Author: geoffspages

The Weir

On By geoffspagesIn NT and EH, PhotographyLeave a comment

Sunday: We’re travelling through Herefordshire, and need somewhere for a picnic and fresh air. How about the Weir? It’s a National Trust property, consisting of a riverside garden and walled garden on the steep north bank of the Wye, a few miles upstream from Hereford. The riverside garden is attractive in a wild (dare I say unkempt?) kind of way; the walled garden nearby is more traditional, perhaps, with colourful floral displays and rows of veg. Once again, the butterflies are being fairly relaxed…

The Weir NT

A walk to Coalport

On By geoffspagesIn Photography, WalksLeave a comment

We’ve done it many times. It’s a pleasant afternoon, even if it is rather overcast. There’s not quite as much colour in the hedgerows as there was a month or two ago, but the butterflies are more cooperative. The peacock was on the path, wings closed. I reached down to him and he crawled onto my hand, to join us for a few yards (he would have stayed, I suspect, but we thought he’d be better off in the bushes). As usual, there’s tea and cakes to be had at Coalport…

Gatekeeper

On By geoffspagesIn PhotographyLeave a comment

GatekeeperI’m not a walking “Book of British Butterflies” – it was just a colourful little something to point the camera at. We’ve been out wandering the local lanes, fields and woods on this warm August afternoon. There were other butterflies about – this one was obliging, staying still, wings open in the sunshine. Identification required a couple of minutes with Mr Google, after downloading the pictures at home.

Gogbatch

On By geoffspagesIn Photography, Shropshire hills, WalksLeave a comment

Last gasp of the Long Mynd, before it fades into the fields and pastures of the plain to the north, is Gogbatch. It’s a pleasant – and quiet – spot for a picnic, despite having a (very minor) road running its entire (very short) length. It’s a good spot to begin a walk, too, on this comfortably warm August afternoon. There’s just enough breeze to maintain the comfort as we ascend gradually past Jinlye and Jonathan’s Rock to the main plateau. Our return route skirts the golf course, before descending through deep bracken into the Batch Valley. There’s an inviting but evidently little-used path from All Stretton back towards the slopes of the Mynd. The Himalayan balsam is invading, but brambles and more deep bracken nearly force us to retrace our steps (note to self – bring secateurs next time. And a billhook? And a flame-thrower? Perhaps not).

Map

View OS map on Streetmap http://www.streetmap.co.uk/map.srf?X=345305&Y=296096&A=Y&Z=120

Norton Camp

On By geoffspagesIn Photography, Shropshire hills, WalksLeave a comment

It’s a hill fort, near Craven Arms. Today we’re walking up to Norton Camp from Stokesay Castle, where, on our return, there will be refreshments. It’s warmer than of late, which isn’t saying much. 21C feels warm this summer. Much of this walk is in woodland, but it’s mostly deciduous and quite varied, and contains some interesting things – and occasionally, there are unexpected views. The hill fort isn’t over-exciting (to a lay observer) – the earthworks appear to be substantial but they’re covered in trees and shrubs. We follow the ridge of the hill southwards, to descend by Rotting Lane, crossing the A49 (again, and it’s not easy) and the Onny, to follow tracks close by the railway line back to Stokesay.

MapView OS map on Streetmap http://www.streetmap.co.uk/map.srf?X=344000&Y=280936&A=Y&Z=120

Colourful Coalport

On By geoffspagesIn Photography, Shropshire hillsLeave a comment

Everything’s in flower, or so it seems, and the butterflies are beginning to cooperate… We’re making the most of a dry and sunny afternoon after a day of rain, with another to come tomorrow, if the forecast is right. The youth hostel at Coalport (beside the china museum) is open for tea and cakes all summer, and the walk’s long enough to feel we’ve earned it (as if we needed an excuse…)

Hope Dale

On By geoffspagesIn Photography, Shropshire hills, WalksLeave a comment

We’re out on the Wenlock Edge, on a beautiful July afternoon. The air is fresh after overnight rain, there’s a pleasant breeze, and plenty of sunshine. We start from the small car park at Harton Hollow, and follow the lane via Middlehope to Wetmore Farm. There are hundreds of butterflies, of several varieties, but none of them are willing to pose for the camera. And there’s a peacock! It’s not the most scenic of walks to Wetmore – the hedges are ten or twelve feet high, though there are views from the occasional field gate. From Wetmore, we head on up to the edge path – at first, it skirts the woodland, and there’s a good view down into the dale and beyond. Then we’re amongst the trees – very pleasant open deciduous woodland, with a good path along the crest of the Wenlock Edge to take us back to the car.

Map

View OS map on Streetmap http://www.streetmap.co.uk/map.srf?X=349460&Y=288786&A=Y&Z=120

Where East meets West

On By geoffspagesIn Photography, Railways..., Walks1 Comment

Cleethorpes, in this case. This was a day out by rail, from Shrewsbury to Stockport, where we changed trains for Sheffield, via the Hope Valley line, and Doncaster to the terminus on the southern bank of the Humber. After a brief pause for fish and chips (obligatory), we walked south-eastwards the mile or so along the sea front to the Cleethorpes Coast Light Railway terminus. We would have caught the next train to the other end of the line at Humberston, but it was fully booked for a large party of small children, so we walked on. There’s an unexpected discovery close by Humberston station – a shiny steel plaque set in the footpath marks the Greenwich meridian – we’re crossing from the west into the east…

After a brief exploration of Humberston Fitties, we took to the sands, which eventually give way to an area of salt marsh, with all manner of coastal plant life, and randomly-arranged muddy creeks which make progress tricky. Returning to the shore path, we walked a little further to where an old pillbox provided a slightly-elevated seat for us to sit back for half-an-hour and take in the vista, across the sands to the estuary and, on the opposite shore, Spurn Head. Two curious structures catch the eye – Haile Sand and Bull Sand forts, built just 100 years ago to defend the mouth of the Humber. Numerous cargo boats move up and down on the incoming tide, while closer at hand, there’s a reed bunting in the bushes and a sparkling white egret in the pool.

We’d walked getting on for five miles at our turning point, so the 15″ gauge light railway provided a welcome break in the long walk back to the railway station, for the journey home. But midsummer isn’t long past, and it’s only as we’re approaching Shrewsbury, where we’re due at 22.08, that it really begins to get dark. A most enjoyable day, with everything going to plan (no late trains), a real change of scene and a breath of sea air.

For more on the Cleethorpes Coast Light Railway visit “Cleethorpes” on Geoff’s Rail Diaries


Map