Broseley on Boxing Day – and a cloudless sky! What more could one ask? Weather like this would make anywhere look special (that’s not to say it isn’t already…).
View OS map on Streetmap http://www.streetmap.co.uk/map?X=367257&Y=302196&A=Y&Z=120
Sunny intervals… Just the one! It’s dry too – quite a pleasant afternoon for December. We’re walking around the Willey lanes once again, meeting along the way two gangs of long-tailed tits bustling through the hedgerows (perhaps it was the same flock twice?), Eric and Ernie in their field, and three red kites. Two them circled together over the estate grassland – then we realised there was a third a little further off. December drab? Not at all!
View OS map in Streetmap http://www.streetmap.co.uk/map.srf?X=367470&Y=298250&A=Y&Z=120
The signs are all there. Ripe berries in the hedgerow, seasonal colours developing and cooler days. Seems to have happened rather suddenly. It’s going to be dull this afternoon, but the morning should be brighter – we’re out soon after breakfast (and a quick look at the crossword), past Boldings pools and up to the old school, back via Colemore Green. Very pleasant it is too!
View OS map on Streetmap http://www.streetmap.co.uk/map?X=371025&Y=296777&A=Y&Z=115
Wednesday 6 August: a walk along the shore. Skateraw lime kiln is just a few yards along the rock slab shore from the Torness nuclear power station, a prominent landmark on the coast of East Lothian. A couple of miles to the north-west is another highly visible landmark, the lighthouse at Barns Ness. Dating from the turn of the 20th century, it was deactivated twenty years ago, and is now in use as holiday accomodation. The shore path is very pleasant, with fine views to sea and plenty of white waves – most enjoyable for an afternoon stroll.
View OS map on Streetmap http://www.streetmap.co.uk/map?X=373167&Y=676267&A=Y&Z=120
First of June by the Met. Office’s reckoning… There’s certainly plenty of summer colour in and around the walled garden at Attingham
The sunshine is rather warm this afternoon. Some shade would be good: there’s not a lot of it along the riverside path, but it’s very pleasant down by the river, though we’re not alone. There are people in inflatable rubber boats making their way downstream, and there are ducks and geese in the water. There’s the odd cyclist (I probably mean “the occasional cyclist”) on the old railway track, where it’s shady and cool in the deep rock cutting. There’s no-one else on the path back up to Colemore Green – this is a quiet corner of the world.
View OS map on Streetmap http://www.streetmap.co.uk/map?X=371620&Y=296675&A=Y&Z=120
There were cows in the field (bullocks, I realised later), and one of us wouldn’t enjoy that part of the walk, especially as we’d have to pass them in both directions, at the start and end of our outing. So, without moving the car, we’ll turn through 180° and do the Round Hill / Ned’s Lane / Smithies walk (very pleasant it is too, on this warm afternoon).
View OS map on Streetmap http://www.streetmap.co.uk/map?X=367105&Y=297455&A=Y&Z=120
Thursday 10 April: A leg stretch on another fine afternoon – the walk is short because time is short today…
View OS map on Streetmap http://www.streetmap.co.uk/map?X=367105&Y=297455&A=Y&Z=120
Last week we were admiring the tree lungwort at Uig. We’re back in Shropshire, which isn’t a temperate rain forest, but beside the lane around Willey, there’s a more colourful plant, unrelated but also known as lungwort. Further back along the lane, we’ve spotted some toothwort, a curious parasitic plant. It’s not pretty!
The weather down here has been drier recently – the fields and lane are not quite so soggy as they were just a couple of weeks ago. Not complaining!
View OS map on Streetmap http://www.streetmap.co.uk/map?X=367515&Y=298310&A=Y&Z=120
We went to the local amateur dramatics group’s pantomime a few weeks ago. The undoubted star of the show (sorry, Nick!) was Lampard the staring sheep. Brilliant! Of course, since that evening, almost every sheep we’ve seen reasonably close at hand has done just that – stared blankly. Today, beside the Hurst Farm lane, they thought we might be auctioning for next year’s production.
Sheep notwithstanding, it’s a beautiful morning to be out and about. Saturday will be the first of March, the beginning of the Met. Office’s spring. The air temperature’s not so sure about that, but the sun is noticeably much higher in the sky than when we walked this way in mid-January. It’s a great time of year!
View OS map on Streetmap http://www.streetmap.co.uk/map?X=366690&Y=296355&A=Y&Z=120
geoffspages.blog 