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!

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Thursday 6 February: A clear blue sky! What a difference a day makes. Yesterday (Fri 7th) was cold, grey and windy, and that’s the forecast for the next week. Oh dear!.
The county was, for a few years, called “Salop” (I think it reverted to Shropshire after a visit by a party of French schoolchildren, who couldn’t help giggling). The town was Salop too, to railwaymen – a useful shorthand. A van destined for a Shrewsbury siding would usually be chalked-up for “Salop”.  Anyway, Thursday was a great day for a wander around our county town (whatever it’s called) with the camera – but don’t be deceived by the sunshine – it was cold in the shade…

View OS map on Streetmap http://www.streetmap.co.uk/map?X=349282&Y=312460&A=Y&Z=115

 

An old favourite! At the end of January, it’s still cold, but there are one or two welcome signs of spring in these quiet lanes

View OS map on Streetmap http://www.streetmap.co.uk/map?X=356835&Y=301335&A=Y&Z=120

The sight and the sound! No, it’s not raining – it’s the water running off the Long Mynd, down into the Carding Mill valley. There hasn’t been a lot of rain recently – but there’s enough water soaked into the upland mosses to maintain a steady flow. We were going to Church Stretton anyway (Entertaining Elephants), and the weather (bright, some sunshine) was better than the forecast (dull, overcast). Would have been a shame to waste it! Up to the waterfall and back is just right for a short walk* – with the sight and sound of falling water every step of the way.
The local robins are neither shy nor modest – in fact they’re real posers! I’m not complaining…
* about 2.5 miles – and 670ft of ascent

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It’s dull, grey and misty. No sunshine, but it’s dry and there’s no wind. I need a leg-stretch: Benthall Edge should be pleasant…

View OS map on Streetmap http://www.streetmap.co.uk/map?X=365957&Y=302985&A=Y&Z=115

Friday 4 October: new technology on the railway. The recently-opened station at Headbolt Lane, near Kirkby, Liverpool, forms a short extension of Merseyrail. It’s a 3rd-rail electric network, but the third rail has not been extended beyond Kirkby. Instead, as well as pick-up shoes for the 3rd rail, some of the brand-new class 777 EMUs have been built with traction batteries. (Seems a lot of trouble just to avoid extending the 3rd rail by less than a mile. I’m sure there was a good reason for it…). Anyway, we had a ride on battery power during our day out yesterday: a full account will appear on Geoff’s Rail Diaries in a day or two, meanwhile here’s a taster.

Friday 30 August: Hawthorn Bank – an evening walk at summer’s end. It’s a perfect still evening, though the light’s going, especially under the trees. There won’t be many more such evenings this year…

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Shrewsbury’s Onslow Park, 26 August – yes, bank holiday Monday, and the crowds are horrendous, but the traction engines, steam rollers and other (very) assorted steam-powered machines are in fine fettle – a splendid display!

Shrewsbury Steam Rally

Perhaps not entirely appropriate – the light has gone from the lanes around Willey, but in the hedgerow there are lots of wild hops. Rub one of those flowers between your fingers, and sniff! Wonderful!

We’ve been to Oz (should that be Os?), better known outside the area as Oswestry. The Cambrian Railways Society has, most appropriately, had a base there for many years, but has struggled against the odds to operate trains much further than up and down a siding. A couple of years ago, it began running trains about 2.3km (sounds much further than 1.4 miles) down the old main line, to Weston Wharf. Here there are refreshments, in a static buffet car, and next door at the brewery tap. The train ride has a purpose at last! Today, we took a ride down the line, steam hauled by Austin 1 visiting from Llangollen (and just for the pleasure of it, we walked back). There will be a Rail Diaries entry in the next day or so, meanwhile, here’s a taster.