Just photos – no particular theme
It’s two weeks since the snow fell, and there’s still plenty of it on the Shropshire hills. But spring is coming, however belated. There was little more than a breeze on top, still from a cold quarter, but out of the breeze it was pleasant in the warm sunshine.
It’s the 3rd of April today, yet the heavy snowfall of the weekend before last (eleven days ago!) is still very evident in the hill country. It’s blown and melted from the more open ground, but it’s deep amongst the heather and gorse, and some substantial drifts remain. The (very) minor road south from The Bog is blocked below The Rock.
It knocked us off our planned course too – very slightly. We were intending to arrive back at the Bog Centre in time for refreshments, and they would close at 5pm. Time was getting tight by the time we’d walked our way round to The Rock, and progress along the ridge (the preferred route) would have been slow and laborious given the depth of snow. So we walked along the road instead – much quicker, and we were able to say hello to the llamas along the way…
An Easter Sunday walk from Benthall Hall, Shropshire. We may have put the clocks forward, but it’s still winter time here. Last weekend’s snowfall was the heaviest for many years – and though it’s cleared from the roads, there’s still plenty in the fields, and some of the paths are not easily walked. The air’s cold – the snow is melting, but not very quickly. Some of the drifts were deep – it must have been tricky this time last week.
We were here a couple of years ago – a fine, sunny February afternoon. This day (20th March – start of spring? It seems to be debatable, in more ways than one) was cold, with a lot of cloud around. The Black Mountains had been well covered with snow as we passed on the train, earlier in the day. Nevertheless, it did feel springlike at Cardiff Bay. Perhaps warmer weather is just around the corner? As I write this, the day after our trip – on what I always thought was the first day of spring, 21st March – I see that the forecast is for snow over much of the weekend…
The day after our visit to Keighley, the sun shone – from a very hazy sky. Not a day for viewing distant horizons, but a good one for waterfalls.
It’s the highest point (577m or 1893 feet) of the line of hills north of the Dee, between Llangollen and Carrog. Yesterday’s walk took us from the Ponderosa, at the top of the Horseshoe Pass, along the ridge to the col between Moel y Gamelin and Moel y Gaer, then back along a path following the contours back round towards the slate workings. Paths are not clear here – we ended up on the wrong side of the quarries, but managed to find a way back round. Moel y Gamelin must be a tremendous viewpoint on a clear day…
This chap was enjoying some warm winter sunshine, after several very cold and grey days. He did his best to pose for us, even when the wind got behind him and ruffled his feathers.
A fairly bright, and very cold, afternoon – it would be good for a walk, if we could keep out of the wind,which was making 2 degrees feel like minus several. We walked along the old GWR railway line to Coalport, across the bridge, and up the other Coalport railway line (LNWR) as far as Blists Hill. Here, a path climbs up to the edge of the gorge, above the trees of Lloyd’s Coppice. The view would have been better if there had been one or two gaps in the trees… At the far end of the coppice, a path leads down to Wesley Road, then New Bridge Road provides a route to the Free Bridge, and the right side of the river for our return to the car.
Yesterday we were walking on Hergest Ridge – Kington’s hill. Today we’re much closer to home: Wellington, in Shropshire, has its own hill too – the Wrekin. It was busy – it’s half-term week – on this sunny, but very hazy, afternoon. Not a hill you’re ever likely to have to yourself, though taking a few steps away from the well-worn path to the summit is a good way of escaping the chatter of the crowds. Away in the haze, South Shropshire’s hill country looks inviting.
Residents of Kington, in Herefordshire’s border country, have their own hill – just the thing for a leg stretch on a fine Sunday afternoon – which it was, though the morning’s mist had only just cleared as we set off from the car. I have to admit that we (and several others) cheated, by parking near the top of Ridgebourne Road, saving a mile at either end of the walk. Put that another way – it’s an extra mile on the hill…
Music lovers of a certain age will, of course, associate Hergest Ridge (yes, it’s the same one) with Mike Oldfield, of Tubular Bells and Virgin Records fame. Released in 1973, It was Virgin’s first album, and a huge success. Who would be running our trains today, if it hadn’t been for Tubular Bells?
