The walk, which was officially opened by British astronomer Heather Couper on 9 August 1997, was the brainchild of designer and inventor 'Pip' Youngman who sadly passed away in 2007. Pip felt that conventional models, the kind we've all seen in school textbooks, fail to grasp the scale of the solar system or convey the size of the planets relative to each other. That in order to portray the true majesty of our solar system a physical model was required, to help us define our place in it and grasp the true vastness of space.
Conveniently Pip, happened to be living not far from the Bridgwater and Taunton Canal. The 22km (14 mile) canal just happens to be the perfect length for the disc of our solar system at the scale envisaged. Thus with the sun situated at the midway point, Higher Maunsel Lock, you can either walk towards Taunton or Bridgwater to explore the outer reaches of our solar system. Please note, as this is a linear walk you'll need to retrace your steps or catch a taxi from the town you end up in, back to Maunsel Lock.
Pip didn't do this alone of course, he had help from a local teacher, Physics Teacher of the Year, Trevor Hill and the Mayor of Taunton David Applegate. As well as the backing of famous science fiction author Arthur C. Clarke and TV astronomer Patrick Moore as project sponsors, with funding coming from the Committee on the Public Understanding of Science (COPUS).
The less athletic among us will be relived to know that the inner planets ( Mercury, Venus, Earth and Mars) are all situated within 67 metres (220 ft) of the Sun, and near to the Maunsel Canal Centre (and tea shop) at Lower Maunsel Lock. Its only once you get past Mars that the real walking starts. Its worth pointing out that being a canal this is a very flat walk and much of the tow-path is mettled making it accessible to all. Its also a cycleway so you'll need to keep a watchful eye out for bikes.
On the occasion in question I decided to walk from Higher Maunsel Lock towards Bridgwater. This does mean your walking from a largely rural to a typically urban location, but that's equally true if you walk to towards Taunton, something I hope to do one day to compare the two routes. All I'll say is that once you pass under the M5 and reach Neptune your leaving the rural idyll of Somerset behind, with Pluto nestling behind a Morrisons superstore car park. Something the New Horizons Probe so far seems to have missed.
If nothing else, to quote the Hitch-hikers Guide to the Galaxy, the walk will make you appreciate “how vastly, hugely, mind-bogglingly big” space is and how small even the largest of our planets is in comparison.
However it seems fitting to leave the last word to Pip who provided the wording for plaques describing each planet.
"Earth orbits far enough from the heat of the Sun for water to be liquid, near enough not to freeze, for air to be a gas and earth a solid. With gravity strong enough to hold our atmosphere, gentle enough to allow delicate life forms. Rotating to give our day and night, tilted to give the four seasons. Enormous to us, tiny on the cosmic scale. Our home, unique, beautiful, fragile."