Janet's Radford Mill Farm Extravanganza
Lured by the delights of music, cycling, entertainment and camping, five BCC members, Sue, Steve, Janet, Alison and I, set off on a sunny Saturday morning in September.
Bitton, on the Bristol–Bath railway path, was our first stop. Here, whilst working our way through doorstops of victoria sponge cake, Janet took up the offer of a ride on a lovingly restored veteran bike, rescued from a skip. We cycled on to Saltford and left the path to make for Stanton Prior. Fighting our way along a green lane that Steve assured us "cut off a good chunk", seemed a good idea at the time. A leisurely lunch stop outside the pub at Priston probably contributed to the fact that we finally arrived at the farm, near Timsbury, five hours after setting off.
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Camping was in the fields near the farm. Facilities consisted of a cold water tap and loos reminiscent of the Specialist, featuring sodden wooden boards with holes and a curtain half dragged across for privacy. The weather was kind to us. Despite poor forecasts (why does anyone bother to listen to them?) there were only two short showers. One provided us with a superb double rainbow; the other, as we sheltered under a bridge, afforded a gorgeous framed vista of the next bridge, reflected in the canal.
There was an extensive line-up of entertainers and bands on Saturday evening. The highlight for most of us being performance poet John Hegley. He was so funny that our ride back on Sunday (via Camerton, the valley of Cam Brook and Dundas Aquaduct (chips and cups of tea) and Bath) was punctuated by remembered snippets of his poems recited amidst gales of laughter.
There was a large camp fire on Saturday night where we gathered under the incredibly starry sky. An early morning trip to the loos revealed two figures and a dog by the dying embers. The man couldn't remember whether he'd been there all night or not; the woman lay where she'd crashed, unencumbered by a sleeping bag, snoring rhythmically. Catweazle still lay tucked up in the nest of straw bales and blankets built for him the night before.
The farm has opened a new nature trail, Jenny's Path, that some of us explored on the Sunday morning. Information boards tell the history of the surrounding countryside.
Apparently the Extravaganza is a yearly event so look out for it this time next year.
Janet Roome
