Category: Shropshire hills

Aldenham

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…via Hurst Farm pools. Friday 13 March: it’s a fresh, bright afternoon, with the possibility of a light shower or two – we’ll try to avoid them. The stretch alongside the main road isn’t pleasant, though there’s a broad grassy verge to walk along, and it makes for a reasonable circular route (the alternative is the diagonal across the fields, over sticky clay). The drive at Aldenham Park is a public footpath, which aims dead straight from the gate to the house – until the last moment, when it swings away to the left, to bring us back to the lane past Hurst Farm and the fishing pools

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Back to the hills!

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A dry day – bright, plenty of sunshine, just a light breeze. It’s been a long time since we were up in the hills. There hasn’t been quite so much rain in the last few days, and if we stick to the forest tracks where possible… We’re back on Brown Clee, and it’s wonderful up here. Yes, there are one or two muddy places, but we can get around them. Yes, it could be clearer – but the views, especially to the west, are truly arcadian. What an enjoyable afternoon!

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Church Preen and Hughley

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As well as being St David’s day, yesterday was the first day of (meteorological) spring. To mark the occasion(s), the spring flowers are starting to appear, and the sun’s starting to feel warm on our backs. It’s still pretty cold, though on a bright and breezy day like this we’ve got to be out. We’re walking around the lanes (avoiding the mud!) via Church Preen and Hughley, whose church steeple (that’s a steeple? Its clock has stopped in protest) was celebrated by Housman. Our starting point’s not far from the school, and as we close our circle, the lanes are suddenly full of huge four-wheel drive vehicles – some of whose drivers can barely see over the steering wheel. The mums are on the school run!

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St Davids Day in Comer Woods

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It’s a bright and breezy afternoon, but there could be a shower, and it’s cold in the wind. How about Comer Woods? The car park’s busy, but the woodland is fairly extensive, and we soon lose most of the other visitors. Showers? We needn’t have worried – just the few spots as we were arriving in the car.

Comer Woods NT

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The Gaer Stone and the Battle Stones

On By geoffspagesIn Photography, Shropshire hills, Walks1 Comment

After lunch in Church Stretton, there’s time for a short wander on the Hope Bowdler hills, visiting the remarkable outcrop of the Gaer Stone, then walking to the other end of the ridge at the Battle Stones. It’s windy and it’s cold, but when the sun shines the light is lovely. We head back toward the car in the lee of the wind, and the sun’s gone behind some thicker clouds. Time for home.

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On Linley Hill

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Another day of clear blue skies! We’d better make the most of this fine weather – tomorrow, and the next few days, will be dull, apparently. So we’re off to Linley Hill, for a circular walk via Norbury, ending with a stroll down the avenue of beech trees. They’re a notable local landmark, and for many years their shapes have enhanced this grassy ridge. Sadly, those that remain are near the end of their lives, having been planted in 1740, and have reached that stage where they’re no longer very graceful. Only a few years ago (see our last visit, “Linley Beeches” in January 2012, when the weather was rather more dramatic too), their wind-blown shapes spoke of the weather in these parts. Today, it’s the fallen branches and broken trunks which speak more loudly. Replacements have already been planted, but it will be many years before they take on the appearance of their predecessors.

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Magpie Hill and Hoar Edge

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A walk from Cleehill village (again), across the empty grassland to the dereliction (“it’s creepy!”) on Magpie Hill, then back via the three-forked pole and Hoar Edge, down to Rouse-Boughton Terrace and along the old railway track. It’s hazy – there’s been fog further east, I think, but not here. The sky is blue and clear – not a single cloud, perfect for the display provided by three red kites, high above the quarry as we near the end of our wander.

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