It’s a sunny start, but cloud is pushing in from the west, producing some spectacular skyscapes around Aldenham, and remarkable reflections in Shore Pool. By the time we’re heading back, the shadows are lengthening and the afternoon is almost over. The days are short now, but the solstice is not far away.

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It’s very nearly a perfect day for a walk on the Wenlock Edge near Aston Munslow – cold (and getting colder), clear and sunny. There’s a red kite wheeling above the sheepy field, and in the woods are deer – one, two, then three. They’ve seen us, of course, and aren’t sure of our motives. Soon they’re away, down the steep slope to the west. The sun’s almost gone by the time we’re back to the start.

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There’s not much light today, but there’s colour in the few leaves that remain – mostly beech and brambles. There’s an interesting assortment of fungi – here are some that look like little bread rolls. I don’t think I’ll try them…

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Sunny intervals? Huh! Drizzle (at first) and cloud, more like… Not to worry, it’s still very pleasant wandering around these quiet, if rather muddy lanes.

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I’m crossing the Severn four times, on foot and (coincidentally) in chronological order. Firstly, the Iron Bridge itself (MDCCLXXIX)*, then down the old railway track to the Coalport bridge (1812). After passing the china works, I’ll cross for the third time using the Jackfield footbridge (1922), a memorial to the dead of WW1. The fourth bridge is the new ‘Free Bridge’ (1994) – built to replace its predecessor dating from 1909. The reinforced concrete with which it had been built was decaying; the reinforcements were rusting… History lesson over!
*1779

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It’s windy at Willey! It’s even windier elsewhere – we’re well sheltered from westerly winds here. A teacher at one of the local primary schools remarked that the kids were always high as kites on windy days, and this afternoon we could perhaps understand why. There’s something exhilarating about walking on a day like this – the telegraph wires* are singing, the trees and bushes whooshing and the birds wheeling in what looks like a joyful manner (the bigger ones, that is. The little birds are mostly staying safe in the hedges). It’s good to be out – as ever!

* I know. They’re probably fibre-optic cables these days

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The rooks are sounding off noisily as we start our walk, but by the time we’re on the lane between Harton to Eaton, just below the Wenlock Edge, the silence is almost total. We’re not complaining. It’s a beautiful November afternoon – the sunshine is bringing out the colour in the woods; the air is cold but still. Smoke from a bonfire drifts slowly, as does a bank of thin cloud from the west. The increasingly-watery sun has almost gone as we approach Ticklerton and head for home.

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A sunny morning (and rain forecast for later) – let’s get out while the going’s good.

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