Cooler again today, but still worth staying in the shade. We’ll walk from Bedlam and cross to the shady side of the river, then down to the Jackfield footbridge to cross over to Coalport – to the youth hostel at the china museum for ice creams. I’m not sure we’ve really earned them, but they’re very welcome.
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The last two days have been really hot (by UK standards) – today, just a few degrees cooler, we can perhaps manage a short wander. It’ll need to be somewhere shady – it’s still very warm. Comer woods should be ideal.
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It’s more than two months since we enjoyed this day out in South Wales. Today it’s too warm for outdoor activities, so I’m in the comfortable shade catching up on some loose ends, one such being this trip. So, here it is – visit “Three Valleys” on Geoff’s Rail Diaries, an illustrated account of our journeyings from Cardiff up the former mining valleys. The mines have all gone, but the railways are thriving – electrification, smart hi-tech new trains, new stations…
I was here in November last year, when the mud on the main descent was truly horrendous. Hadn’t been back since… This afternoon, Mrs Geoffspages is out eating cakes with her friends. I’ll make the most of it with a walk on Brown Clee – and it’s a wonderful day! It’s cool and shady under the trees on the way out, down the eastern side of the hill. When I cross the crest of the ridge, I’m in pleasantly warm sunshine, with a gentle breeze. There’s no-one in the chocolate seat either (I only passed 10 other people in 3 hours). It’s too warm for chocolate though; instead an apple is just right. And the mud? Practically all gone. Last November, it was hard to imagine it could ever be dry again.
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Our small visitors have gone out for the afternoon, so I’m taking the opportunity to enjoy an hour or two out in the fields – down Scots Lane and Bould Lane to the path across the field of oats, over the main road and on past Linley Hall to the top of the bank, then back beside Birch Wood to Linley Green and home again. There’s a crab apple tree down there which is well-laden – worth a revisit when they’re ready for picking, if I can time it before the deer get them all…
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… will do to create these remarkable figures! We’re entertaining two small people, wondering what will keep them amused. The scrap metal creations are certainly eye-catching. Sculpture? Yes, I suppose they must be. Art? It’s in the eye of the beholder. The eyes of our two small beholders seemed to recognise most, if not all, of the weird creations here – which certainly kept them amused, as intended…
British Ironwork Centre, Oswestry
It’s dry and bright, not too warm. We’ve been busy all day – we need a short leg stretch. Colemore Green and Boldings Pools will be perfect…
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We were away for the best part of two weeks, and it’s taken a day or two to get straight… And it’s warm – really warm! So this morning we’re out shortly after 9am (and back by 11), enjoying the familiar landscape of Willey in summer.
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I walked around the Heribusta lane a few days ago. This afternoon I’m doing it in reverse – clockwise, the right way round with a moorland “extra”. Once again, other than the museum and Flora’s grave, the place is deserted – the moor even more so – it’s desolate. Almost… There are the inevitable sheep, and once again a cuckoo and some curlews. There’s a bonus – the swanee whistle tooting of three lapwings, flopping* around just above me – a good note to end on. Tomorrow we’re heading south.
*a better description of their flight than “flapping”?
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The Bornesketaig shore is remarkably similar in places – a pavement of hexagonal columns of black basalt rock. It’s not quite in the same league, but it’s good to look down on from the clifftops (and worth exploring, especially at low spring tides, when the gold cave may be accessible. Sadly, the gold’s all gone). The clifftop may be airy on this breezy afternoon, but the most dangerous part of this walk is probably the shore of Camas Mor bay – lots of big boulders, probably best avoided…
Having walked down the road past the ruined church, I’ll return to the village hall by the other road – saves retracing my steps…
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