St James' Cemetery Little Loop (Bathscape Walk 2)

From Sainsbury’s main car park cross the footbridge adjacent to the road access, turn right and almost immediately left across the zebra crossing. (Start here if you parked in the first car park.) Follow the pavement through the car park, turn left and follow bus stop sign. Turn left through the railings and follow the pavement to Pines Way. Turn right along the pavement and follow Pines Way round to the left, using the pedestrian crossings to safely get to the pavement on the far side of the busy Lower
Bristol Road (A36). 1

Turn left and walk along the pavement of Lower Bristol Road. You will have the cemetery wall on your right. Follow this along until you find the entrance into St. James’ Cemetery which was opened in 1861 as Lyncombe & Widcombe’s fourth graveyard and the second graveyard for St James’.

Enter the cemetery, and where the path forks take the right-hand path, take the next right-hand path at the second fork. Shortly after you take this path there is a log (in early spring, amongst the snowdrops) just off the path to the right which makes a good spot for a rest if required.

Carry on along the path as it curves round behind the chapels. One of which is Anglican and the other noncomformist. From here 2, if you would like to stay on the paved path continue round to 3. If you are looking to make the route a little longer, look for a grassy path on your right which is opposite the central archway of the chapels. Follow it up towards the back of the cemetery, passing gravestones along your way.

Once at the back boundary, turn left and follow the fence line until you reach the corner. The fence line runs parallel to the train track so you may spot a train or two pass by as you enjoy the walk.

At the end turn left to continue alongside the boundary, taking care not to trip on the small marker stones along the edge of the path, until you are almost parallel with the chapels. Turn left towards the chapels along a grassy path. Look out for a fascinating gravestone on the left of the path in the shape of an ammonite. Continue ahead to pick up the paved path again at 3. From here you can either explore the outside of the chapels or turn right back towards the entrance. For more information on the cemetery visit: www.batharchives.co.uk/cemeteries/lyncombe-and-widcombe-st-james-cemetery.

At the entrance turn right onto the pavement of the Lower Bristol Road. If you need a pitstop there are some cafes to choose from on the right here. However, remember to keep an eye on the time if you have parked at Sainsbury’s!

4 Use the pedestrian crossing to cross the Lower Bristol Road to your left and then follow Pines Way back around the left until you find the start. Please note a bus shelter partially blocks the pavement on the last stretch of Pines Way which means a push or wheel chair may have to drop into the road briefly to get around it. Cross over Ivo Peters Road and turn right and follow the outbound route back to the
start.

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