A circular walk on a pleasant afternoon, through the fields to Wyke, then the woods of Benthall Edge. We’ll look down on the site of Ironbridge power station – it’s gone!
View OS map on Streetmap http://www.streetmap.co.uk/map?X=365560&Y=301890&A=Y&Z=120
We’re walking around some of the local paths and tracks – mostly familiar ground – and then we’re asking ourselves “have we ever been along here?”. An old chapel. converted into a house, on Carter’s Jitty. We’ve often walked just a few yards away, along Pugh’s Jitty (where the wall is made of old saggars), and along Quarry Road, again just yards in the other direction. Does familiarity breed contempt?
A walk down to Coalport, where a couple of slices of cake are just the thing to keep us going on the walk back home – it’s uphill all the way…
View OS map on Streetmap http://www.streetmap.co.uk/map.srf?X=369485&Y=301370&A=Y&Z=120
Red kites (and lots of buzzards) near Harnage; red berries and leaves (just a few) in the hedgerows near Kenley. And sunshine!
View OS map on Streetmap http://www.streetmap.co.uk/map.srf?X=356695&Y=301410&A=Y&Z=120
We had the mellow fruitfulness a couple of days ago. Today, after overnight rain, it’s misty. We ought to be able to look back from the (slightly) higher ground south of Cound to the Ironbridge gorge, sans power station chimney – a rural view again after 60 years or so. Not a hope! Someone’s hidden the Wrekin too.
View OS map on Streetmap http://www.streetmap.co.uk/map.srf?X=356010&Y=304045&A=Y&Z=120
A late afternoon wander from home. Yesterday, looking at the forecast for today, we thought we’d be confined to barracks, but it stayed dry (some sunshine and blue sky would have been good, but we can’t have everything…).
No mists though… There are ripe blackberries in the hedgerows, and lots of damsons – some are sweet enough to eat now, but most need another week or so. (They’ll probably all have been picked by then, ripe or not.) In the woods down Ned’s Lane, there’s a different kind of fruitfulness, which we certainly won’t be sampling…
View OS map on Streetmap http://www.streetmap.co.uk/map?X=367945&Y=298230&A=Y&Z=120
… and colour in the walled garden. One of those days when it could rain anywhere, anytime – or might stay dry. It didn’t, of course. We took shelter under the trees in the deer park for a few minutes, but didn’t need our waterproofs. The season is nearing its end in the walled garden, where there’s plenty of colour in the flowers, fruit and veg.
Yes, it’s a National Trust property – but we’ve walked four miles this afternoon…
View OS map on Streetmap http://www.streetmap.co.uk/map?X=355380&Y=310080&A=Y&Z=120
After a couple of very warm dry days, the weather has changed. It’s cooler, rather humid, and (the forecast says) it will rain this afternoon. We’d better get out this morning. It’s a local stroll, to the end of Red Lane and back. We usually retrace our steps from there, but the increasingly ominous clouds (it’s only 11.30) say “rain!”, so we take our lives in our hands (or feet?) and follow the much shorter way home alongside the busy road. The rain is falling steadily by the time we’re home (starting to feel slightly damp); ten minutes later we’d have been soaked, and if we’d walked back the long way…
On Friday morning (when we were otherwise engaged) the power station chimney was demolished. All that’s left is remnants of old offices – and the switchgear building, still in use. It’s a warm and sunny afternoon – the schools must have gone back…
View OS map on Streetmap http://www.streetmap.co.uk/map?X=365825&Y=302610&A=Y&Z=120
geoffspages.blog 