National Trust, English Heritage, museums etc.
A short wander around Attingham Park, on an afternoon of (some) bright sunshine and a cold wind. The walled garden provides a little shelter, and there’s lots of cultivated spring colour. Outside, in the woodlands, there are more natural seasonal highlights, with bluebells and cowslips brightening the shade.
That’s Moseley Old Hall, near Wolverhampton, an interesting place to explore on a cold and decidedly damp afternoon. Originally half-timbered, it was later encased in brick. King Charles hid here! It’s dark inside – very dark, in places – but we’ll do what we can.
It’s cold and sunny – and there’s a chilly breeze, though we’ll mostly be sheltered from the wind at Attingham. The snowdrops are fully out, and the walk around the perimeter of the park (about 4 miles) is about right for this afternoon.
It’s cold this afternoon – I need a leg-stretch, but I’ll need to be well wrapped up. Perhaps the bridge at Ironbridge was cold too – it’s certainly well wrapped. I’m wondering if there might be signs of spring, but other than the bulbs coming up in the garden, the only spring I’ll see today is the ochreous flow by the iron bowl sculptures near the river bank. There’s iron in these hills – which is why the wrapped-up bridge is here…
Project Iron Bridge – English Heritage
Friday 26 January: An easy stroll around Attingham Park, which became longer than intended. As we wandered through the snowdrops, we could see a wide spill of flood water where the Tern normally makes its well-behaved way through the grounds. If we walk back towards the house on the path beside the river, we can then cross over and walk up the other side. The result is (some of) the photographs below and the strange route shown on the map.
The inhabitants of the deer park wander about in stately fashion, posing for photographs until I lift the camera. Beside the house, the fine stand of cedars has taken a battering. The wind? Surely not! As we guessed, the highest branches, lying in broken disarray beneath the trees, were snapped off by December’s (literally) heavy snowfall. What a shame!
View OS map on Streetmap http://www.streetmap.co.uk/map.srf?X=355137&Y=310421&A=Y&Z=115
The weather’s disgusting – the morning’s snow has turned to rain. It’s grey, dull and cold, certainly not a day for outdoor activities. The tile museum at Jackfield is a pretty good standby on such days – warm, dry, and full of colour.
Jackfield Tile Museum – Ironbridge Gorge Museums
Photo footnote: It’s dark in here, not ideal for photography. Most of the pictures were taken on my D90, mostly at f:1.8, and at high to very high ISO speeds. At the other end of the spectrum, several of the close-ups were taken on a smartphone, its camera set (in “Pro” mode) to ISO 100, then placed flat on the glass of the display cabinets. The quality of these tiny cameras is amazing!
They’re feeding the deer at Attingham Park this afternoon – and the deer have accurate internal clocks – they’re ready and waiting. Alert and watchful, they’re much more photogenic than when the feeding has begun – that’s the time for us to continue around the park, through the woodland, before heading homewards.
…and home for tea. It was a last-minute decision – let’s go to Wenlock on the bus (the no. 18 double-decker – top deck, front seats) and walk back – via Benthall Hall for refreshments, of course. It’s not the most encouraging weather photographically – there’s some sunshine, but also some grey skies and a shower or two (which we weren’t expecting). It’s a pleasant outing anyway, calm before the storm perhaps (Aileen is coming tonight, apparently)
View OS map on Streetmap http://www.streetmap.co.uk/map.srf?X=365070&Y=301486&A=Y&Z=120
