That’s the Wenlock Edge, of course. It’s a dry, bright and still afternoon, with just a “very small chance of a shower”. There are one or two possible candidates, but nothing near enough to worry us. Once again, there are all kinds of autumnal things in the hedgerows, and it’s always fun to find fungi…
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It didn’t feel too autumnal – warm sunshine from a mostly-clear blue sky. The air was fairly cool, but with little wind, it was a great afternoon for these hills. I would say “lonely hills”, but they weren’t lonely today. There were two coaches in the Bog car park. There were quite a few people about on the main Stiperstones ridge, past the Devil’s Chair, but far fewer on the lower lane, and the southern ridge by Nipstone and The Rock. In the woods there are toadstools galore! – including a huge colony (at least 50 specimens) of “Flying Eric” (the psychoactive mushroom more commonly, but perhaps not more appropriately, known as fly agaric – which they were until my then-young nephew misheard or misremembered…).
Sadly, the Bog Centre was packed – the coaches were still there – no tea and cake after this walk.
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We walked this route earlier in the year – anticlockwise. Today we’ll walk it clockwise – the views will be different… The path through the deciduous woodland of Bannister’s Coppice is a most pleasant, descending to the former mill, whose race can still be traced beside the path. Alongside the lane from Homer to Harley there are distracting blackberries (and the odd damson). Returning past Belswardyne Hall the views are extensive on this fine last afternoon of September.
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We’re walking up to Clee Burf this afternoon – it’s fine, bright and sunny, and though there’s a chill in the air, we’re warm from the ascent. It seems a shame to come down again – it’s a great place on a day like this. The hills to the west seem to go on for ever.
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The leaves are starting to turn, but the most obvious signs of the season are the fruits in the hedgerows. The blackberries in particular make this walk take longer than usual…
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Walking near Wenlock, the onset of autumn is evident – blackberries, elderberries, toadstools galore. The air is cooler, and there’s rain in the wind – much more than the forecast implied. We sheltered from the first shower, and should have sheltered from the second, but we weren’t far from the car…
We walked this route last September – today we’re doing it clockwise.
Last gasp of the Long Mynd, before it fades into the fields and pastures of the plain to the north, is Gogbatch. It’s a pleasant – and quiet – spot for a picnic, despite having a (very minor) road running its entire (very short) length. It’s a good spot to begin a walk, too, on this comfortably warm August afternoon. There’s just enough breeze to maintain the comfort as we ascend gradually past Jinlye and Jonathan’s Rock to the main plateau. Our return route skirts the golf course, before descending through deep bracken into the Batch Valley. There’s an inviting but evidently little-used path from All Stretton back towards the slopes of the Mynd. The Himalayan balsam is invading, but brambles and more deep bracken nearly force us to retrace our steps (note to self – bring secateurs next time. And a billhook? And a flame-thrower? Perhaps not).
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It’s a hill fort, near Craven Arms. Today we’re walking up to Norton Camp from Stokesay Castle, where, on our return, there will be refreshments. It’s warmer than of late, which isn’t saying much. 21C feels warm this summer. Much of this walk is in woodland, but it’s mostly deciduous and quite varied, and contains some interesting things – and occasionally, there are unexpected views. The hill fort isn’t over-exciting (to a lay observer) – the earthworks appear to be substantial but they’re covered in trees and shrubs. We follow the ridge of the hill southwards, to descend by Rotting Lane, crossing the A49 (again, and it’s not easy) and the Onny, to follow tracks close by the railway line back to Stokesay.
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Everything’s in flower, or so it seems, and the butterflies are beginning to cooperate… We’re making the most of a dry and sunny afternoon after a day of rain, with another to come tomorrow, if the forecast is right. The youth hostel at Coalport (beside the china museum) is open for tea and cakes all summer, and the walk’s long enough to feel we’ve earned it (as if we needed an excuse…)
We’re out on the Wenlock Edge, on a beautiful July afternoon. The air is fresh after overnight rain, there’s a pleasant breeze, and plenty of sunshine. We start from the small car park at Harton Hollow, and follow the lane via Middlehope to Wetmore Farm. There are hundreds of butterflies, of several varieties, but none of them are willing to pose for the camera. And there’s a peacock! It’s not the most scenic of walks to Wetmore – the hedges are ten or twelve feet high, though there are views from the occasional field gate. From Wetmore, we head on up to the edge path – at first, it skirts the woodland, and there’s a good view down into the dale and beyond. Then we’re amongst the trees – very pleasant open deciduous woodland, with a good path along the crest of the Wenlock Edge to take us back to the car.
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