Bream Heritage Walk

13 – Noxon Park – China Bottom Branch


The fences you see in Noxon Park are in place for safety reasons and the public are not allowed to enter the fenced areas. There are steep (downhill), uneven sections of path along with (fenced) steep drops here.

Ahead of us the public footpath continues through the fields of Noxon Farm. However, the walk now descends a rutted track towards the Oakwood Valley. Further on this track is sunken from many years of use and in places you will be walking on bare rock. It is often possible to find small pieces of iron ore on the track-bed, especially after heavy rain. These may have dropped from pack horses, which in early times would have been the means of transporting the ore. Either side you will see craters, known locally as scowles, some quite large and deep. Some of these are smaller versions of the large collapse we passed earlier.

A photo showing wlild garlic in Noxon Park
Noxon Park in Springtime with wild garlic growing profusely in the scowle holes

In early May wild garlic and bluebells proliferate in the Park and the birdsong fills the air.

Birdsong in May, recorded in Bream.