Round Hill

On By geoffspagesIn Photography, Shropshire hills, WalksLeave a comment

A very short (2.3 miles) and pleasantly shady walk – it’s warm and sunny! – up the leafy track past Round Hill to the Shirlett plateau, and down again through the forested hillside. Is that rustling a blackbird? No, it’s a small deer, perhaps 2-3 metres away, fairly well hidden – so no photos – in undergrowth beyond the fence. It’s sensed our presence, and is gone – no hurry, but it’s soon out of sight. We return to the car along the quiet road through the Smithies. Everyone else (perhaps half-a-dozen) is riding a bicycle. Have we missed something?

View OS map on Streetmap http://www.streetmap.co.uk/map.srf?X=367107&Y=297480&A=Y&Z=115

A tale of two railways

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19 May 2012: the beginning of a most-enjoyable week in France, staying near St Valery sur Somme. “There seems to be an interesting steam railway nearby – we’d better go and have a look”. See “A week in France” for more on this trip
19 May 2013: A very brief visit to the Abbey station in Shrewsbury. It was the terminus of the grand-sounding but ill-fated Potteries, Shrewsbury and North Wales Railway – which never got close to the Potteries than Shrewsbury, and only made it into Wales by the skin of its teeth. Given that it has been out of use as a passenger station since the 1930s, the station is a most remarkable survivor.

Chemin de Fer de la Baie de Somme
Shrewsbury Railway Heritage Trust

Riotous colour

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16 May 2010: we’re visiting the Dingle, a garden centre near Welshpool. It’s notable for its astonishing hillside garden constructed around a pool, well tucked away in the Welsh countryside. The colour is amazing!
It’s also very colourful near home – that evening, we’re out amongst the bright yellow fields of oilseed rape. It’s hardly a traditional English landscape, but it’s certainly spectacular. There’s a deer out enjoying the evening air, posing for a moment or two before bounding away out of sight.

Dingle nurseries and garden