We spent the afternoon on the Stiperstones, enjoying sunshine and a bracing breeze. Afterwards (it’s the law) there’s tea and cake at the Bog Centre, and they close for the winter after next weekend – hence the choice of venue for today’s outing.
More photos to follow.
It’s a slightly-extended version of a walk we did earlier in the year, and for the same reasons. There’s been a lot of rain in the last couple of days; now the sky’s mostly clear blue, and we need to make the most of it, but we’ll have to stay on hard roads and tracks unless we want to get seriously bogged down. It’s a very pleasant leg-stretch, and as the afternoon wears on, the sun gets noticeable lower, spotlighting the landscape and leaving deep shadows.
We left the car at Cound Guildhall, where there’s a charity box for parking and a charity bookshop too: St Peters Charity Bookshop
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Familiar paths and tracks on a fine and pleasant autumn afternoon – it’s good to be out and about, in and around Much Wenlock
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We’ve left the car at Cleehill village, and we’re heading for the spooky remains of industry on Magpie Hill. It’s a grey day, and the air’s cold – it’s also clear, with views extending to the Brecon Beacons. Recent rains mean that, away from good surfaces, there’s no shortage of mud, so today we’re mostly on hard-surfaced tracks across this remote hill country. The outward route takes us past the curiously-named Lower Random Farm, on what was once a mineral wagonway, disused for more than a century. Inevitably, the sun breaks through when we’re in the car heading homewards; unexpectedly, it’s raining (again!) as we near home.
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A short road walk (they’re very quiet lanes) to avoid the worst of the mud, in a part of Shropshire that feels forgotten (no bad thing). Here and there are clumps of wild hops – pick a flower and rub it between the fingers. What a wonderful aroma!
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… toadstools amongst the trees. Wednesday: we’re back in sunny (sometimes) Shropshire, taking a leg stretch on Haughmond Hill, near Shrewsbury. There are showers about – the trees might give us some shelter (it wasn’t needed). Around the fringes of the forest, there are some extensive views to the south Shropshire hills; within the woods, there’s a profusion of all kinds of fungus – one of the joys of moving into autumn.
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…or perhaps in a week or two. Wednesday 11 September – a walk near Much Wenlock, armed with bags for the blackberries we hope to find on our way. It’s a breezy big-sky day, good to be out, and there’s no shortage of fruit, even if we have to brave the scratches and the nettle-stings. The jam will be worth it, perhaps not just yet – the berries (just under 4lb) are in the freezer, waiting for a couple of days when we’ve time for boiling, sieving and boiling again. It needs to be soon though – we’ve just finished the last jar from 2018.
The Met Office’s autumn starts on 1 September – summer’s over! It certainly feels like it today – there’s warm sunshine in-between the clouds, and the lightest of breezes, which is just as well, as the air’s cold. Perfect walking weather, of course, and once we’ve left behind the dog-walkers, there’s hardly anyone else up here. The views to the east are extensive, but unexciting, as we ascend gently. The views to the west, once we’re on the summit ridge, are also extensive – and much more interesting. Line after line of hills stretching out to the limit of visibility, perhaps 40-50 miles – yes, it could be clearer, but we’re not complaining…
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It’s too warm for anything energetic, and it will be wise to keep out of the sunshine. A walk from Benthall Hall could be just the thing – we can find shady ways to the dense woodland of Benthall Edge. Who knows what there might be lurking in the shadows? Oh look, there’s a little old man of the woods! Someone has made this tiny chap, and left him on a tree stump to enjoy the passing scene. A little further along the path, another tiny local resident scurries across the path, freezing in the leafy undergrowth for long enough to have a camera pointed at him. There must be thousands of little rodents in these woods, but how rarely we see them.
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…Heather, on the Stiperstones. It’s a good day to be out on the ridge, improving as we go, and getting warmer, though there’s a pleasant breeze. Nevertheless, the intended tea and cake have become ice-cream (whinberry!) and a cold drink by the time we’re back at The Bog
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