…and Jackfield, Madeley and Ironbridge. The sky is clear blue, but the temperature is barely above freezing and there’s a stiff northerly breeze. The sheltered valley and south-facing slopes might be the best places to aim for, and there’s plenty of interest on this short leg-stretch.
View OS map on Streetmap http://www.streetmap.co.uk/map.srf?X=368465&Y=303561&A=Y&Z=120
I exaggerate – but a friend said there had been snow in Wellington this morning. We certainly wouldn’t have wanted to be caught in one of the morning’s sharp showers, but the afternoon would be bright and sunny (and cold, and it will be good to stay out of the wind…). Yes, the weather forecast was right. The colours are so much better at this time of year, aren’t they? There’s only one problem – the tea shop in the youth hostel is closed during the winter months. We’ll have to make do with chocolate (it’s what camera bags are for, isn’t it?)
A much-needed leg-stretch down to Coalport (for well-earned tea and cake…), on a grey Saturday afternoon. We may not be past July, but there are signs of seasonal change – the wheat looks ready for harvest, there are some hefty (but undoubtedly sour) apples by the farm, and ripe (but rather blobby) blackberries, with many better-looking specimens to come. Could be an excellent crop in a few weeks time… And at last the butterflies are playing to the camera!
“We can have tea and cake at the youth hostel…” A walk down Pound Lane to Coalport, on a warm afternoon.
Best kind? After a rainy morning, the afternoon looked a little more promising, though there was never any sunshine, and we did feel the odd spot of rain. So there were no views to speak of, nor were there many people. A few at the YHA cafe at Coalport, perhaps, where we enjoyed a brief refreshment stop (tea and cake, of course), and one or two others beside the Severn as we headed back, but certainly not bank holiday crowds. Yes (answering my own question) – they probably are the best kind, when you don’t have to go to work in the morning.
Friday – the sun’s shining, and we’re taking a walk down to the Severn, on the day following storm Doris. Others were worse affected, I think, though there were one or two trees down (fairly rotten specimens, it has to be said), and one or two houses lost a ridge tile. It’s more sheltered in the valley, and the weather’s mild enough for us to sit outside the youth hostel at Coalport for our tea and cake. We’ll head for home the shortest way – up the dingle with its wonderful hanging gardens, and not-so-wonderful mud. Can’t have everything!
…but bright and sunny – we’ll have a leg-stretch, but we’d better avoid the hill tops. We follow the lane down to the Severn valley, which is well-sheltered, but mostly in the shade…
Barely a cloud in the sky this afternoon – can’t stay in! A walk down to Coalport will fit the bill – it’ll certainly be worth avoiding the cold wind, though that will mean avoiding the sun too. Can’t have everything!
View OS map on Streetmap http://www.streetmap.co.uk/map.srf?X=369345&Y=301606&A=Y&Z=120
…so we’ll do it in black and white! It’s a pleasant circuit, down to Jackfield by hidden paths in the jungle, then across to Coalport and along the old railway track to Coalport bridge. We cross the Severn again and walk along the other old railway, before joining Pound Lane and heading for home.
View OS map on Streetmap http://www.streetmap.co.uk/map.srf?X=369350&Y=301556&A=Y&Z=120
We’ve parked at Bedlam, beside the old furnaces (I wonder how they got that name…). Our route takes us up the hill towards Madeley, where we’ll walk around three sides of the old (closed in 1920) Meadow pit mound. On and off, we’re following the trackbeds of the pre-railway age tramways of the Madeley Wood Company – as far as the All Nations (a last remnant of times long before “craft beer”, when pubs brewed their own beer). Now we’re walking down the route of the Coalport branch railway, which closed to passengers more than 60 years ago. Descending to the canal, at the foot of the Hay Incline, we cross the river to Jackfield, and for the first time walk the new path through the stabilisation works. Beyond, we’ll walk where Severn valley railway trains once ran – before crossing the Severn again on the modernistic new “Free Bridge” to return to the car.
View OS map on Streetmap http://www.streetmap.co.uk/map.srf?X=368575&Y=303426&A=Y&Z=120
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