Not possible, is it? Someone once asked my wife why she didn’t get books from the library. The answer may be obvious to those who are similarly afflicted: “You’ve got to return them”. Despite being overwhelmed by the things, today we’re in Birmingham, redeeming some book vouchers, but before we visit the book shop, we’re going to have a look at the astonishing new Library of Birmingham…
It’s a beautiful day! The sunshine is bright and warm, and the deep blue sky is decorated with wispy cirrus clouds. The fields will still be muddy, so we’re keeping to quiet surfaced lanes near the village of Cound. There’s a donation box for parking by the Guildhall, and there’s a second-hand book shop too. It’s open, but there’s no-one there, just an honesty box – 50p for paperbacks, £1 for hardbacks. Wonderful!
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Friday 15 March: “I thought we could go to Dundee – we can go on the train and visit the new V&A”. Great idea! If we time it right, we can travel on one of Scotrail’s “Inter7City” trains – shortened HST sets providing a fast and high-quality ride. We’ll be crossing two of the best-known bridges in the world – over the Forth and the Tay.
The new museum is just yards from Dundee’s smart new railway station, beside the “Discovery”, famous survivor of Shackleton’s Antarctic explorations. The tall ship poses in striking contrast to its futuristic ship-shape neighbour, the work of Japanese architect Kengo Kuma.
The interior is no less striking, but I’ll let the pictures speak for themselves (the splendid pork and apricot sausage rolls deserve a mention, but were eaten before the camera had a chance to record them…)
… and speaking of big eaters, look who we met wandering the streets of Dundee afterwards!
Thursday 14 March: We’re in Edinburgh for a couple of days, and this afternoon we’re taking a leisurely stroll around the Royal Botanic Gardens. Not too leisurely – there’s a biting wind. Despite the weather and the season, there’s plenty of colour – rhododendron and azalea are in flower, there are plenty of other spring flowers, and then there are the Tibetan prayer flags… There’s a good view of the Edinburgh skyline too, just a short way to our south.
Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh
Rather a lot of it… Mostly Welsh water, this – the rain hasn’t been especially heavy here in Shropshire. The “big bends” near Leighton are almost invisible – look carefully to see the current in the normal river bed. It’s the same at Cressage bridge – the flood plain is a lake, and if the water rises another inch or two, it will be over the road. Flooding here is not uncommon, but this could be the last opportunity to see the disused power station above the waters. Perhaps, in some way, that’s symbolic.
Willey and Linley: we walked this way before Christmas (see “The depth of December“) – a route which was good underfoot when the fields were soggy. After last night’s heavy rain, the field paths will again be worth avoiding. It’s cold, and with a strong westerly wind, a bit of shelter would be good too. So we’re returning to the quiet roads linking these hamlets, stretching our legs and making most of the (fitful) sunny intervals – the sun is pleasantly warm when it’s allowed to shine. (Just for variety, we’re doing it clockwise – last time, we walked widdershins)
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There’s a cold wind, but it should stay dry. Maybe there’s a chance of some sunshine? Not really – certainly none of the deep blue that we had between the morning’s sharp showers. Down in the valley, walking between Ironbridge and the Coalport bridge, it’s sheltered and pleasant enough. To avoid what would have been a very muddy path, we’re crossing the Severn twice more – using the Jackfield memorial footbridge and lastly, the new “Free Bridge” – that’s four metal bridges in a row, all significant in their own way.
View OS map on Streetmap http://www.streetmap.co.uk/map.srf?X=368630&Y=302741&A=Y&Z=120
Jackfield tile museum – for colour on a rainy afternoon…
Jacfiled tile museum – Ironbridge Gorge Museums
Wednesday 27 Feb: We’re enjoying the last day of the warm sunny spell, walking from the top of Coalbrookdale to the pools at Dawley, in part following the route of old pre-railway age wagonways. We’ll cross (on public footpaths) some real railways too – the disused line to the power station and the soon-to-be-reconstructed line from Horsehay. The various pools, dating from the same era as the wagonways, are likewise associated with the early iron-making industry in these parts. They look pleasantly rural in the bright sunshine.
View OS map on Streetmap http://www.streetmap.co.uk/map.srf?X=367790&Y=305706&A=Y&Z=120
Attingham – a sunny afternoon, perfect for a gentle stroll with a wide-angle lens. Warm stone and a deep blue sky – what more could one want?
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