Saturday morning dawned and by 7am I was getting on the road to the first farm to collect the fodder. By 10:30 I had collected the load from the last of the farms, just north of Banbury, had a group photo of myself, Georgina, and the final donating Farmer taken by the local paper, and began the run to Somerset.

I stopped twice in the first few miles to check the ratchet straps as the heavy silage on the top of the load was still settling, and managed a few extra clicks on the ratchets in places. The load seemed settled now so I could crack on with the journey.

My route would take me across to Stow on the Wold, down the Fosse way to Cirencester, before taking the spur towards Chippenham, to avoid the low bridge on the Fosse. I took a brief pause at Kemble Airfield, posed the load for a photo next to the planes on the airfield, before taking the narrow back road across to rejoin the Fosse towards Tetbury.

Having negotiated my way around the weight limit in Tetbury, I struck south, past Badminton towards the M4 and Bath city.

The long steep descent into Bath certainly kept me on my toes, and gave the tractor and trailer brakes something to think about! Then a right turn at the bottom took me into Bath centre. The looks from Saturday morning shoppers had to be seen to be believed! Once through Bath I began the climb up the other side of the valley and on towards Frome and Shepton Mallett.

South of Shepton I left the last major main road and began the wiggly route across to Somerton and Langport. All the roads, from the tops of the hills to the bottoms of the valleys were running with water from recent rains and from saturated land – no wonder the water levels are still rising even now.

Langport itself is very tight, and there’s a lovely low railway bridge to negotiate. Safely under the bridge, under the watchful eyes of the local constabulary, I drove on into Langport centre. Narrow would be a generous description of this part of the town, but thankfully many of the locals seemed to know why I was there, and accompanied by a few waves and thumbs-up I had an easy passage through, with cars making great efforts to let me by.

Coming out of Langport I was struck by the proximity of the floods to the town, as the waters were lapping at the lowest buildings and approaching the bridge. The sheer enormity of the waters became apparent now as I looked south over a sea where land used to be.

I’m not going to try to describe the flooding I saw as I simply can’t fully explain the enormity of it. Suffice to say I was shocked by what I saw, and by the amount of water lying on the levels.

Unable to take the normal valley road across from one ridge to the other , where the village of Stoke St Gregory lies (my destination), due to the floods, I continued almost to the M5 before crossing the valley to North Curry. The small road where I crossed had reportedly been deep underwater just the previous day due to a flash flood.

The roads began to get narrower and narrower now, and I had a sinking feeling that I might be heading into somewhere from which I  would struggle to get out again – I prayed the directions I had prepared were right!

So with my phone set up to show my live position on a mapping program, to try and avoid taking a wrong turn, I forged ahead towards what I hoped was the destination. The road continued to narrow and twist as I passed through pretty Somerset villages, always conscious of the vast flood waters lying either side of the ridge I was driving along.

As I approached an extremely tight bend next to a church my heart sank, but I managed to squeeze around it without losing any paint, forage or my sanity! Soon I could see a welcome sight ahead – a farmer and loader tractor looking expectant – I’d made it!

The farmer and his wife were so welcoming and that alone made the run worth doing. We unstrapped the load, then the farmer’s wife took me up to the farmhouse and made me the most welcome cup of tea I’ve had in ages, and very kindly offered to feed me. She told me about some of the challenges the area was facing, and about their attempts several years ago to show the government what needing doing and the risks if they didn’t. While I was drinking my tea, a phone call came through warning of another hamlet that was about to be overcome by the floodwaters if sandbags and pumps couldn’t be deployed there within the hour.

By the time we returned to the tractor, the last bale had just come off and, with the sun starting to set, it was time I headed home.

Negotiating the lanes and villages in the dark was enough to keep me awake and alert, helped by no longer being loaded.

I drove up to Bath again, but this time struck east along the A4 to Chippenham, where I paused for a bite of supper, before pushing on northwards to the M4, onto Malmesbury, back past Kemble and up to Cirencester.

From there the Fosse way took me all the way to within a mile of home. I reached the welcome sight of the entrance to Mill Farm at just before 11pm.

I tucked the tractor and trailer into the barn, patted the bonnet, and headed for bed. Job done.

I’d like to say a few “thank-you’s”:

Firstly to Georgina Haigh, as it was very much her load, not mine. To the farmers who so kindly donated fodder.  To the Wormleighton Young Farmers for their part in the load. To Red Horse Fuels for the generous diesel donation. To all the #clubhectare twitter group members (especially Jono Dixon and Andrew Ward) for help with arrangements and for all their support. To Rebecca Horsington for her continued work with this and all the other loads. To Gerald and Heather Venn to whom we delivered the load, for their hospitality and for their sterling work in Somerset helping other farmers and residents. To everyone who has been in touch, both in person and via social media, regarding the load – I’m humbled by the response.

Finally to my family for funding some of the fuel and letting me go in the first place… Thank you all!

For more information about this blog, please feel free to contact me via the comments option, through our website: www.millfarmashorne.com , or via Twitter: @MillFarmAshorne

Please keep offering pledges of fodder, and making donations – Somerset will need both in the months to come.