Just photos – no particular theme
It’s a National Trust property, tucked neatly between the M54 and the northern edge of Wolverhampton. It started life as a half-timbered structure – and remains so, though the original building was encased in brick when the hall was “modernised”, in the days before Victoria became queen. Its fame lies with an earlier monarch – King Charles hid there, in one of its priest holes. Whatever its history, it’s an interesting place to explore on a changeable Sunday afternoon.
It’s no mountain – just 192 metres (630 ft) above sea level at the summit – but it’s a great viewpoint for the real hills of Shropshire and the borders. Not that it was particularly clear, nor did the sun manage to break through, but it was a pleasant afternoon to wander through deep carpets of fallen leaves, sweet chestnut husks etc. (the many squirrels have dealt with the nuts). The deeply-cut former quarries are worth a few minutes’ exploration.
At Clive we wandered around the village briefly before taking to the stone lane in its deep cutting beside the church and headed the highest point. As we walked back to the car, our eyes were caught by a bright flash of green (woodpecker), then the red of a pair of fly agarics. Peer over the wall – there are some deep dark holes…
There’s quite a breeze, and the clouds never quite clear – a few rays of sunshine would improve the outing photographically, but otherwise, it’s a good day to be out on the Stiperstones. It’s a Sunday afternoon, so there are quite a few other people about, but there’s plenty of space up here. And though the clocks may have gone back, the Bog Centre is open (for a few more days only, before the winter shutdown) for tea and cake. What more could one ask?
We were here perhaps twelve years ago. to visit the national waterways museum; today’s could be described as a flying visit, though we travelled by train, from Shropshire to Newport, then up the west side of the Severn estuary. The docks area had undergone some tidying-up in 2002 – today there are many more signs of redevelopment. It’s still an interesting place to wander around – there’s a “tall ship” moored on the west side, and a couple of boats in dry dock, as well as the canalside warehouses and all manner of other floating things. Odd short stretches of railway track provide a reminder of what this are must have been like in its heyday.
For more on the trip, and more photos, visit “Newport and Gloucester” on Geoff’s Rail Diaries
That’s how its owners, the National Trust, describe Calke Abbey. Here, they talk of preservation not restoration – to provide a reminder of the state many such houses were in, at the end of their existence, with their last residents living in just a tiny proportion of the house. Preservation of the last lived-in parts of Calke means displaying the amazing collection of stuffed birds and other creatures; the disused parts are shown complete with their stored clutter.
There’s far too much here to take in on a single visit – we were beginning to suffer from overload when we left the walled gardens and headed for home. We’ll have to come again.
A short wander around the museum on a mild, and briefly sunny, autumn afternoon
We’re taking advantage of dry and bright weather in the early afternoon – rain is forecast to spread from the west later, so if we head east, we might stay dry.
The “Tackeroo” was the first world war military railway on Cannock Chase. Much of its route can still be traced, especially the long straight cutting as it climbs from Milford towards the plateau. We begin our walk this way, leaving the trackbed at the south-eastern end of the cutting to head for the stepping stones over the Sher brook. Still heading south-east, Heywood Slade leads us to Marquis Drive and the trig point, where we turn towards the brook and up again to the glacial boulder. As we descend to the northern fringes of Brocton, four deer cross our path, some distance away. They haven’t seen us, but they’re not posing for photographs.
The windscreen wipers are on within minutes of leaving for home – excellent timing!
Map of the military railways on Cannock Chase
The arboretum is a good place for a sunny afternoon – it’s not bad on an increasingly cloudy one either. There’s no wind, and the sounds of the trains carry down the valley – in places, there’s a good view of them across the river. The toadstools are varied; perhaps not as many as in previous years. Maybe they’re biding their time.
A wet morning, but the forecast promised a fine afternoon – somewhere that won’t be too bad underfoot? Haughmond Hill is mostly forested, but the tracks are pleasant, good to walk on, and there are some extensive views. The hill isn’t high, barely topping 500′ (153m, according to the OS) – but there’s little to get in the way of the long view in a 180º panorama from south-east to north-west – the Stretton hills, Stiperstones, Long Mountain, the Breiddens and the Berwyns.
There’s a café back at the car park – we made it with just minutes to spare. The cakes were pretty good too, eaten beneath tall pines.
Here’s a map – haven’t attempted to show the route (can’t see it for all the trees). We followed the blue waymarkers, anticlockwise…
The season continues: this weekend the Toddington Narrow Gauge Railway held its Autumn Steam Gala. Two residents – Jung “Justine” and Henschel Brigadelok “Sena” were in action, together with visiting Kerr Stuart “Stanhope” from Apedale. There’s action on the standard gauge too – two 2-8-0s, one of which has an interesting history. Visit “Little and Large at Toddington” for more…
