It’s so quiet! We’re taking a walk down the lane for some fresh air, a change of scene and a leg-stretch. Usually there’s a background hum of traffic on the main road, away across the river – not to mention those noisy little aeroplanes. A few days ago the farmers were at work in the fields, but that’s finished. All we can hear is the birds, and the lambs in the fields…
…until, nearing home, a giant helicopter hovers over the power lines, checking for faults. What a racket!
…with just the odd shower. It soon passed, and then the sky was mostly blue. Spring is happening – white violets, celandines and the odd dandelion in the hedgerows, and the hawthorn rapidly greening. The air’s cold, and there’s a stiff breeze, but it’s good to be out.
View OS map on Streetmap https://www.streetmap.co.uk/map.srf?X=365885&Y=302395&A=Y&Z=120
A perfect afternoon for a short wander in the woods – the sunshine’s warm but the air’s cool. There’s lots of colour in the woodland – spring-green leaves, wild (and feral) flowers everywhere – and a comma butterfly which thought it might hitch a lift on my boot…
View OS map on Streetmap http://www.streetmap.co.uk/map.srf?X=374745&Y=289631&A=Y&Z=120
Don’t get me wrong – it’s great to see 6233 “Duchess of Sutherland” in action on the main line, on the “Great Britain XII”. But today she’s coasting, and the sun’s gone in. As the long train disappears under the bridge, we can hear the exhaust as the driver opens the regulator, and when a couple of service trains pass, not many minutes later, the sun is shining.
“While we’re out here, let’s go and look at the Central Wales – there’s a train due soon”. The former station building at Hopton Heath is no longer in railway use, but still looks good beside single-car 153 327 as it pauses briefly on its long journey to Swansea.
It’s a beautiful day! The sunshine is bright and warm, and the deep blue sky is decorated with wispy cirrus clouds. The fields will still be muddy, so we’re keeping to quiet surfaced lanes near the village of Cound. There’s a donation box for parking by the Guildhall, and there’s a second-hand book shop too. It’s open, but there’s no-one there, just an honesty box – 50p for paperbacks, £1 for hardbacks. Wonderful!
View OS map on Streetmap http://www.streetmap.co.uk/map.srf?X=355890&Y=304016&A=Y&Z=120
Rather a lot of it… Mostly Welsh water, this – the rain hasn’t been especially heavy here in Shropshire. The “big bends” near Leighton are almost invisible – look carefully to see the current in the normal river bed. It’s the same at Cressage bridge – the flood plain is a lake, and if the water rises another inch or two, it will be over the road. Flooding here is not uncommon, but this could be the last opportunity to see the disused power station above the waters. Perhaps, in some way, that’s symbolic.
A short wander around Attingham Park, on an afternoon of (some) bright sunshine and a cold wind. The walled garden provides a little shelter, and there’s lots of cultivated spring colour. Outside, in the woodlands, there are more natural seasonal highlights, with bluebells and cowslips brightening the shade.
A wander around Ludlow on a sunny (but cold and breezy) afternoon – down to Dinham weir via Linney, then along the riverside path to Ludford, and back up Broad Street. The cheese shop is calling…
It’s cold this afternoon – I need a leg-stretch, but I’ll need to be well wrapped up. Perhaps the bridge at Ironbridge was cold too – it’s certainly well wrapped. I’m wondering if there might be signs of spring, but other than the bulbs coming up in the garden, the only spring I’ll see today is the ochreous flow by the iron bowl sculptures near the river bank. There’s iron in these hills – which is why the wrapped-up bridge is here…
Project Iron Bridge – English Heritage
Just published to Geoff’s Rail Diaries, lots of photos from yesterday’s visit to Highley station, on the Severn Valley Railway. Visit “An afternoon at Highley” – now!
geoffspages.blog 