A grey afternoon – need to take a closer look to find any interest…
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Author: geoffspages
Attingham – after Britannia
26 January: after recording Britannia’s eastbound progress near Allscott, we needed lunch and a short leg stretch. Attingham: the Cornish pasties were excellent; the cakes nearly finished us off. A short walk around the park would be good – the first snowdrops are up, and the birds are feeding in the woods. Shame there’s hardly any light…
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Britannia II
Two days later… We saw no. 70000 Britannia on Tuesday’s driver training run, at Preston Boats, just to the east of Shrewsbury. The weather was less than perfect. For today’s run, the sky was mostly blue – steam, cold air, sunshine – great! (Same place as Mayflower two weeks ago)
(Click the image for a larger view)
Drizzle
It was bright and sunny just minutes before we set out, but the drizzle soon began – very light, very fine. We weren’t getting wet, but the camera mostly stayed in its bag.
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Britannia
She may rule the waves, but she doesn’t rule the weather! The Met office thought it would be sunny at 1pm – and through the afternoon. No chance – but at least the fog cleared. Still hazy though. Here’s 70000 Britannia getting along nicely at Preston Boats, just a mile or so to the east of Shrewsbury, on the first of this week’s driver training runs.
(“The East Anglian”? Not today!)
Wyke and Benthall in January
The fine cold spell continues: this afternoon we’re walking from Benthall Hall, along the lanes to Wyke, thence to Benthall Edge via the Vineyards, completing the circuit on muddy field paths. The air temperature may have been around 5-6C, but in the warm sunshine (which the new lambs at Wyke appeared to be enjoying) it felt like early spring.
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Icy!
A cold day on Brown Clee… Apart from a brief look to the west near the Five Springs, we’re staying on the eastern side of the hill. There, we’ll be largely out of the icy wind. Boyne Water is frozen over, there are some interesting displays of ice sculpture where streams run down the hillside, and the tracks are quite slippery in places. The wintry sky begins to clear late in the afternoon, moments before the sun sets – too late!
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Snow on the Chase
“We haven’t always parked here – once, we parked in Brocton and walked up that old railway line – was it called Tickety-boo?” Close! The Tackeroo was the WW1 military railway across the Chase – we’ll cross its trackbed a couple of times today, but for once we won’t be walking along it for any significant distance.
There’s been a fall of snow up here: there’s little trace of it on the heather or the trees, but the paths remain mostly well-covered. The sun comes out on schedule (well done, Met. Office) and it’s a glorious January day on Cannock Chase, cold but pleasant in bright sunshine which really brings out the colours. I should add that the snack lunch at the visitor centre is worth the walk too…
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Rindleford and Bromley
A walk on the far side (we try not to cross the river too often – it’s a strange and different world over there) – through Rindleford and up the stony-sided valley of the Worfe, returning along quiet lanes and the hamlet of Bromley. Not always an easy walk – many of the surfaces are hard-frozen and slippery – but it’s pleasant out on this fine and mostly sunny afternoon.
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A mere sprinkling
Out and back along Shirlett Lane. There was a light fall of snow overnight, but by the afternoon it’s mostly melted. The sun came out eventually – could have done with it a little sooner.
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