Short walks with photos and a Google map.
First outing of the new year – a walk up the avenue of increasingly battered beeches on Linley Hill, Shropshire, for some fine views and a breath of very fresh air. The forecast, in the fine sunny morning, said there could be a shower over Shropshire in the afternoon. There was.
There’s a need for a leg stretch after Christmas dinner – with the promise of pud to come later. We followed the Water of Leith upstream from the eponymous Stockbridge to Belford Road bridge, then returned via St Mary’s Cathedral and assorted streets, crescents and places to the pud.
Nesscliffe is a well-known landmark on the A5 north of Shrewsbury – but beyond the obvious outcrops, a low rocky ridge stretches out into quiet farmland. Without the tree cover of Nesscliffe Hill, the views are extensive. A most pleasant stroll, ideal for these days when the afternoons are short.
Another late autumn walk through quiet countryside immediately to the south of Broseley.
A fine November afternoon – a walk in bleak grassy uplands on the slopes of Shropshire’s Clee Hill. The remnants of bygone industry scatter the land – derelict quarry buildings, a line of concrete blocks, the bases of pylons that once carried an aerial ropeway, odd pits and heaps here and there.
The walk starts from the roadside near Craven Cottage (don’t some of those footy chaps play somewhere with a similar name?), climbs to the old workings on Magpie Hill, skirts Random Cottage and arrives at Hoar Edge. Westward views encompass Titterstone Clee, whose modern embellishments are in stark contrast to the ruins on Magpie Hill. The return route, gently downhill all the way, follows hill tracks and roads back to Craven Cottage.
For more on the tree see this Geograph post…
A day of “wall to wall sunshine”, according to the weather forecast. It was, too – a good day for an arboretum visit. The river Lugg goes around it, the railway goes under it, the A49 goes over it – Dinmore Hill, between Leominster and Hereford, home of Queenswood and some beautiful autumn colours. The arboretum is no distance at all from the car park; there are short trails for families and dog walkers, and longer ones which lead away from the showpieces into more traditional woodland. A great spot for such a day!
One of those days that demand a walk – clear blue sky, mild, autumn leaves… Perhaps there would be some deer?
The relatively level ground of this part of the Chase was home to a number of military camps in the first world war. These were linked by a railway, along which ran the “Tackeroo Express”… I realised that part of our walk – the north-western corner – was following what appeared to be a former railway track – I assumed it had been to connect to a mine or similar, and only realised its true origins when we had been home again for a little while.
And the deer? I guessed, wrongly, that we might glimpse one or two on the quieter stretches of the walk. We did see a couple though – just a few feet away from the road as we drove away across the Chase. No photos…
See http://www.staffspasttrack.org.uk/exhibit/chasecamps/default.htm for more on the military camps and the Tackeroo railway.
I ought to be able to say “quiet” country. But it’s not. An appalling cacophony of yapping, barking and howling carries across this open landscape, detracting somewhat from the tranquillity that the boarding kennels actually use as a selling point. Add to that a background of small arms fire, sufficient to make the uninformed fear that war has broken out…
…Nevertheless, this was an excellent walk. The southern end of the Stiperstones ridge sees far fewer walkers than the better-known northern tors. On this half-term Friday, I only met two other small groups of walkers – and a red kite, wheeling high above the rocks (until an RAF jet hurtled past). After I’d descended from the last rocks, and wandered to the summit of Black Rhadley (a great spot for lunch!), I never met another walker – just one car and a cyclist on the quiet road beside the West Onny. And that satanic-looking army of black sheep who inhabit these parts…
A curious fact regarding Mucklewick Hill is that its summit is lower (by perhaps 30 feet) than the car park at The Bog; we won’t hold that against it, it’s a very pleasant spot to take in the extensive view, especially to Wales and nearby Corndon Hill. A gentle descent to Shelve Pool follows, then the very gradual climb back to the barking and The Bog.
That’s a relief! It seems that “snap to roads” had become stuck “on” – the result being that the walk maps were being reinterpreted in an attempt to do the walks by road…
They seem to be. Route lines disappear – then reappear (sometimes), somewhat scrambled… I’ve just checked on three different PCs – Win 7, XP and Ubuntu – no joy. Seems to be unable to cope with routes that lie off the roads and tracks known to, and marked on Gmaps. Oh dear. So to anyone trying to view my walk maps – sorry! Not my fault, nothing I can do about it except wait with fingers crossed.
