A walk along the Long Mynd ridge, from Robin Hood’s Butts to Pole Bank and back. It felt cold at first under a stubborn bank of cloud, but once that cleared the sunshine was very pleasant. Not the quietest of places on a fine Saturday, even in late January, but most enjoyable, with great views in all directions. Near the top of Mott’s Road, a sizable flock of birds circles before landing nearby. Are they golden plovers? Later, as we near our starting point, we hear grouse exchanging chuckles. “Go back, go back, go back”. Yes, we will, soon, but we’ll listen to you for a minute or two first. The icing on today’s icy cake!

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The hour before sunset: a walk down the lane, making the most of some late sunshine. What a difference – look towards the light and it’s hazy, atmospheric. Away from the light, everything is bathed in a warm glow. On our way back, the sun slips behind layers of cloud just above the horizon, and the light is going…

…and grey, and dull, but at least there’s no wind. It’s not a day for standing around! From Bedlam, over the new Free Bridge, down the old railway track as far as Coalport Bridge, over the river and along to the china works. Back over the river across the Memorial footbridge and past the Boat, to return to the start along the quiet riverside road. We don’t feel cold, grey or dull (or windy)!

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Another beautiful afternoon, following a misty morning. Tracks and paths through fields and woodland to the west of Much Wenlock – most enjoyable (if only there was a little less mud…)

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There’s really only enough time for a short one this afternoon, but the fine, calm, sunny and mild weather’s too good to waste indoors. Despite the relative warmth, it’s still cold in the shaded lane past Lower Pool – there are one or two patches of ice here and there, and the surface of the pool is frozen

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Overcast, the forecast said. There was certainly plenty of cloud, but just for a change, it was mostly in the right place, providing a dark background for the landscape, floodlit in spectacular fashion by the bright January sunshine. It was correct about the temperature – mild! – and the wind – barely a breath of it. What a pleasant afternoon!

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It would have been – we’d been walking for perhaps 10 minutes when one of us remembered they’d left a pan on the stove… Fortunately we were home again in time to save the evening’s meal.
So – Sunday: where shall we go? Yes, back to Church Preen. It’s a fairly reliable road walk – the lanes are very quiet, and the surfaces good for feet (ie no mud). There is, however, a lot of ice. It’s thawing steadily on this slightly warmer afternoon, but no less slippery. We can get around it and/or tread carefully, but I suspect we’d have turned back on Tuesday regardless of the pan…

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…still air too – with sunshine and a blue sky, though there’s a bank of cloud to the south west which is misbehaving, not clearing away as it should. Once again, we’re well wrapped up, and it’s very pleasant on this walk from home with some great views from the lane.

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Thursday 9 January: We’re well wrapped-up, the sun’s shining and there’s no wind, so despite the low temperature, it’s very pleasant along the other Shirlett lane. We’re having to tread carefully though – it’s icy underfoot.  At the end of the road we pass through the mossy green woodlands and out into the open again above Hawthorne Farm, for views to the Clee hills.

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We’d intended to walk around the perimeter path, our usual route on reliable surfaces, one that would have warmed us up nicely on this bitter day. But we can’t – the Tern is very high and the bridges are closed. The so-called ‘mile walk’ is the most we can do, though we’d actually walked 2 miles by the time we were back to the car. “We can look in the shop…” No, we can’t – the lights are on but there’s no-one at home (and the sign says “Shop closed”). Next time perhaps.

Where we went, and where we would have gone (Botanybay Plantation, New Plantation, The Slang, Hospital Plantation)…

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