Edward Thomas

In 1913, the poet Edward Thomas made a cycle journey from London to Somerset. He wrote a book about his trip called In Pursuit of Spring, which describes the people and landscapes of Southern England in the last months before the First World War.

His route passed through Wiltshire, on the way to the Quantocks; these photographs are taken on the route. More will be added in time, so please revisit these pages.

The book is available from Laurel Books of Holt in Wiltshire. There are excellent sites about Edward Thomas and the book, at The Edward Thomas Fellowship, edwardthomas.co.uk and In Pursuit of Spring.

Edward Thomas passed Grovely Wood, North West of Salisbury, and reached Berwick St James

The street, ending in the Boot Inn, was a perfect neat one of flint and stone chequer and thatch.

...and as the village lies on the right bank my road took a right angled turn by a chalk pit to cross the bridge, and another to keep its course.

In this part of the journey, Edward Thomas has turned West along the Northern edge of Salisbury Plain, visiting Erlestoke and Edington.

Very clear and thin and bright went this water over the white and dark stones by the wayside, as I came down to the forge at West Lavington and the “Bridge” inn.

Instead of going straight on through Potterne and Devizes, I turned to the left by the Dauntsey Agricultural College, and entered a road which follows the foot of the plain westward to Westbury and Frome.

A timber yard, a “George and Dragon”, and many neat thatched cottages compose the wayside village of Erlestoke.

Quite a number of people were on the road, but no one could tell me the meaning of the statuary niched on the cottage walls.

The road dipped steeply through the grounds of the park...

I turned away from the hills through Edington, which has a big towered church among its farmyards, cottage gardens, and elm slopes - big enough to seat all Edington, men and cattle.

I saw the names Pike, Poplar, Oram and Fatt.

Rapidly I slid down, crossed the railway, and found myself in a land where oaks stood in the hedges...

All original pictures © www.wiltshirepictures.co.uk