At least there’s plenty of shelter in the arboretum… Less than 5% chance of rain at Bewdley? Huh! We spend some time trying to stay dry in a variety of shelters – under the trees (obviously), in Hagrid’s hut, Aragog’s lair, the tea room… There’s some sunshine too, and at times it’s both sunny and rainy. Nevertheless, a very pleasant afternoon, and it didn’t rain on the (unsheltered) way back to the car, at the other side of the river. The cakes, of course, were wonderful!
We’re enjoying a pleasant afternoon in the woods on the Dudmaston Estate, making the most of a dry spell (it’ll rain later). The autumn colours are splendid here, especially the sweet chestnut, and the beech down by the pools.
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It has to be a stroll – the path along the ridge is far too rough for any speed. Slow progress is essential if the view is to be appreciated without broken bones… The distant views are wonderful, in all directions; closer, there are other items of interest – a red kite, toadstools (just a few), a fine hairy coo – and the alpacas… It’s a great day to be up here – fine and clear, bright and cool (and breezy). Nevertheless, it’s good to get back to the Bog too – the cakes are splendid. What an enjoyable day!
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We spent the afternoon on the Stiperstones, enjoying sunshine and a bracing breeze. Afterwards (it’s the law) there’s tea and cake at the Bog Centre, and they close for the winter after next weekend – hence the choice of venue for today’s outing.
More photos to follow.
It’s a slightly-extended version of a walk we did earlier in the year, and for the same reasons. There’s been a lot of rain in the last couple of days; now the sky’s mostly clear blue, and we need to make the most of it, but we’ll have to stay on hard roads and tracks unless we want to get seriously bogged down. It’s a very pleasant leg-stretch, and as the afternoon wears on, the sun gets noticeable lower, spotlighting the landscape and leaving deep shadows.
We left the car at Cound Guildhall, where there’s a charity box for parking and a charity bookshop too: St Peters Charity Bookshop
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Familiar paths and tracks on a fine and pleasant autumn afternoon – it’s good to be out and about, in and around Much Wenlock
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That’s Cannock Chase, of course. The forecast implied there would be more sunshine than we had before lunch; afterwards, things improved a bit. At least it’s not raining, and it’s generally dry underfoot too. We’d hoped for more autumn colours, and thought there might have been a good crop of toadstools… The visitor centre, half-way around our wander, is reliable for a simple snack lunch (bacon baps) – and it’s good to be out on a day like this.
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We’ve left the car at Cleehill village, and we’re heading for the spooky remains of industry on Magpie Hill. It’s a grey day, and the air’s cold – it’s also clear, with views extending to the Brecon Beacons. Recent rains mean that, away from good surfaces, there’s no shortage of mud, so today we’re mostly on hard-surfaced tracks across this remote hill country. The outward route takes us past the curiously-named Lower Random Farm, on what was once a mineral wagonway, disused for more than a century. Inevitably, the sun breaks through when we’re in the car heading homewards; unexpectedly, it’s raining (again!) as we near home.
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It was going to be an arboretum amble, but the fungi were much more fun! Bodenham arboretum on a (rare) fine sunny afternoon, where, after a light lunch, we’re following the perimeter path to enter the arboretum from the far side. There’s a ball on the path, and just yards away, an intensely interested dog. Having kicked the ball once (and seen a superb retrieval), we have a determined companion. Are we playing with him, or is he playing with us? A couple of times, just before a kick, he makes a quick grab and runs off, and there are occasions when I’d swear he’s placing the ball just to see if we can spot it.
Given good weather, there’s much to be said for autumn. The colours are wonderful, but the variety of shapes and sizes (and sheer number) of fungi, is really what gains our attention today. And, of course, that dragonfly…
![Dragonfly [1]](https://i0.wp.com/geoffspages.blog/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/21-1.jpg?w=229&h=136&ssl=1 "Dragonfly [1]")
![Dragonfly [2]](https://i0.wp.com/geoffspages.blog/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/22-1.jpg?w=229&h=118&ssl=1 "Dragonfly [2]")
We spent some time in the arboretum at Bodenham, near Kidderminster, this afternoon. The autumn leaves were colourful, as one would expect, and this year’s crop of assorted fungi exceeded all expectations, both in number and variety. The star of the visit, however, was this dragonfly, flitting around one of the pools, and from time to time landing on a nearby block of stone. More photos later…
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