This chap was enjoying some warm winter sunshine, after several very cold and grey days. He did his best to pose for us, even when the wind got behind him and ruffled his feathers.
Author: geoffspages
Lloyd’s Coppice
A fairly bright, and very cold, afternoon – it would be good for a walk, if we could keep out of the wind,which was making 2 degrees feel like minus several. We walked along the old GWR railway line to Coalport, across the bridge, and up the other Coalport railway line (LNWR) as far as Blists Hill. Here, a path climbs up to the edge of the gorge, above the trees of Lloyd’s Coppice. The view would have been better if there had been one or two gaps in the trees… At the far end of the coppice, a path leads down to Wesley Road, then New Bridge Road provides a route to the Free Bridge, and the right side of the river for our return to the car.
Wellington’s Hill
Yesterday we were walking on Hergest Ridge – Kington’s hill. Today we’re much closer to home: Wellington, in Shropshire, has its own hill too – the Wrekin. It was busy – it’s half-term week – on this sunny, but very hazy, afternoon. Not a hill you’re ever likely to have to yourself, though taking a few steps away from the well-worn path to the summit is a good way of escaping the chatter of the crowds. Away in the haze, South Shropshire’s hill country looks inviting.
On Hergest Ridge
Residents of Kington, in Herefordshire’s border country, have their own hill – just the thing for a leg stretch on a fine Sunday afternoon – which it was, though the morning’s mist had only just cleared as we set off from the car. I have to admit that we (and several others) cheated, by parking near the top of Ridgebourne Road, saving a mile at either end of the walk. Put that another way – it’s an extra mile on the hill…
Music lovers of a certain age will, of course, associate Hergest Ridge (yes, it’s the same one) with Mike Oldfield, of Tubular Bells and Virgin Records fame. Released in 1973, It was Virgin’s first album, and a huge success. Who would be running our trains today, if it hadn’t been for Tubular Bells?
A fall of snow(drops)
A dry afternoon, with some sunshine forecast – “let’s have a walk around Attingham Park, the snowdrops should be good”. Which they were, of course – like a fall of snow in places, the ground almost white over. The sun wasn’t at its most cooperative – why is the most spectacular burst of sunshine the one when you’re in the car, ready to drive home? The translucent Judas ear fungus is edible, apparently; it doesn’t look too appetising. Think I’ll give it a miss.
The deer were grazing in the deer park – see video clip (below)
A rainy day at Coalport
Coalport, and the museum, are in Shropshire, on the north bank of the Severn. The china was made here until the factory relocated to Staffordshire in 1926. It was a potentially dry venue for an outing on this very rainy afternoon, though some parts of the museum can only be accessed by going back out into the wet…
More cold afternoons in Shropshire
Wandering with the camera, in Ludlow and Ironbridge
Ludlow
The nuthatch posed for perhaps a minute – but wouldn’t come out from behind the twigs.
Ironbridge 
Cold afternoon at Blists Hill
Cold and sunny, intermittently – some nice winter lighting, and quiet streets, apart from marauding parties of schoolchildren, all well prepared with the right questions to ask. Fortunately, the staff seemed to know the right answers, or at any rate, answers that satisfied the questioners…
Ironbridge Gorge Museum – Blists Hill
Pistyll Rhyd-y-Meinciau
It’s a waterfall, a little way up the valley of the Afon Eiddew, one of the two rivers that feed the head of Lake Vyrnwy. At this time of year, the sunshine brings out the colours in the hillsides – but also casts shadow over the lower parts of the fall. We’ll perhaps have to go again – either later in the season, or earlier in the day, when the morning sun would be shining straight up the valley.
Lichfield
The paths would be sodden, after the snow and the rapid overnight thaw – not a day for a walk across the fields, or on the hills to the west, where a shower was “possible”. There weren’t supposed to be any showers further east, just clear blue skies (hmm… Don’t be misled by the photos) – and a stiff breeze.
The last photo taken, we dodged into a little cafe on Dam Street. Nearly stayed there longer than intended – a heavy shower outside sent people scurrying for cover, the door became jammed (only for customers leaving the premises – crafty!), and the toasted crumpets were honeyed (sorry!). Yes, they were sticky too, and most enjoyable, on a day that felt colder than it was.
