Just photos – no particular theme
A short outing on a grey afternoon. Wilderhope Manor is a National Trust property managed by the Youth Hostels Association. I imagine it would be a great place to stay – there’s even a four-poster bed in one room! Open at weekends for public exploration – an interesting way to spend an hour or so, with tea and cakes in the grand dining room to follow.
I’ll have to use the phone instead. Not ideal, but… It’s a very pleasant evening on the Edge above Much Wenlock – bright, sunny, not particularly warm – perfect for this short wander.
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We’ve had some warm days – too warm to be out in the sun – but today’s different. There’s more cloud, and a stiff breeze makes it feel much more pleasant. The Hope Bowdler hills could be ideal… Looking down on the Cardingmill valley, we realised why we’d seen no-one else up here (we did see a runner, disappearing as we began our walk, and passed a lone walker setting out just before we arrived back at the start. I’m not complaining!) The kites, the buzzards and the sheep are sufficient company.
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We’ll be under the trees for much of the way – on this warm afternoon, it’s especially pleasant along the old railway trackbed on the south side of the river between Coalport bridge and Maw’s – cool and moist, just what’s needed!
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Too warm for wandering around the grounds – but it should be pleasantly cool indoors. Afterwards, if we can find somewhere to sit in the shade, an ice cream could be good…
Expect the unexpected! For moderately complex reasons, we found ourselves in Leominster yesterday afternoon. The roads through the old town centre are all being dug up, so we wandered slightly further afield and found Grange Court. Formerly the town’s market hall, it was dismantled in the middle of the 19th century and, a year or two later, re-erected on its present site. The ground floor, formerly open, has been enclosed to make this fine and unexpected (we certainly weren’t expecting it!) building.
That evening, home again and fed, we enjoyed our regular wander around the lanes at Willey. We weren’t expecting the yellow crops in the field – not rape in July, surely, though the plant looks similar – what is it? This morning, my dependable source on such matters informed me that it’s mustard. It will be harvested, or ploughed in as green manure, depending on how things go. Expect the unexpected! (Douglas Adams, of course)
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Thursday 25 July: We’ve explored the hall; now we’re going to wander around the grounds, in an effort to work up an appetite for ice creams… (very good they were too!)
A walk from Much Wenlock, across the fields to the derelict farm at Perkley, past the camp sites near Bourton Westwood Farm, then down to the old railway track leading back to the start.
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…before rediscovering the interior of Hanbury Hall (we’ve been before, but not for a while). The lunch was light – a sausage bap and a bacon bap between us – but the hall was full of interest (I’d hate to have to do the housework – the dusting must be a nightmare!)
There may be no sunshine but the hedges beside Stanley Lane and the old railway track are colourful this evening
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