Tag: Long Mynd

Late October on the Mynd

On By geoffspagesIn Photography, Shropshire hills, WalksLeave a comment

Friday 27 October – a bright sunny day, far too good for staying at home, so we’ve packed a picnic… It’s very busy in Church Stretton, but we soon lose the crowds – the Pike provides a quick way up onto the hill, at the top corner of the golf course. At this point, we attempted to follow the path clearly shown on the OS map, which is a mistake, as it doesn’t exist. The clear, easy-to-walk path is 100 yards to our left, higher up the hill. At least its quiet along here…
We take our lunch break by the pond, near the top of Mott’s Road, before heading to the summit, then returning to the car by Townbrook Valley. It’s a bit quieter down here – and finally, we time the tea room to perfection… A good day out!

View OS map on Streetmap http://www.streetmap.co.uk/map.srf?X=343320&Y=295091&A=Y&Z=120

Murky Mynd

On By geoffspagesIn Photography, Shropshire hills, Walks1 Comment

It didn’t actually rain, but the air did seem rather wet at times. The morning’s drizzle didn’t clear quite as soon as we’d hoped, and there was little point in using the toposcope on Pole Bank, even if we could see at least 10 yards in all directions. Minutes later, the air began to feel much drier. Did we feel a touch of warmth too? The tea and cakes / ice cream, back at the Cardingmill, were of course excellent, though our indulgence was punished by a last defiant little shower as we walked back to the car…

View OS map on Streetmap http://www.streetmap.co.uk/map.srf?X=344105&Y=295146&A=Y&Z=120

Mothers’ Day in Minton Batch

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…and Ashes Hollow. It’s another fine sunny day (though the sunshine will become hazy later), so we’re stretching our legs on the Long Mynd. We haven’t been up Minton Batch for some time, so we walk down the very quiet lane from Little Stretton to Minton and just beyond, then up the valley to the top of the Mynd, just along from the gliding field. The road along the top isn’t quite so quiet, but it’s a pleasant stroll and it’s easy enough to dodge the odd car (youngish men taking women old enough to be their mothers out for a drive. Odd, that).  Reaching Pole Cottage, we remember there’s chocolate in the camera bag (it’s what they’re for) – perfect for a brief halt before heading off down Ashes Hollow and back to the car.

View OS map on Streetmap http://www.streetmap.co.uk/map.srf?X=342450&Y=291966&A=Y&Z=120

The Mynd in January

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Wednesday 4 Jan: “We’ll be out most of the day – you’ll have to amuse yourself…” No problem – it’s fine, bright and intermittently sunny. I’ll start from the Carding Mill Valley and work my round to Little Stretton, then up to the top beside Small Batch, and come back down Mott’s Road. There are one or two tricky bits on the path through the woods – soft and slippery – otherwise it’s a very pleasant route. The sun’s trying hard, and though it doesn’t always succeed, it provides me with some fine sunbeams to the south-west.

map

View OS map in Streetmap http://www.streetmap.co.uk/map.srf?X=343115&Y=293621&A=Y&Z=120&ax=367365&ay=301641

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December days on the Mynd

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The days are really short now – just two weeks to the solstice. We’ll need to finish this walk before the sun sets – preferably an hour or so earlier, to give us time to enjoy the benefits of the tea room in the Carding Mill valley. It’s not cold today, though there’s a stiff breeze on top – it’s not easy holding the camera still for those long shots, but worth the effort (I think so, anyway) for those fading-distance views. To the south-west, the Black Mountains are anything but black – Pinky-Yellow Mountains? Perhaps not. Despite the breeze, it’s one of those afternoons when it would be good to stay up here indefinitely – but cake awaits! Come on!

map

View OS map on Streetmap http://www.streetmap.co.uk/map.srf?X=343505&Y=294981&A=Y&Z=120

Gogbatch and the pond

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It’s cold on the Mynd this afternoon – the wind’s in the north-east, biting after a few spots of rain. We’re walking from Gogbatch up to the pond on the Portway, a very pleasant and easy ascent. The forecast had suggested brighter conditions, which we begin to enjoy after the first mile or so. The sun’s low in the sky now – the clocks will soon be going back – and it’s dropping noticeably as the afternoon progresses. The light is everything it wasn’t during the summer months – warm in colour and directional, picking out the detail in the landscape like a spotlight. Weather permitting – and today it did – this is a great time to be out on the hills.


View OS map on Streetmap http://www.streetmap.co.uk/map.srf?X=344442&Y=296456&A=Y&Z=120

Pole Bank and Adstone Hill

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Monday: We’re walking up to the Long Mynd, from Bridges – a very enjoyable wander on a fine, bright and breezy day.The gradients are very gentle to the summit plateau, before our descent to Medlicott and down the unsurfaced lane to Adstone. It’s uphill again, but not for very far, to the sheepy ridge of Adstone Hill. It may be early October, but everywhere seems remarkably green.

View OS map on Streetmap http://www.streetmap.co.uk/map.srf?X=339965&Y=295305&A=Y&Z=120

Lightspout Ridge

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There’s an obvious and inviting route up this ridge, prominent above the Cardingmill Valley. It’s one of those paths which become fainter as height is gained – it’s quite a pull up to the rocks at the top. Beyond, the path is very faint, walked mainly by the four-legged locals, I suspect, and for a little while, I’m wallowing in luxuriant purple heather. The ridge is unnamed on the OS 1:25000 map, but I find myself looking down into the Lightspout Hollow, whose waterfall is a mere trickle in this summer weather. Perhaps this is Lightspout Ridge? (above the reservoir, it’s “Cow Ridge”, but that doesn’t seem an adequate description). A more obvious path now takes me down to the path above the waterfall, where, having met no-one since beginning the ridge path, I’m back amongst the (relatively speaking) crowds. I’ve done this short walk on my own – the others will be in the tea room, so I’d better not hang about now…

View OS map on Streetmap http://www.streetmap.co.uk/map.srf?X=343450&Y=295043&A=Y&Z=115

The Mynd and XXX

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Another ideal afternoon for wandering on Shropshire’s hills. We’ve parked at Bridges (very handy for the Horseshoe Inn, which seems to be called the Bridges now), and we’re heading north-east beside Darnford Brook, to reach the skyline at Betchcott Hill. The last short ascent is by the aptly-named “Golden Valley”, lined with glowing gorse. This is a walk of four parts: part two now begins as we turn through 90 degrees and head south-east along the ridge of the grassy hill, following the ancient Port Way. Part three starts when we reach the heather-clad Long Mynd – another 90 degree turn, still on the Port Way, taking us to the Shooting Box. Now it’s downhill (almost) all the way, with heather giving way to grassland near the derelict ruin that bears the unlikely name of “Priory Cottage”, according to the map. From Coates Farm, a quiet road takes us back down to Bridges, and a most welcome pint of Three Tuns – a perfect pint in a perfect spot on a perfect afternoon – XXX

More on XXX here https://www.threetunsbrewery.co.uk/pages/our-beers

View OS map on Streetmap http://www.streetmap.co.uk/map.srf?X=341105&Y=296796&A=Y&Z=120

Priors Holt to Black Knoll

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The day changed: it was bright and sunny when we left Priors Holt (or “Witchend” to Malcolm Saville “Lone Pine” afficionadoes), but the forecast was right. It was windy too – we’d planned a different route from Black Knoll, but the wind was strong and bitter on the exposed south-eastern flank of the Mynd – much more so than on the ridge path – so we retraced our steps to the forest. A red kite wheeling nearby was never close enough for the camera, and the three deer in the woods, just yards away, were gone in seconds. No photos of them either…

View OS map on Streetmap http://www.streetmap.co.uk/map.srf?X=340535&Y=289336&A=Y&Z=120