"The spot where I now am is particularly well situated in all respects. The land is very rich, the pasture is the finest I ever saw, and the trees of all kinds surpassing upon an average any that I have before seen in England." So wrote William Cobbett on 9th November 1821 at Bollitree Castle, the home of his friend William Palmer. The author of Rural Rides had arrived at Bollitree on the previous day, after a journey of several days on horseback from London via Newbury, Burghclere, Marlborough, and Cirencester. No lover of the stony Cotswolds, he had crossed the River Severn and noted: "...about seven miles from Gloucester I came to the hills, and the land changed from the whitest soil, which I have hitherto seen, to a red brown, with layers of flat stone of a reddish cast over it."
The countryside that won Cobbett's praise — no easy achievement — 200 years ago remains largely unchanged today. Penyard Hill is still crowned by fine trees, including oak, ash, sweet chestnut, and larch, while in nearby pastures a scatter of magnificent oaks, veterans of Cobbett's day, continue to dominate the landscape.
The arable fields, however, tell a different story. Although Cobbett would have approved of the acres of wheat, he would have been less pleased at seeing potatoes grown in such quantities. White-faced Hereford bulls, another subject of Cobbett's admiration, are now less common in the area due to a change in consumer preference.
Bollitree Castle is, in fact, a mock-Gothic fortified building, dating from about 1770, partly constructed with genuine medieval material said to have come from the ruined castle on Penyard Hill. The walk provides an opportunity to study in detail this unusual moated, turreted, and battlemented building at close quarters, together with glimpses of the partly hidden and older houses alongside.
Modern Weston under Penyard may have lost its quiet charm, but many old and interesting buildings survive. Outstanding among them is St Lawrence's Church. Dating from the 12th century, it is topped by a handsome 14th-century tower, visible for miles around.
Along the A40 road towards Ross-on-Wye can be seen Weston Hall, a fine Jacobean house constructed of distinctive sandstone with mullioned windows, and fronted by elegant iron gates and a beautiful garden.
