Lunch at, and a quick wander round Moseley Old Hall near Wolverhampton. King Charles II famously hid in an oak tree at Boscobel – and having avoided discovery there, found his way to Moseley, where he was able to hide in a priest hole. It’s an interesting place in which to spend an hour or so (the Cornish pasties were good too…)
A dampish day – light drizzle now and then. Mid afternoon, there’s a sharp shower, and before long the rain has cleared – brightness and a hint of sunshine…
Butterflies! Dozens of them here, in and around the Wenlock Edge woodlands, posing for the camera in a most obliging manner. We’re enjoying a morning walk – the forecast said it would rain this afternoon (it did!). The blackberries are abundant too – I think a picking trip is likely very soon.
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Friday 25 August: Sunset is getting noticeably earlier – soon, our evening walks will have to end. There’s a pleasant atmosphere along Shirlett Lane on this still evening, especially in the woods at the far end. I posted the ‘fantastic fungi’ soon after we got home; here are some of the other scenes:
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Tremendous toadstools? Autumn is just around the corner, and the fungi are beginning to make their presence known.
Photo note: there wasn’t much light in the woods, and all I had with me was my little Lumix FZ200. Not ideal, with its tiny sensor, for hand-held low light (and therefore high ISO – 3200). The jpegs were horrible – lots of noise and mush (appropriately?) – but the raw files, with Photoshop’s AI noise reduction, are impressive…
A perfect afternoon for the Hope Bowdler hills. No great height, and no great distance to walk, but it’s bright and breezy, and the air is clear. To the north-east, when the sun catches it, we can see Jodrell Bank radio telescope – 51 miles away. Almost diametrically opposite we have a good distant view of Pen y Fan, highest point in south Wales – 54 miles to the summit. Needless to say, there are great views of the closer and more familiar hills. It’s a shame we have come home again!
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19 August: Remarkable cloudscapes around Colemore Green, on a pleasant evening. May’s crops (see Fields of Barley) have mostly been harvested; in places, the land harrowed. The many berries in the hedgerow are ripening, and the willowherb has almost finished. Autumn begins to feel close.
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An old favourite, just right for this pleasantly-warm afternoon. The riverside path is enjoyable, despite the thickets of knotweed; on the plus side, a banded demoiselle is posing for me. There are some tiny toadstools in the woods – there will be plenty more in the coming weeks, I suspect.
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Walking down to Coalport the long way, then, after ice creams at the youth hostel café, back up the Dingle – the short way home!
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It seems rather busy today – lots of grandparents, grandchildren and dogs – but mostly they don’t venture far from the car park. We’ll start with the walled garden (lots of rapidly ripening fruit!), then head out around the deer park for a leg stretch.
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