Day after tomorrow… Nevertheless, and despite the lack of sunshine, it’s warm in the woods on Benthall Edge. We’re into the season of interesting fungi, and there are plenty of them, from a splendid solitary parasol to huge colonies of little mushrooms. Once again, the squirrels are busy too, and the autumn colours are increasingly noticeable.

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They’re out in force! Must be the fine weather – perfect nut-gathering conditions? Many are just a rustle in the hedgerow and a glimpse of a furry tail, others we see scuttling along ahead of us, or looping across our path and up into their 3-D world. Only one pauses and poses, at a safe distance, and one’s probably enough. We’ve walked down Stanley Lane, then north for a couple of miles along the old SVR railway trackbed, before cutting up a side valley to Colemore Green and back to the car. There are one or two others out enjoying the September sunshine, but it’s not exactly crowded.

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They’re big enough, but we certainly wouldn’t wish to kick a giant puffball. We found three this afternoon, as we wandered around Willey. The one seen below was the biggest, the others were smaller and partially hidden. It’s a fine breezy afternoon – very pleasant conditions for a walk around these very quiet lanes.

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Tigger’s Ickle Shop is no more.

Where shall we go? “How about Tigger’s Ickle Shop?”  We’ve enjoyed several good walks from this quiet spot in Corvedale. We’ve also had jars of chutney, some very good local garden produce – and wonderful sweet and sticky cakes and flapjacks, all from the aforementioned wayside shop. It was a solid wooden cabinet filled with the various home made/grown goodies, with an honesty cashbox. We felt a real sense of loss this afternoon.
Nevertheless, our walk was enjoyable. The view to Brown Clee and Wenlock Edge are good; there’s hardly any traffic on the little-used lanes, and no-one else on foot on this strangely-still and humid afternoon. This is a very quiet corner of the county. Shame about the cakes.

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Caughley Road and Red Lane
There and back again!
No, it doesn’t scan. Sorry. I’m not a poet…

Between the fields and Red Lane, there’s a short track flanked by two greatly overgrown hedges, forming a green tunnel – and in the winter months it can be impassable, with deep, sticky mud. Today, after a very dry summer and despite recent rain, there isn’t a problem. Weatherwise, it’s not a day for landscapes, but there’s interest close at hand. That oak bracket fungus is quite splendid. It’s said to be inedible – given its appearance, it’s very had to imagine how that was discovered. We certainly won’t be trying – much better to leave it for others to enjoy – visually…

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Jam! On Sunday afternoon we picked 3kg of crab apples, then a little later 2kg of wild damsons. I would have picked more, but the bag-holder was starting to complain… This afternoon, on a short leg-stretch around the Willey lanes, I couldn’t resist another small bagful. (If I don’t pick them, they’ll eventually drop and rot – such a waste!)
The damsons are now in the freezer, but their time will come. Meanwhile, there’s crab apple jelly on the near horizon…

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Church Preen – it’s a steady pull from the parking space near the school to the top of the hill, but we’re not here primarily for exercise. Today we’ve come armed with bags for foraging, but we’re disappointed. The blackberries are tasteless and not worth the effort of picking, there are no damsons (within reach, that is) and the wild greengages are not ripe yet. So – we’ll just enjoy the walk. After those hot days in August, 18C and intermittent sunshine is perfect.

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An evening wander along Shirlett Lane, on the last day of summer, and a stroll around Wyke and Benthall on a cool afternoon on the first day of autumn. (I’m going by the Met. Office’s definitions, not astronomy. The former always seem closer to what’s actually happening out there…)

Shirlett: view OS map on Streetmap http://www.streetmap.co.uk/map?X=365790&Y=298180&A=Y&Z=120

Benthall: View OS map on Streetmap http://www.streetmap.co.uk/map?X=365630&Y=302615&A=Y&Z=120