Just published to “Geoff’s Rail Diaries“, more on yesterday’s steam special, including (a few) more pictures. Visit “Reunited – 44871 & 45407“
Steam Supreme
44871 and 45407 at Craven Arms
We sallied forth last week to see them go south – but gave up when, as the rain clouds gathered, we heard the train was running two hours late. Today, they were four minutes early, and going well (as was the light, after some glorious sunshine earlier in the afternoon) – a fine sight!
To the rocks on the Wrekin
Wednesday afternoon on the Wrekin: it’s always worth walking the few yards beyond the trig point and toposcope. Everyone goes to the summit; few go beyond it. The rocks above the Needle’s Eye provide a quiet viewpoint for the Severn valley and the south Shropshire hills. It looked like it might be a bright and sunny afternoon – it was, once we were on our way down again…
Wandering…
…around some of the local footpaths – a somewhat indirect route to the greengrocer and back…
Walking from Wenlock to Broseley
Tea and cake at Benthall Hall…
We’ve done it before, but last time, the Hall was only open at weekends. Now, it’s open (March to October – closed in the winter) on Tuesdays and Wednesdays too. There’s a tea room, with some tables and seats outside – and it’s just nicely half-way on this walk – perfect!
There are only four buses each day, but the Arriva no. 88 service is ideal for this one (and there’s entertainment value in the negotiation of some of Broseley’s narrower streets, where “anywhere” is the rule for car parking).
There are several possible routes from Benthall Hall to Broseley; most involve field paths and tracks before walking through the streets. On this occasion, we walked down surfaced lanes, to enter Broseley by the “Fiery Fields”.
NOTE for tea drinkers: the tea room is inside the hall, which would require payment of an admission charge; the outside area is not accessible though the hall, but whether one should pay, I’m not sure – we’re members anyway. The Hall is well worth a visit – but muddy feet (and ours were) would not be appreciated…
Bus timetable | Benthall Hall NT
A steamy weekend in Staffordshire
No shortage of steam railways in the county of Stafford! For lots more pictures from Statfold (plus a video of a ride down the line), and a selection (with video) from Chasewater, visit Starting with Statfold and Gervase on Geoff’s Rail Diaries
New toys and visitors
Statfold and Chasewater: a great way to start the season. This year’s first open day at Staffordshire’s narrow gauge heaven was yesterday, 29th March; it was also the weekend of the Chasewater Industrial Gala
What will be new at Statfold (there’s always something)? Mr Lee has been busy with the track – there’s a new loop on the 2′ gauge line at Oak Tree, doubling its capacity, and it now connects to the balloon loop at the far end, so that trains on both lines can run the full length of the layout, round the loop and back along their respective lines. And there’s a new loco, in the splendid shape of Hudswell Clarke 972 of 1912, an 0-6-0 tender engine.
They’ve been busy with the layout at Chasewater too, tidying up the track at the entrance to Brownhills West. Unfortunately the work wasn’t completed in time – no “bay to bay” trains for Colin McAndrew. But he’s got a new companion for the weekend, in the (unusual) shape of visitor Gervase. Gervase is a Sentinel – an early one, dating from 1928, a conversion of a 1900 Manning Wardle, with side rods rather than the chain drive of later machines. We’d better go and have a look – perhaps Sunday’s weather will be good too? It was…
“Rail Diaries” pages will appear in due course. In the meantime, the above tasters will have to do…
Callow Hollow
The Long Mynd’s eastern valleys are several and varied – some are valleys, some (most) are batches. There’s a dale and a gutter too – and a couple of hollows. If we count the side valleys off those main valleys… Perhaps not. I’ve been exploring the Mynd for many years, but until very recently, I had not quite digested one rather odd fact born out by the 1:25,000 map: many (perhaps most) of those side valleys have names – except for Ashes Hollow, whose side valleys are nameless. (I’m sure they’re not, but there are no names on the map).
Ashes Hollow runs down to Little Stretton. Next, joining Ashes at its foot, is Small Batch (aptly named), then there’s Callow Hollow. Ashes Hollow is perhaps the next-best known after Cardingmill (Valley), not least due to the camp site occupying its last few yards. Callow is one of the least known, despite being of comparable scenic value, largely because, until relatively recently, there was no easy access to its foot. We met no-one else on foot throughout the walk (just one cyclist, and a farmer in his pickup). And, like so many of these valleys (batches, hollows etc….), once we’re just a few yards in, there’s nothing man-made in sight, until we reach the plateau and the road.
Benthall Edge
A short wander from the car park at Benthall Hall.
Croome revisited
We’ve been before – must try to avoid taking the same pictures… Not easy. It’s described as a landscape park – we’d better explore it. The house is worth exploring too, though not all of it is accessible yet – a long term project for the National Trust.
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