in Newbridge Road from where we dropped down to join the River Avon Trail (note litter on brambles at rght)
Arches leading to the 'new bridge' (note bottle)
Newbridge Slopes twixt the Boathouse (pub), Minerva Bath Rowing Club and the Kelston Road
The first of the riverside alders encountered on the trail
The Avon beyond Newbridge with the houses of Kelston Road above
Alders, more alders and even more alders on the far bank
Reedmace on our side of the river
Unidentified trees with pom poms on the far bank
Now we reach the former Midland Railway bridge over the Avon presently supporting the Bristol and Bath Railway Path. The young lad is indulging in a spot of magnet fishing on his day off.
Now we come to the lands (water meadows!) of Kelston Park close to the site of the old Kelston Station while a train passes on the GWR main line
Now a wider view of the Kelston Park lands and the remains of last week's rains and Avon flood
Midland Railway bridge over the Avon at Saltford
Willows in the bank twixt the river and the road leading to the Jolly Sailor (our lunch venue*) and beyond
* The Jolly Sailor
The selection of our lunch venue was based on an experience of some years ago when the place was highly rated, very popular and always packed. We hadn't realised that it had changed hands perhaps a couple of years ago (maybe since Covid) and was now a 'satellite' restaurant of the Indian restaurant Maaya (owner Venkateswara Prasad Vanka) in Bath. We also hadn't appreciated that just about all the Trip Advisor reports over the last few years rate the restaurant as terrible or poor.
We thought that something was up when we saw that the car park was completely empty (many of the Trip Advisor reports mention a parking 'scam') but were surprised to see that the restaurant was open (with just one couple eating).
Whilst the food was 'okay' (my vegetable curry was good actually but the accompanying rice and salad left a bit to be desired), we formed the same impression as others with the chef 'hanging about' smoking, electrics hanging loose (see pic) and a general grubby and unkempt appearance.
An old, lame sheep in the grounds of 'Spion Kop' kept bleating as we walked by, then hurried towards us as I guess (s)he thought we had some food
Fine, old corrugated iron shed in the grounds of 'Spion Kop'
Young ash at trackside
Seagulls following the plough (Corsham artist Dennis Hazell created a fine image of such a scene many years ago)
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