Category: Shropshire hills

Not many more…

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It won’t be long before we enjoy this year’s last evening walk – the nights are rapidly drawing in. We’ll make the most of it on this occasion, when the air is clear and cool after a few showers earlier. The two young deer were a bonus, but a passing car (one of only three or four that passed us) disturbed them and off they went, into the woods. I don’t think they were planning on staying anyway.

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By Coundmoor Brook

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Up the lane to Harnage, then across the fields, past the farm reservoir to the path beside the wood, high above Coundmoor Brook. Down to the ford, then back along the delightful brookside path, where the snowdrops grow at the other end of the year… A very pleasant gentle wander on a warm afternoon.

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Continued…

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Just a few… A day later, and it still feels autumnal, though the sun is trying to peep through. We’re in more-or-less the same place as yesterday, but a little higher, on the shoulder of Shirlett Common – up Round Hill, down Ned’s Lane and back along the road to the start. The bracken is golden, the black bryony is living up to its name, and there’s a super big mushroom, some kind of boletus I think. We’ll leave it where it is, of course, for others to see and enjoy. It may be edible, in the same sense that Russian roulette isn’t always fatal…

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Autumnal

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It won’t be September for another two weeks, but there’s an autumnal feel to the quiet lanes around Willey (and it’s much cooler than of late, just 15C). There are blackberries and damsons in great profusion – I don’t think I’ve seen so many at this time of year. Plenty of other sights and smells too – ripening apples, elderberries and sloes, and lots of wild hops. Rub a hop flower between your hands and sniff – who’s for a pint of best bitter?

View OS map in Streetmap http://www.streetmap.co.uk/map.srf?X=367470&Y=298250&A=Y&Z=120

A Severnside morning

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The air’s cool on this bright sunny morning – let’s make the most of it with a pre-lunch wander: down the very quiet Stanley Lane (three walkers, two cyclists) to Lower Severn Hall, then back along the riverside path to the woods of Chestnut Coppice. The uphill stretch (it’s very short, and not very steep) is rewarded with two wonderful fungal growths on dead wood – chicken of the woods and velvet-top fungus (I think!). They’re interesting subjects for the camera, whatever they are, but I certainly wouldn’t want to eat them…

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Scattered showers

On By geoffspagesIn NT and EH, Photography, Shropshire hills, WalksLeave a comment

We needed a short leg stretch – where? There was a light shower at home before lunch, and the forecast said “scattered showers”. If we go to Attingham, there’s plenty of shelter. That’s just as well – the rain seemed to focus on the area. Happily we found the expected shelter (a brick arch, the trees) and didn’t get noticeably wet, but we thought our usual longer route, much of it rather open, could be tempting fate. The rain stopped (great timing) just as we left the woods. A mile or so from Attingham, on the shortish drive home, the roads were dry. I’d hoped the garden might have had a drop. No chance! Scattered indeed.

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All’s quiet on the Edge

On By geoffspagesIn Photography, Shropshire hills, Walks1 Comment

Stretton Westwood and Bourton Westwood: we’ve been here before. The last time was in early spring – there were no leaves on the trees, the hedges were bare and there was no-one else about. Today, the trees are in full leaf, the hedges are laden with blackberries and sloes – and there’s no-one else about. A great afternoon for for a wander in this quiet part of Wenlock Edge – pleasantly warm with a light cooling breeze. Can’t ask for much more at this time of year.

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By Linley Brook to Nordley Common

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A welcome leg stretch on a nondescript late July day… A bit of sunshine, then some cloud, neither warm nor cold, a light breeze – and a lack of colour in the landscape (have I just contradicted myself?). Haven’t walked this way for a while – the path beside the brook can be rather wet, but though there’s always a sticky spot where a spring runs across the path, it’s otherwise dry (and well-suited to limbo dancers). It’s quiet in the fields past the Albynes – and along Stocking Lane and across Nordley Common, where the breeze is just perfect!

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