Nothing fishy about this walk… The Pike is a rocky ridge which provides a quick route up to the Long Mynd plateau, for this (relatively) high level route. We look back to Badbury Ring, the hill fort on the edge of the golf course, before heading west to pick up the Portway and the path to Pole Bank, highest point of the Mynd. We can stay on the plateau until the last minutes of this walk, when the path descends steeply to the edge of the woods fringing Church Stretton. Now it’s just a short walk back to the car, descending the track back into Cardingmill Valley. It’s only six miles in total, but we spent most of the afternoon on it – it was too good to hurry, much better to stop and look around, and enjoy the day.

A walk on Brown Clee – up to Abdon Burf, the county’s highest point, then across the high ground (squelchy in places) to the southern top, Clee Burf. It’s a fine breezy afternoon, though there are one or two showers about. We caught one briefly – it had blown over before the rain began to look serious. There were one or two more further west, creating some dramatic skies.

At times, it feels as though the storms have been continuous – but there have been some fine days between the deluges. This afternoon’s weather was too good for staying indoors, but if the ground’s not actually under water, it’s still too wet underfoot. So – another walk around quiet lanes, out past the farm at Harnage Grange, crossing Bullhill Brook beside the ford, then up the hill to Kenley and along the ridge. The ford was almost an impasse – the footbridge was fine, but below it, the stream was straying across the road. Not a problem – no depth – feet stayed dry. There used to be some extensive views to the west from the lane along the ridge north of Kenley – sadly, they are now only really visible from the other side of the high hedge that has been planted here. Does it need to be 8′ high?

My Sunday road walk earlier in the month was quiet – how would a weekday compare? I think we passed ten moving vehicles along the five miles, no dog walkers, no joggers, no cyclists, one Chinook…