No shortage of steam railways in the county of Stafford! For lots more pictures from Statfold (plus a video of a ride down the line), and a selection (with video) from Chasewater, visit Starting with Statfold and Gervase on Geoff’s Rail Diaries
Author: geoffspages
New toys and visitors
Statfold and Chasewater: a great way to start the season. This year’s first open day at Staffordshire’s narrow gauge heaven was yesterday, 29th March; it was also the weekend of the Chasewater Industrial Gala
What will be new at Statfold (there’s always something)? Mr Lee has been busy with the track – there’s a new loop on the 2′ gauge line at Oak Tree, doubling its capacity, and it now connects to the balloon loop at the far end, so that trains on both lines can run the full length of the layout, round the loop and back along their respective lines. And there’s a new loco, in the splendid shape of Hudswell Clarke 972 of 1912, an 0-6-0 tender engine.
They’ve been busy with the layout at Chasewater too, tidying up the track at the entrance to Brownhills West. Unfortunately the work wasn’t completed in time – no “bay to bay” trains for Colin McAndrew. But he’s got a new companion for the weekend, in the (unusual) shape of visitor Gervase. Gervase is a Sentinel – an early one, dating from 1928, a conversion of a 1900 Manning Wardle, with side rods rather than the chain drive of later machines. We’d better go and have a look – perhaps Sunday’s weather will be good too? It was…
“Rail Diaries” pages will appear in due course. In the meantime, the above tasters will have to do…
Callow Hollow
The Long Mynd’s eastern valleys are several and varied – some are valleys, some (most) are batches. There’s a dale and a gutter too – and a couple of hollows. If we count the side valleys off those main valleys… Perhaps not. I’ve been exploring the Mynd for many years, but until very recently, I had not quite digested one rather odd fact born out by the 1:25,000 map: many (perhaps most) of those side valleys have names – except for Ashes Hollow, whose side valleys are nameless. (I’m sure they’re not, but there are no names on the map).
Ashes Hollow runs down to Little Stretton. Next, joining Ashes at its foot, is Small Batch (aptly named), then there’s Callow Hollow. Ashes Hollow is perhaps the next-best known after Cardingmill (Valley), not least due to the camp site occupying its last few yards. Callow is one of the least known, despite being of comparable scenic value, largely because, until relatively recently, there was no easy access to its foot. We met no-one else on foot throughout the walk (just one cyclist, and a farmer in his pickup). And, like so many of these valleys (batches, hollows etc….), once we’re just a few yards in, there’s nothing man-made in sight, until we reach the plateau and the road.
Benthall Edge
A short wander from the car park at Benthall Hall.
Croome revisited
We’ve been before – must try to avoid taking the same pictures… Not easy. It’s described as a landscape park – we’d better explore it. The house is worth exploring too, though not all of it is accessible yet – a long term project for the National Trust.
Beacon Hill: peaty pools
There’s a real sense of wilderness on these border hills. Shropshire lies on the opposite bank of the Teme, but Beacon Hill could easily be somewhere much more remote. It could have been quite tricky too, if Shropshire’s fog hadn’t given way to a cloudless sky as we headed west into Powys.
The walk would have been a very wet one a month ago – there’s plenty of evidence of February’s dyke-filling downpours, where animals have churned the ground in some of the wetter places. But mostly it’s really good underfoot – springy turf and heather moor, with delightful peaty pools reflecting the sky’s deep blue. It’s quiet too – apart from one or two vehicles on the lane up from Beguildy, the only sounds are from the sheep and the birds. And yes – this is red kite country, though they’re never quite close enough for the camera.
Bring me sunshine
Two bright, sunny afternoons – too good to waste…
Monday: a walk from Linley to Bridgnorth. I had a lift to the starting point, for a walk which should be well-timed for a lift home again. Down in the valley, out of the wind, I began to wonder if I should have left my jacket behind. The old railway track would provide a reasonable surface if the river-bank path was too sticky – in the event, it wasn’t bad at all.
Tuesday: A walk to Benthall Hall – an old favourite. The tea-room at the hall was a bonus – hadn’t realised it was open mid-week, so early in the season…
Border Castles
Goodrich, the White Castle, Grosmont – three impressive ruins with similarities and differences. Goodrich is in England, beside the Wye near Ross, in the care of English Heritage. There’s lots to see and explore here – spiralling ways up to the heights, dark dungeons and passageways. A walk around the dry moat reveals the rocky foundations.
Further west, in Wales, are the “Three Castles”, from 1201 the property of one Hubert de Burgh. We’ve been to Skenfrith before – let’s look at the White Castle. It really was white once, apparently. Its deep moat is still water-filled, and the ruins are extensive, but there’s only the one tower which can be climbed for a fine (but today hazy) view to the west, where the Skirrid – “Ysgyryd Fawr” – and the Black Mountains are prominent.
Grosmont Castle, third of the “Three Castles” would be on our way home, and there’s still plenty of time. Once again, there’s an entrance across a bridge (which originally would have been a drawbridge), and there’s one way up onto the walls for a good overall view. That chimney is amazing!
White Castle and Grosmont Castle CADW
The Pike
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.
Upton Cressett
A walk in quiet country between Bridgnorth and Ditton Priors. Things are improving underfoot, but slowly – much of this walk is on surfaced lanes, and where it isn’t, there’s no shortage of mud. Upton Cressett is a remarkable little hamlet. Its 12th century church, redundant since 1970, is in the care of the Churches Conservation Trust. We thought it might be open, but we couldn’t get in, and had to be content with squinting through the window.
