Tag: Shrewsbury

October on Lyth Hill

On By geoffspagesIn Photography, Shropshire hills, WalksLeave a comment

We could do with being in Shrewsbury around 4pm – how about a short walk beforehand? Lyth Hill could be good… We’ve walked this route before – out along the dog-walkers’ grassland to Spring Coppice, then along rough tracks and quiet lanes to Exfords Green.  After that inevitable bank of cloud on this otherwise-bright afternoon, the sun comes out again as we pass the Scots pines on the end of the hill.  The stags at the venison farm are bellowing – there’s a public footpath through their field, but we’ll perhaps stick to the road on this occasion, and brave the occasional passing car.

View OS map on Streetmap http://www.streetmap.co.uk/map.srf?X=346671&Y=306234&A=Y&Z=120

A showery Sunday

On By geoffspagesIn Photography, Walks1 Comment

We’ll head for Shrewsbury – we won’t be too far from shelter if the rain comes on. The showers could be heavy and thundery, according to the forecast. They weren’t, of course, though we did shelter under the English Bridge for a couple of minutes. There’s much more sunshine than shower, in fact, and the quieter streets of the town are at their best in the warm autumn light.

View OS map on Streetmap http://www.streetmap.co.uk/map.srf?X=349208&Y=312491&A=Y&Z=115

Who could forget Leander?

On By geoffspagesIn Photography, Railways...1 Comment

45690 Leander at BattlefieldFriday’s steam special left Shrewsbury, heading for Crewe and ultimately Dumfries, soon after 4pm. It was moving along nicely at Battlefield (site of the battle of Shrewsbury more than 600 years ago) a few minutes later. Pictures taken, we headed for home – I was due out again later in the evening. No time for blogs. Almost forgot…

It’s a popular spot, hence the letterbox crop to lose parked cars and photographers along the bottom. There were some fairly obtrusive power cables and a pylon too, but they’ve gone (crop and Photoshop), and the Shropshire hills would have provided a backdrop, had the air been clearer.

Under a clear blue sky: Lyth Hill

On By geoffspagesIn Photography, Shropshire hills, WalksLeave a comment

We needed to collect a package in Shrewsbury, some time in the latter part of the afternoon. One of us had thought about calling in on the shops, but the weather was much too good for that. Lyth Hill, just south of the town, would provide us with a reasonable walk. It’s hardly worth calling a hill, barely 550′ at its highest point, but its isolated position provides a panoramic view of the south Shropshire hills, from the Wrekin through the Stretton hills to the distant (and snow-covered) Berwyns. We encountered the noisiest and most insistent sheep we’ve met for a long time (“wave upon wave of demented avengers”), a fine herd of deer (who, fortunately, can’t read the sign at the end of the lane proclaiming “venison for sale”), innumerable horses, and on Lyth Hill itself, one of the highest concentrations of dogs and their walkers for many a mile. As for the fields of Exfords Green – they’re the greenest we’ve seen for a long time. It must be spring.


Or view OS map on Streetmap http://www.streetmap.co.uk/map.srf?X=346640&Y=306321&A=Y&Z=120

Attingham on a sunny afternoon

On By geoffspagesIn NT and EH, PhotographyLeave a comment

A sunny afternoon (especially after a wet night and morning) is too good to waste at this time of year! We’ll have a walk around Attingham Park – the footpaths shouldn’t be too bad there, and the longest route is a reasonable leg-stretch. We can say hello to the crocodile* in the far pool (he wasn’t there! Where’s he gone? Warmer climes perhaps)…

*see “Snowdropping”  Feb 2015

Attingham Park NT

A privileged position

On By geoffspagesIn Photography, Railways...Leave a comment
SBJ - One hundred and eighty!
SBJ – One hundred and eighty!

…looking down on the trains running in and out of Shrewsbury station, from three of its now-famous signal boxes. Shrewsbury is an island of mechanical signalling, a survivor because of its complexity, among other things. It came within a hair’s breadth of resignalling perhaps 30 years ago (what would we have been left with? Fewer platforms and less track, I suspect – and insufficient capacity for today’s intensive services). Its fame? Primarily because, for the last few years, Severn Bridge Junction, with its 180-lever frame, has been the biggest mechanical signalbox in the world. Wow! More photos will follow in a day or two, on Geoff’s Rail Diaries; in the meantime, a taster…

Stained glass to ABS

On By geoffspagesIn Photography, Railways...Leave a comment

We’re in Shrewsbury: a quick lunch at the café in St Mary’s church before visiting “Brick City” – Warren Elsmore’s Lego exhibition in the Museum and Art Gallery. St Mary’s may have one of the tallest spires in England, but it’s redundant, under the care of the Churches Conservation Trust. The plastic (ABS) Lego-brick buildings in the museum are in complete contrast to the stone, stained glass and tiles of the church – or are they? The centrepiece is St Pancras station – it’s huge! Like a well-designed model railway, the detail rewards closer examination. We liked the chap with the camera, leaning back to get everything in (not, in this case, St Pancras) – but there are some very strange characters milling around the railway station. The exhibition closes on Friday 11 October

St Mary’s church, Shrewsbury
Shrewsbury Museum and Art Gallery
Warren Elsmore