Route type: Circular
Difficulty level: Easy
Waze to start/end point: 31.669282, 34.926334
Notes:
- Start early to beat the heat!
After 2 consecutive strenuous desert hikes, it was time for an easier hike. We headed over to the rolling terrain of Park Britannia near Beit Shemesh. The forest of this park was planted by the Jewish National Fund starting in the 1950s with the financial aid of British Jews after whom it was named.
Parking next to the Shvil Mesua sign, we set out.
Very soon after we stepped off the paved road onto the dirt trail, I noted that we were walking through a debris field consisting of a significant amount of reddish, clay pottery chips of varying sizes. I found a number of curved jug handles but THIS find did get me excited. It’s the first time I’ve found anything with any kind of engraved decorations or markings.
Summiting a small hill, I happened to look back the way we’d come and was struck by how the early morning golden light filtered through the trees. SO PRETTYYYYYY!
After the pottery shards, I found a small treasure of a different kind. Acorns always remind me of a Russian with a fur hat for some reason.
At approximately the 8 km point, there is a breakaway trail to the left where a cave was indicated on my map app. After a few minutes of bushwhacking I found the entrance to the limestone bell cave. I heard (and smelled) bats in the cave so didn’t go much further than the entrance. This was apparently, in Roman times, used a columbarium – a place where pigeons were raised to be used for ritual sacrifice or for fertilizer production.
The trail took us through a cactus forest where clearly the prickly pear cactii were coming to the end of the season.
Besides the cave, there wasn’t a whole lot of wow factor as far as things to see on this hike. Just gently rolling hills, some forested, beautiful views now and then and some gnarly trees. If you’re looking for a nice stroll, this would be a good choice.
