Walking from Broseley to the Willey estates, via the quaintly-named “Honeypot” (a short row of houses). Another fine afternoon (we’ve been spoilt recently! – though it is getting cooler) with autumn colours and atmosphere.
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The sun came out after lunch, but the day remained hazy. We’re walking through quiet back-roads, woodland and farm lanes, to Benthall Hall. It’s far enough to feel we’ve earned our tea and cakes – and far enough home again to walk them off…
It’s dry and bright, a good afternoon for exploring. It would have been sunnier too, if we’d not been tied up earlier in the day. There are three stretches of road walking en route – the first, the Wenlock to Broseley road, is fairly busy, but there’s ample verge to hop onto when needs must, and it’s downhill… The other roads are very quiet, and quieter still, respectively. And away from the lanes, there’s just the birds, twittering and rustling in the undergrowth. It may be half-term, but there’s no-one else about.
View OS map on Streetmap http://www.streetmap.co.uk/map.srf?X=365975&Y=298916&A=Y&Z=120
There’s a regular bus service from Broseley to Much Wenlock – that’s one every two hours, from 9.30 am to 3.30 pm (ish). So today’s outing requires a little planning – it’s not wise to just turn up at the bus stop and hope – might be a long wait. The 1.30 (ish – it was late) gets us to Wenlock just before 2.00 – that’s a good time for the walk to Benthall Hall, which is open four days a week – we can call in for refreshments. The autumn days are becoming hazy, but it’s sunny and pleasantly warm. It can’t last…
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.
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
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