Happy New Year everyone! Our new year was made happy by a visit to the Chasewater Railway, where they were running a “Mince Pie Special” service, plus demonstration freight trains – just for fun! To see more of the fun, visit “Chasewater: an early start” on Geoff’s Rail Diaries.
Author: geoffspages
Mist on Brown Clee
Monday 30th December: like Christmas Day, the sky is blue. Unlike Christmas Day, there’s a stiff breeze – and patches of mist blowing around, not enough to be a nuisance, but adding to the enjoyment of this wonderful day on the hills. Remarkably, above the mist, the views are (at times) extensive – there are the Black Mountains – and that’s Pen y Fan, the highest point of the Brecon Beacons, some 55 miles distant. It’s unusually busy up here – we must have seen more than 20 other people. Mostly, they confine their activites to the small area between the summit and the old railway incline – elsewhere, Brown Clee is ours.
View OS map on Streetmap https://www.streetmap.co.uk/map.srf?X=358945&Y=286006&A=Y&Z=120
Then and now
Nearly six years ago, we stood beside the road, high above the Severn near Leighton, to look at the floods – and in doing so, recorded the scene downstream, taking in the then still active power station at Ironbridge. This afternoon, as the sun neared the horizon, I stood in the same spot and pointed the camera as before.
See “Deeper and Higher” for more on the February 2014 floods, and “Bang!” for the recent demise of the cooling towers.
Grey days at the year’s end
A linear walk from home, out to Willey and Shirlett (from where, if the phone’s working, I’ll arrange a lift). There’s a hint of colour in the south-western sky, otherwise the landscape is dull and grey – except in the woods, where there’s colour under the trees. These are quiet places – exceptionally so today, just the sound here and there of running water, accompanied by occasional birdsong. Just what’s needed!
Pound Lane
It’s really quiet this afternoon – no sounds of distant traffic, no little aeroplanes disturbing the peace. Where can they all be? We’re glad to be out of doors, enjoying the unbroken sunshine and the still air until the sun disappears behind the hills. Merry Christmas everyone!
Willey in winter
It’s Christmas Eve, another fine afternoon (not really wintry at all) and a last chance to take in some fresh air. There’s water from the fields running down these quiet lanes – the boots are remarkably clean when we get home!
View OS map on Streetmap https://www.streetmap.co.uk/map.srf?X=367540&Y=298191&A=Y&Z=120
Midwinter meandering
Circumstances (not least the weather) have conspired to keep the camera indoors for a couple of weeks – it was suffering from lack of exercise (so was its owner). Today it’s bright and dry – time for a local leg stretch. Our last outing was to see the cooling towers meet sudden destruction – I’ll look down on the site, and see how it compares with our last view from this position, high up in the woods on Benthall Edge.
