Just photos – no particular theme
Hurricane Bertha is coming tomorrow – it’s going to be wet and windy all day. We’d better make the most of a bright and breezy afternoon. Pound Lane takes us past fields of wheat down to the old Severn Valley railway trackbed. Reaching Coalport station, we cross the river and head for the youth hostel beside the china museum – a good spot for tea and cake, or perhaps an ice cream. We’ve earned it, and it’s uphill all the way home.
No, we’re not in far-flung foreign parts! Clee Burf is the southern summit of Shropshire’s Brown Clee, and the Toot? That’s how it’s labelled on the OS map, but why is anyone’s guess. It’s a quiet bit of scrubby hillside on the southern flank of the hill. This was a pleasant walk – a fine afternoon, with air washed clean by yesterday’s rain, and a fresh breeze – perfect! An easy ascent takes us past Nordy Bank hill fort, and the heather is in bloom on the higher ground. There are one or two other walkers out; we didn’t count them, but we’re talking in single figures. No tea rooms or ice-cream vans on Brown Clee – could that be why?
Tuesday: We’ve had a very pleasant overnight stay in Ludlow, and now we’re looking for some not-too-energetic entertainment – it’s a warm morning, though the weather is gradually changing. The view from the top of Titterstone Clee could be good, and it’s a gentle stroll up from the car, parked on the old quarry level (it was, and it was…).
The tea-room at Croft Castle would be good for a lunch break – afterwards, we would walk up to Croft Ambrey, where the hill fort provides fine views of the Welsh border hills. The chestnuts in the park are increasingly decrepit; replacement saplings grow nearby. We’ll return to the car by the wooded Fishpool Valley. There’s not much water in the pools – I suspect that’s going to change over the next couple of days.
Monday 28th July: it’s an impossibly quaint house, with matching gatehouse, in the depths of the Herefordshire countryside just to the east of Bromyard. One of those places where none of the floors are quite level, none of the verticals fit to be so described.
There are walks in the woods nearby (after the obligatory ice creams – it was a warm afternoon) – down to the brook where Harold the wooden horse drinks, then a gentle ascent to the Lawn Pool. Muddy water almost, but not quite, hides the huge carp cruising just below the surface.
Audlem Festival of Transport, based on the Shropshire Union Canal and its flight of 15 locks – forty or more boats and, on the Sunday, a gathering of “historic road vehicles”. The latter seemed mostly to be cars, and many didn’t appear to be very old (which probably says more about me than the vehicles). I’m sure their owners loved them anyway. There were one or two other items of interest – a couple of nice old half-cab double-decker buses, and a traction engine ticking over quietly. The canal towpath was the place to be – lots of colour, lots of boats (traffic jams…). Great fun!
A pleasant afternoon at Chasewater, for the railway’s “Burton Brewery Locomotive Day” – something just a little bit different… Visit “Beer is Best” on Geoff’s Rail Diaries for more pictures and info.
After a very warm and sunny morning, the clouds have gathered, though it’s still warm and humid. Rain is forecast for the evening, but in the meantime, it would be good to be somewhere high, perhaps cooler and breezy. Can’t get anywhere higher, within the county, than Brown Clee.
It’s not far to the picnic area near Ditton Priors, a useful place to leave the car and an ideal starting point for easy ascents. The direct route would do for the return, in the meantime, we’ll take a slightly longer path – not the estate road which we’ve used before, but a higher track which leads steadily, on the gentlest of gradients, to the col between the hill’s twin summits. It’s been pleasant enough amongst the trees, and there have been some extensive views to the east; now we’re on the west-facing side and the views are immeasurably better – and there’s a very pleasant cooling breeze.
The direct path takes us back to the car – and we’ve left the passenger-side window wide open. I don’t think anyone has noticed.
We’d started yesterday’s outing relatively early in the day – there was plenty of time for another visit before heading homewards. Little Moreton Hall isn’t far from Biddulph – it ought to be good for a few photos, and perhaps an ice cream on this warm afternoon. It needs no introduction – must be Cheshire’s most-photographed building…
It’s a bright sunny day – far too good to stay at home. “How about Biddulph Grange? We could get some oatcakes on the way”. No further discussion required. The gardens at Biddulph are wonderful – different compartments connected by unlikely hidden tunnels and stairways – great fun! (The oatcakes – bought on the outward journey, and sampled when we’re home again, are pretty good too.)
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