On Saturday 28th June, sixteen ringers headed north to the Trowbridge and Frome areas for the The Mere Branch summer outing, enjoying visits to four beautiful churches and their towers.
First up was North Bradley, St Nicholas – 8 bells 14-1-5. After ringing up, the less experienced ringers were introduced to rounds on 8 bells and the slightly closer spacing required. Further sessions of rounds and call changes were interspersed with Plain Hunt triples, Plain Bob triples and a touch of Grandsire triples.
A short drive into central Trowbridge took us to St James – 12 bells 24-2-18. Jack Pease conducted this session and took time to gradually introduce the visitors to ringing a larger peal, ringing rounds on 8, 10, then 12 bells, then some call changes. All enjoyed the experience and quickly took to the much closer spacing needed and the requirement for the lighter bells in particular to really hold up both strokes each and every time. The session finished with Plain Hunt caters.
There was a lunch break before moving across towards Frome, with some sampling the culinary delights on offer in Trowbridge and others heading straight for the Rode hostelries. History does not record which were better!
Our afternoon started at Rode St Lawrence – 6 bells 11-1-10. For most this was a return to a familiar sized peal which allowed Nick Dallison to put people through their paces: rounds and call changes; Plain Hunt doubles; Stedman doubles; touch of Grandsire doubles; Plain Bob doubles; Plain Bob minor; and Cambridge Surprise minor.
Lastly, we took the short drive west to Beckington St George – 8 bells 16-2-25. Jack Pease conducted this final session, covering rounds and call changes, Plain Hunt triples and a number of methods including a successful first attempt of St Clement’s College Bob triples for most of the band.
That concluded a full and most enjoyable day. One of the joys of ringing is to visit different churches and to experience the delights and foibles of new towers. As we all know, no two bells are the same and it’s satisfying to be able to go to an unknown tower and put into practice what has been learned closer to home. All those that took part were hugely grateful to Nick Dallison, Jack Pease and Michael Williams for all the planning they did and for running things so smoothly on the day. And if you haven’t been on one of these outings they are highly recommended!
Andrew Oatts
Semley Tower Captain
