…and relations. Been away from home for a couple of weeks, which included the long journey to Skye, a break in Aberdeenshire and a visit to Dunbar. There will be blog pages: the following is a taster (yes, it did rain – quite a lot! It was windy too. Sometimes the sun shone)
From today, until next March, the nights are longer than the days – the darker half of the year begins. Nevertheless, it’s a bright, sunny afternoon, perfect for a wander around fields and lanes between Astley Abbotts and Colemore Green
View OS map on Streetmap http://www.streetmap.co.uk/map?X=370945&Y=296885&A=Y&Z=120
Another dry morning (another showery afternoon). I’m wandering through the fields, mostly between the Bridgnorth road and the river. There’s no-one else about – but what about those three there, by the edge of the wood? We often see fallow deer in these parts, but they don’t usually have this dark colouring. I think they’re the ‘melanistic’ variety, described as black or chocolate coloured, but I’m not sure – never seen any like these before. They look up – they’ve seen me – but I don’t seem to be posing a threat, and for a minute or two they carry on nibbling at the undergrowth. Then a pheasant suddenly bursts noisily from the wood, spooking them, and they’re off!
Just beyond the deer, the path was completely blocked by a fallen tree (hawthorn – I’m not going to try and push through that!) – had to take a field’s edge detour.
View OS map on Streetmap http://www.streetmap.co.uk/map?X=368920&Y=298730&A=Y&Z=120
…because the weather forecast suggested there could be heavy rain in the afternoon. There wasn’t. Good to get a leg stretch before lunch!
View OS map in Streetmap http://www.streetmap.co.uk/map.srf?X=367470&Y=298250&A=Y&Z=120
After a short spell of rain around lunchtime, the sky is clearing. We’re heading for Church Preen for a wander around the lanes. The air is clearer too – there’s a good view to the Welsh hills on the horizon.
View OS map on Streetmap http://www.streetmap.co.uk/map?X=354910&Y=298575&A=Y&Z=120
From Harley to Belswardyne and back… It’s another grey day, and there’s rain coming up from the south, but we’re ahead of it (it’s raining now!). A pleasant wander in quiet country below the Wenlock Edge.
View OS map on Streetmap http://www.streetmap.co.uk/map?X=360675&Y=302290&A=Y&Z=120
We leave the car and take the path across the field, cutting off the corner and avoiding the road. The corn has been harvested; just the stubble remains, and with it an eerie feeling that, with the crop, everything else has gone. The air is still, it’s very quiet – is anybody there? We continue via Harnage Grange, then, further along the lane, we take the path across the fields towards Kenley. There’s a secret world here, not visible from any of the roads nearby, and if it was quiet earlier, it’s even quieter now. Not even the sheep have anything to say.
View OS map on Streetmap http://www.streetmap.co.uk/map?X=357220&Y=301550&A=Y&Z=120
No, we haven’t morphed into wombles. Our trip to Liverpool and surrounding area on Wednesday was marked by some subterranean exploration, and a ride in what was once an underground train, entirely above ground. Visit “Overground Underground” on Geoff’s Rail Diaries for more on this most interesting day out.
We’ve spent the day exploring, in a fairly eccentric and unstructured way, the north-west of England, focusing (so to speak) on Liverpool and Merseyside. More to follow; here are a couple of tasters. The Liver building may be instantly recognisable, even when it’s hiding being more modern structures; the Water Street entrance to James Street underground station may be less well-known, but it was worth a visit with the camera.
The weather, that is – not as warm as the past few days, but humid. The views are hazy and limited, but it’s pleasant enough on Nordley Common. The old way from Linley Brook to Stocking Lane is a delight, lined with trees and bushes (damsons galore!), and the inevitable brambles and sloes…
View OS map on Streetmap http://www.streetmap.co.uk/map?X=368065&Y=297340&A=Y&Z=120
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