King’s Meaburn
Walk date – 16th July 2025
Distance – 2 miles
Weather – overcast and very muggy
A short local walk as we didn’t have a lot of spare time today and the weather outlook for the rest of the week and coming weekend is looking somewhat ‘iffy’. The Monday just gone was very windy and overcast, yesterday (Tuesday) consisted of rain, rain and still more rain and today was the most likely day for a dry day and the chance of any sunshine. We opted for a walk in and around King’s Meaburn as it isn’t too far away so no long drive to reach it, it has a series of crags known as Jackdaws’ Scar above a pleasant riverside walk beside the Lyvennet river. The village also has attached to it the history of a royal murder and participation in a rebellion by the Lord of the Manor but more about that later.
Route
Village Hall car park – Relandsgate – Village Hall – ford across Lyvennet river – Steele’s Mill footpath – Lyvennet bridge – riverside path back to ford – Well Tree path – Jackdaws’ Scar – footpath back to village road – Rope Works – Village Hall car park
We didn’t have any gear with us today so once we were parked up by the village hall we set off down the road towards Relandsgate at one end of the village. On the way we came across this reminder of how we used to communicate with family members and everybody else we needed to speak with. The telephone was still connected and not a defibrillator in sight!
The telephone box was situated alongside this building which was once the village post office although it is now called The Old Post Office. Well, even if you can’t buy any stamps here any more you would still be able use the ‘phone box. I wonder if it still gets used now that the mobile ‘phone has supplanted it.
A little further along the road we came across the old schoolhouse complete with bell hanging above the roof.
Across a driveway from the old schoolhouse we came across this plaque which provided some historical information about the village. Hugh de Morville, in addition to playing his part in the murder of Thomas A’Beckett, also took part in a failed rebellion against King Henry ll, known as The Great Revolt, in 1173-4. As a result of which the King removed Morville’s Lord of the Manor status and the title Lady of the Manor passed to Hugh’s sister Maud. Hence the two villages now known as King’s Meaburn and Maulds Meaburn. I have no idea when or why the letter L appears in Maulds Meaburn since it should obviously be Maud’s Meaburn.. Apparently Hugh fled to Rome to seek forgiveness from the Pope but, instead of forgiveness, he and his fellow rebels were given fourteen years in exile as Knights Templars in Jerusalem. I suppose that would have kept them out of Henry’s hair for a while if they even managed to get to Jerusalem in those days!
A shot of the large lump of rock bearing the information plaque. The small enclosure behind the fence contains a couple of children’s swings and a picnic table.
We returned to the village hall and walked down the steep road beside it for about 200 yards until we arrived at the ford across the Lyvennet. Just before reaching the ford we took the path on the left and …..
….. followed it round where we noticed the sign informing us that we had reached Steele’s Mill. As there was no sign of a mill of any description we could only assume that it once had been the site of a mill and that the nameplate simply marked the spot where it had once stood.
We were obliged to leave the track when we reached this point as a couple of forestry workers plus their equipment were busy feeding sawn off branches into a shredding machine and making quite a din while they went about it. As we were walking around them a Landrover came along, noticed that he couldn’t get through, drove around us as we walked through the field and made his way back to the clear lane ahead. No problem.
We made our way back over to the lane which carried this bridge across the Lyvennnet …..
….. as we reached it a tractor was driven onto it, then the engine was switched off and its driver got out of the cab and disappeared. He then re-appeared and asked if we would mind staying on the bridge while they moved some cattle from one field to another. While we waited I took the above shot of the river flowing downstream.
Eventually a young woman appeared and herded the calves onto the lane beyond the bridge and into the next field. Meanwhile a van had appeared and waited a few minutes before the driver got out and went in search of the tractor driver who had disappeared again. The van driver eventually came back followed by the tractor driver who climbed into the cab and began to move the tractor so the van driver could get across. So much for nothing ever happens in the countryside, eh?
As we didn’t intend crossing the bridge once the calves had been moved we walked back to the river’s edge and waited for the tractor to be moved. I waited until both the tractor and the van had disappeared before taking the above shot. We then walked along the riverside path and back towards the ford.
Gunnera, or ‘umbrella plants’ as I used to call them when I was little, had taken up residence on a couple or rocky islands in the river as well as lining its banks. These plants love damp/wet places and it doesn’t get much damper or wetter than beside a river. They are very invasive plants too so its best not to plant them beside a garden pond!
As we reached the last part of the riverside path and were approaching the ford we came across this sturdy footbridge across a small stream. The stream was narrow enough not to need a footbridge but it was a nice thing to have anyway.
The much bigger footbridge across the river …..
….. and the elevated ford carrying the road across the river. This used to be a flat concrete crossing like most fords consist of but flooding has been a problem in the past so the ford has been raised well above the water level.
From the ford we make our way over to the house in the above shot, known as Well Tree, as the riverside path continues on in front of the house. As we passed in front of the house I noticed the access to the footbridge shown a couple of shots previously so I went up on to it and …..
….. took this shot of the raised ford across the river. I suppose that the King’s Meaburn villagers are relieved not to have a flat concrete ford any more!
The path continued alongside the river for a while before a junction came into view where we had to follow the right hand path in order to return to the village. This path led us away from the river alongside Jackdaws’ Scar, a long stretch of crags above the path. It was quite dark in the woodland so the crags were difficult to see clearly …..
….. and all the tree foliage didn’t help matters either so I’ve had to lighten the shots to some extent in order to be able to use them. We were approaching the turn off point so I took a look back as the crags began to get smaller before they disappeared altogether.
Our turn off point so over the stile we go and back into the village. The main path continues down the hill and eventually runs alongside the river again.
Approaching the houses of the village now and hoping that the fence in the shot isn’t going to impede further progess back into the village.
It didn’t in the end and here we are back on the road through the village with a look back to the Public Footpath signpost and the path we’ve just emerged from. The house in the shot didn’t look as though it was inhabited and neither did the one which had the fence round it in the previous shot.
Walking back through the village we came across these signs so we walked up the driveway to take a look ……
….. saw the rope making workshop and proceeded to have a chat with the rope maker by the archway on the left.
Meet Stanley, the rope maker’s assistant and general companion, who seemed somewhat perturbed by the camera. He was OK while we were just chatting to the rope maker but as soon as I raised the camera he retreated to the back of the workshop.
The rope maker finally coaxed Stanley back to the door again and slipped on a rope lead so I could get a closer shot of him. He still didn’t look at the camera though. We had a fairly lengthy chat with the rope maker who does work for the military and he regaled us with tales of the things which occurred on the occasions when he has been involved with the military. One in particular was when he was creating an assault course and the officer in charge of the Health and Safety aspect of everything made a fuss about some bricks being a bit too sharp and that the trainees might catch their cheeks on them etc. etc. The rope maker thought that soldiers training for battle might have been more concerned about rather more than a scratch on their cheeks. Bullets and bombs for example. J, having been in the Royal Navy for 22 years, mentioned that sailors used to carry a splicing tool in their pocket whereupon the rope maker said that nowadays they never have to touch a rope never mind mend a broken one. I mentioned that I’d read an article about the RAF not owning the planes they fly and that they were leased from a couple of US Investment companies. I think we all agreed that things ain’t what they used to be!
As we walked back down the driveway after saying our farewells to the rope maker I noticed this advert for his rope making business attached to the driver’s door of his car so I took a shot of it just in case anyone reading this ever needs a rope making specialist.
Still walking back up the road through the village and passing the village pub which reminded me that I have further news regarding the Kirkstone Pass Inn which I’ll attach at the end of this report. The village might not have a post office nowadays but attached to the end of the pub, out of shot on the left, was a ‘hole in the wall’ style post box so at least the villagers are able to post letters and birthday cards.
A little further up the road we passed the Methodist church, built in 1932, and which looks well cared for. I wondered how many villagers attend on a regular basis.
We’re back at the village hall, a corrugated metal structure built in 1914, which also looks well cared for even though the clock above the door is missing. The disc the clock used to be attached to is still there though so maybe the clock will re-appear one of these days. At the beginning of this report I mentioned that there wasn’t a defibrillator in sight at the telephone box but there is one beside the doors of the village hall. Let’s just hope that someone knows how to get into it! I’ll end this walk report with a link to the news about the Kirkstone Pass Inn –
https://www.instagram.com/p/DKJfadNMs6K/
The comments about the end result are mostly unfavourable and its not my cup of tea at all.
I understand that the above link will open at the Instagram log-in page so anyone with an Instagram account, or access to one via someone who has, will need to log-in to view the video and the comments. Anyone without log-in access will no doubt become aware of many opinions about the Kirkstone Inn in due course. I don’t have an Instagram account but I was able to open the link yesterday without needing to log-in so perhaps something has been changed since yesterday.