Looks like being a grey, drizzly day tomorrow, so this is probably the last January post for 2026. Not that today is particularly great – a little drizzle as we set out, but within minutes the sky’s clearing (as forecast), and the proverbial sunny intervals provide a little light in the quiet lanes around Willey.
View on Google Earth https://maps.app.goo.gl/bJ7NwHZ6eFrA4jg46
I’d intended to drive down through Harley and beyond – but the Kenley road was flooded (a not uncommon occurence – I should have guessed). So, back to Wenlock, for a walk on the Edge – where I found some yellow brain fungus (aka witches’ butter). Not something I’ve ever seen before. Then (after persevering through sticky mud), what’s that in front? A fox, and he hasn’t seen me (he looked in my direction once or twice, but the sun was bright, low and directly behind me). As I watched, he pounced on some small creature – lunchtime for fox! If I’d been able to follow my plan, my walk might have been much less exciting…
View on Google Earth https://maps.app.goo.gl/HVpGDYJ3MTCp4LwNA
There was a lot of rain during the night, rattling at the windows, and the wind was whistling. This afternoon, there’s a good (is that the right word?) chance of a shower, but it’s bright – and there are patches of blue sky. Let’s go for it! I’ll stay on surfaced ways – there’s no shortage of water running down them, but the fields are sodden. Well worth avoiding!
View on Google Earth https://maps.app.goo.gl/XMrbQLGfnUTXmfPN7
…moss and lichen too. We’re walking downstream from Bedlam, on the old Severn Valley trackbed to Coalport, then back past the china works and over the Jackfield footbridge. It’s a grey day, there’s rain on the way, but it should stay dry for an afternoon leg stretch. The interest is in the detail – jelly ear fungus on elder, some well-hidden elf cups, lovely lichen (needs a really close look), gorgeous green moss and all kind of other vegetation. And though there’s plenty of interest, it’s too cold to stand around for long. Keep moving to keep warm!
View on Google Earth https://maps.app.goo.gl/owhMfW1Wor5Ut7Mn7
The snowdrops are all standing proud, a little cheer in the hedgerows. The sheep are all lying down – what can it mean? Rain, probably – it’s a dry morning but a wet afternoon is forecast…
View on Google Earth https://maps.app.goo.gl/bJ7NwHZ6eFrA4jg46
Winter sunlight… These lanes are quiet! Other than the very occasional passing car, an enthusiastic blue tit and a bittersweet robin, there’s barely a sound. It’s bright, not too cold and the air is still – what more could one ask at this time of year?
View on Google Earth https://maps.app.goo.gl/EJgVJKr3k9g3Rcq2A
January is moving along steadily, but it’s still cold. A calm and bright afternoon is to be welcomed! So – I’m out for a leg stretch, this time from Benthall Hall, to walk along the quiet lane to Wyke, then down to the Vineyards and up into the Benthall Edge woods. There’s a maze of tracks here, but the one I want to follow is still blocked by trees, which fell in the storm just over a year ago. I can get past the first (sit on the trunk and swing the legs over!) but the second would demand serious limbo dancing skill, so I’ll pick my way through the woodland undergrowth instead. Returning to the Hall, the path is less muddy than I expected – or perhaps it’s just that the sun is in my eyes. It’s low by now – but not as low as it was in mid-December.
We ought to check on the locos… The usual question: where can we go, when it’s so muddy off surfaced lanes and paths? How about Bridgnorth? – always an interesting exploration, and we haven’t visited the station for some time. Not that there’s anything happening just now – the next train departs in just over four weeks… The locomotives are in hibernation!
Drip, splosh, trickle, roar… The last is an exaggeration: Linley Brook doesn’t roar, but it’s certainly rushing along, and all those other sounds accompany us around these familiar lanes. It’s raining gently (wasn’t supposed to!), and water is running down the road surface, filling the potholes to the brim… At least the snow has all melted (apart from the snowplough dirty heaps beside the road) and that’s the origin of most of the water. At last, just yards from the start, comes that sunny interval we were promised. (No, we didn’t get noticeably wet, and yes, it was good to be out)
View OS map in Streetmap http://www.streetmap.co.uk/map.srf?X=367470&Y=298250&A=Y&Z=120
View on Google Maps https://maps.app.goo.gl/NpE4s7oVqdcitD9z7
On Thursday night, storm Goretti brought us heavy snow – a good 6 inches. The snowfall turned to rain – Friday was a damp, miserable grey and white day. This morning, under a clear sky, the wet snow – still plenty of it – is now hard frozen. It’s not going to be easy underfoot, but I can’t remain indoors all day… The car can stay put again – I’ll walk from home (more-or-less the route we followed eight days ago).
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