A walk from Willey, on a fine, sunny and altogether pleasant afternoon. We follow Bould Lane to its foot, then cross the road and continue beside Linley Brook. Beyond the cottage, it’s a muddy jungle, then we’re up out of it and soon passing the Albynes, with fields full of sheep and lambs. Re-crossing the road takes us on over Nordley Common and back down to the Smithies, for our usual way back past Lower Pool.

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A grey but pleasant afternoon. The sun’s trying to shine – perhaps it will succeed just as we’re arriving home again… It’s a familiar route. We’ll walk down the lane towards the river, past the ancient-looking buildings at Swinney Farm. The old railway track will lead us to Jackfield: there, we’ll take the path up the dingle which, despite some mud, is always an enjoyable way back up the hill.

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We’ll start up Round Hill. It’s very quiet here: plenty of birdsong, nothing else – except a rustling in the vegetation on the bank beside us. No, not a noisy blackbird – it’s a bank vole, scuttling along under the ground ivy. He’s only visible for seconds, so there’s no chance of a photo, but he (or she) is a welcome sight. At the other end of the scale, the belties are out in the field beside the lane (we can see them through the hedge, so again, no photos). There probably aren’t too many Galloways in Shropshire!

The hedgerows are greening up now – the hawthorn is coming along nicely, as is the honeysuckle, and there are primroses in profusion. All we need now is some sunshine and a little warmth…

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After a grey morning, there’s some pleasant sunshine for this wander: out past Hurst Farm pools, down the drive at Aldenham and across to Shore Pool. They’re  planting potatoes in the first field, but the space-age machinery seems to be on the blink. In the pool. swans are being elegant and decorative. We walk on beyond the pool to find that the sunshine has faded – it’s grey again.

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We’re walking the Shirlett – Barrow – Willey circuit today, a very varied walk of just under six miles. At first the sky’s grey, but the forecast was right and the sun’s soon shining. There’s blossom in the fields near Barrow: the season moves on…

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On Wenlock Edge, it might be, but we’re on Benthall Edge, last gasp of the aforementioned, where it reaches and overlooks the Severn. The wind’s not very strong – not going to do any damage, just providing a steady whoosh overhead. Last week’s blow may have brought some branches down – National Trust staff have got a bonfire going, and the wind is really encouraging the flames. Happily, it’s downwind of the path.

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To Willey – out via Darley (rhymes with rarely) and the Honeypot; back down the sunken lane behind Deancorner. Just short of five miles, and no-one else about (apart from a lost taxi driver). In the sky over the fields near Darley, swanee whistles are playing:

On the moor I saw a plover
And a curlew call her lover
“Pee-wit!” “Pee-wit!”
Spring shall surely come again

No curlews, but four or five lapwings wheeling and fluting. Wonderful – not a sound we hear often now. Made our day! (listen here Lapwing Bird Facts | RSPB)

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Yesterday was wet and windy; today it’s bright and breezy. We’ll need to time it carefully to avoid the showers though. It’s a familiar route, past Round Hill and Willey Lower Pool, down Bould Lane and back through Linley Brook, but the weather makes each outing different. When the sun shines, there are photoflood moments – got to be quick though, they’re gone in seconds.

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Down the lane past Swinney Farm, then the old railway track to Coalport Bridge. Cross the river and make our way to the china works and the youth hostel, where maybe before too long we’ll once again enjoy tea and cake. Back over the memorial footbridge and up the dingle (which isn’t too muddy…) – a most enjoyable outing!

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That’s what I said yesterday, and today’s forecast was “overcast”. It was wrong. The bright sunshine made it feel warmer too. We’re enjoying a short walk around the very quiet lanes from Willey. Where’s everyone else on this lovely afternoon? We usually see at least one other person out walking, sometimes as many as three or four on a Sunday afternoon…

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