A sunny afternoon? Well, it was sunny for the first half-hour or so, but by the time we’d made our way up the steep lane to Meadowley, a veil of high cloud was beginning to hide the sun. No bright directional light now, though much of the sky remained blue with lots of lovely wispy cloud. No, not a sunny afternoon but a very pleasant one in this quiet countryside.
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Not easily! The old railway track into Chestnut Coppice shouldn’t be too bad – but fallen leaves have laid a sticky mulch on much of the way. There’s still some autumnal colour on the trees, but most of the leaves are on the ground. No need to look up to discover what trees we’re walking under.
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A walk down to Ironbridge and back, on a grey day – didn’t take many photos… Here are seven of the best / least bad.
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South Shropshire uplands… They may be at the mole end of the hill scale, but on an afternoon like this, they’re great for fresh air and (despite the haze) wonderful views. The latter can be extensive, but ‘atmospheric’ is a better way to describe them today.
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I don’t think anything disappears in mysterious circumstances up here, though it’s seriously deep country – who knows what happens in these parts? It’s a pleasant walk on a mild November afternoon, despite the lack of sunshine, and there’s still plenty of autumn colour.
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An afternoon at Arley. We’ve left it rather late this year – most of the autumn leaves have fallen and been raked into great drifts of brown, red and gold. We thought there might have been a few interesting toadstools too. There’s still enough colour to keep us amused though, and the cakes in the tea room make the visit worthwhile…
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We did well to find a dry(ish) spell today! We needed to call in Bridgnorth High Street – we might as well make it a mini-exploration.
A bright autumn afternoon, on the very quiet lanes in this attractive part of the county. It’s warm in the infrequent sunshine, but the air’s cold so we’ll keep moving. There’s plenty to see – a couple of red kites, two herons (one doing aerobatics!), an escaped heifer making off down the road at Holdgate (did it really enter the field behind the church, closing the gate behind it?), the usual uninterested sheep and a smattering of assorted mushrooms and toadstools. And cakes from Tigger’s Ickle Shop too! What more could one want?
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A wander around familiar lanes, starting from the village hall at Willey. There’s plenty to see at this time of year, though much of it will be gone in another few weeks.
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Saturday 22 October: Last day on Skye, and it’s an “old folks’ outing”… “Let’s drive round to Dunvegan – we can watch the seals. There are usually plenty of them on the rocks beside the Claigan road, just beyond the castle. Not today! Perhaps they put them all away for the winter? Instead, a solitary heron and a couple of diving birds (cormorants? Not sure – too far away) – and, in the still air, the loch is mirror-like. Just the thing for a reflective last look at the island – tomorrow we’re on the long road south.
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