We did well to avoid the rain… It was dry when we left the house, but drizzled much of the way to Bridgnorth. Dry again when we left the car, threatened most of the time we were out, and began to follow through on the threat as we returned to the start. We stayed dry(ish). Not good weather for photos…
Tomorrow the Met Office’s autumn begins (and it’s forecasting warm dry weather for next week)
Lunch at, and a quick wander round Moseley Old Hall near Wolverhampton. King Charles II famously hid in an oak tree at Boscobel – and having avoided discovery there, found his way to Moseley, where he was able to hide in a priest hole. It’s an interesting place in which to spend an hour or so (the Cornish pasties were good too…)
A dampish day – light drizzle now and then. Mid afternoon, there’s a sharp shower, and before long the rain has cleared – brightness and a hint of sunshine…
Butterflies! Dozens of them here, in and around the Wenlock Edge woodlands, posing for the camera in a most obliging manner. We’re enjoying a morning walk – the forecast said it would rain this afternoon (it did!). The blackberries are abundant too – I think a picking trip is likely very soon.
View OS map on Streetmap http://www.streetmap.co.uk/map?X=360885&Y=299790&A=Y&Z=120
Friday 25 August: Sunset is getting noticeably earlier – soon, our evening walks will have to end. There’s a pleasant atmosphere along Shirlett Lane on this still evening, especially in the woods at the far end. I posted the ‘fantastic fungi’ soon after we got home; here are some of the other scenes:
View OS map on Streetmap http://www.streetmap.co.uk/map?X=366015&Y=298180&A=Y&Z=120
Tremendous toadstools? Autumn is just around the corner, and the fungi are beginning to make their presence known.
Photo note: there wasn’t much light in the woods, and all I had with me was my little Lumix FZ200. Not ideal, with its tiny sensor, for hand-held low light (and therefore high ISO – 3200). The jpegs were horrible – lots of noise and mush (appropriately?) – but the raw files, with Photoshop’s AI noise reduction, are impressive…
A perfect afternoon for the Hope Bowdler hills. No great height, and no great distance to walk, but it’s bright and breezy, and the air is clear. To the north-east, when the sun catches it, we can see Jodrell Bank radio telescope – 51 miles away. Almost diametrically opposite we have a good distant view of Pen y Fan, highest point in south Wales – 54 miles to the summit. Needless to say, there are great views of the closer and more familiar hills. It’s a shame we have come home again!
View OS map on Streetmap http://www.streetmap.co.uk/map?X=347965&Y=293545&A=Y&Z=120
19 August: Remarkable cloudscapes around Colemore Green, on a pleasant evening. May’s crops (see Fields of Barley) have mostly been harvested; in places, the land harrowed. The many berries in the hedgerow are ripening, and the willowherb has almost finished. Autumn begins to feel close.
View OS map on Streetmap http://www.streetmap.co.uk/map?X=370945&Y=296885&A=Y&Z=120
An old favourite, just right for this pleasantly-warm afternoon. The riverside path is enjoyable, despite the thickets of knotweed; on the plus side, a banded demoiselle is posing for me. There are some tiny toadstools in the woods – there will be plenty more in the coming weeks, I suspect.
View OS map on Streetmap http://www.streetmap.co.uk/map?X=372065&Y=296465&A=Y&Z=120
Walking down to Coalport the long way, then, after ice creams at the youth hostel café, back up the Dingle – the short way home!
View OS map on Streetmap http://www.streetmap.co.uk/map?X=369245&Y=301430&A=Y&Z=120
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