It’s just inside Staffordshire, not far from Loggerheads. A pleasant afternoon’s exploration, with tea and cake to follow…
The same but different
A wander around Blists Hill on a warm and pleasant afternoon, followed by a wander around the darkroom on a quiet evening…
The pipeworks
The first time I found the tiny bottle kiln, abandoned and apparently forgotten, in a quiet corner of Broseley, I was amazed. It had been used for firing the clay tobacco pipes made in the small factory alongside. With the industry in decline, it was closed and left to decay nearly 60 years ago. It’s now part of the Ironbridge Gorge Museum, one of their lesser-known sites. Other than necessary safety measures, the factory is preserved as found – a real “time capsule”. Well worth an hour’s exploration.
After the rain…
… a breath of fresh air and a change of scene. Following 48 wet hours, the sky tried to clear on Saturday evening, and the sun broke through. Photos taken between Brockton and Much Wenlock.
Coalbrookdale – dingle and riverside
A walk north of the river, from the top of Coalbrookdale – up the Loamhole Dingle into the fields above the Severn. No bluebells today; instead, wild garlic in the damp and shady spots (welcome in the strong sunshine), and buttercups in the meadows.
Dudmaston and the Dower House
Two pleasant and lazy afternoons after Saturday’s leg stretch. The Dower House garden is at Morville, and is open to the public on Sunday and Wednesday afternoons. The house adjoins Morville Hall, which, though a National Trust property, is not open to the general public. Dudmaston is on the other side of Bridgnorth, and at the other end of the scale – a pleasant spot for a wander around the lake. It was too warm for anything more energetic.
Dower House garden, Morville
Dudmaston Estate
Mucklewick in May
Sounds charming, doesn’t it? We started out from The Bog… It was warm, clear, sunny – beautiful! Gone are the pastel shades of the winter months – it’s all in technicolor today.
We leave the Bog car park by the new path beside the road, heading north-east on a walk that would be south-west of our starting point. There’s method in our madness – we’re avoiding a short stretch of path that can be seriously muddy. Later, as we descend from the ridge, a fairly comfortable rock beneath The Rock provides us with table and chairs (I exaggerate) for lunch – a near-perfect spot, away from the wind (a light breeze, very welcome later in the afternoon) and the gunfire. It’s not the quietest part of the county…
Quiet tracks (on the opposite side of the ridge to the shooting range) and a very minor road take us down to the West Onny valley, then via Nind back up onto the hills. Mucklewick Hill is another pleasant spot (enjoying that breeze now) for the last of the day’s provisions before, after a short descent, the long gentle rise to tea and cakes at the Bog Centre (highly recommended!).
Mogg revisited
I walked this route, more or less, in January (see “Mogg Forest“). It was rather wet underfoot back then, and still a bit sticky in places today. There were few other similarities – instead of wet mid-winter, we’re now in spring – there are crops in the fields and yet more bluebells in the woods
Benthall bluebells
A dry, warm (in the sunshine) and bright afternoon, after a string of showery days. Benthall Hall is our objective – we can go through the bluebell woods on the way, and have a drink and cake before setting off back…
Wenlock Priory: dodging the showers
More than half the abbey has gone, but what remains is a pleasant spot for a brief exploration on an afternoon when heavy showers threatened between bursts of sunshine. The threat was not followed through, apart from a few spots in the wind, but the sunshine did its best to confound. There are some nice little details in the stonework, and the topiary is wonderful!
