2023 Bourton
2019 South Downs
2018 Lulworth Cove
2017 Malhamdale
2016 Selworthy
2015 Dovedale
2014 Sedburgh
2013 Shropshire
2023: Bourton-on-the-Water
Brisk Walks from Bourton-on-the-Water
It was October so time for a group of Brisk Walkers to take their customary holiday for several days of walking in more challenging terrain than is to be found nearer to home. For many years locations at HF Holidays country house hotels in the hillier areas of the kingdom have been selected, for example: Brecon Beacons, Exmoor, Peak District, Shropshire Hills, and various parts of Yorkshire. The choice this year was to make a first visit to the Cotswolds. Those who drove through Buckinghamshire on A roads were treated to a close up view of the effect on the countryside of the vast HS2 construction project.
Gone for a Bourton
Those of us in the group who arrived early enough on the Monday at Bourton-on-the-Water went on a short walk around the village, just to see what it is like. This one was only just over a mile, but we found there are plenty of tea shops, always good when refreshment is needed at the end of a walk.
Ian and Michelle led the two longer walks on the next two days, with Mick in charge of the shorter ones. Since many of us are now in or near our seventies, the pattern of walks consists of two groups who take either a longer or a shorter one. There is another cohort who enjoy the holiday together but prefer to do their own thing each day. Some of us visited the NT property of Snowshill housing the wide-ranging collections built up in the first part of the last century by architect, artist, craftsman and poet Charles Wade.
To the Slaughters
The Tuesday walk was a circular one from the hotel in the middle of Bourton. The formula was to go out through the Slaughters, Lower and Upper, and on to Naunton, returning via a more southerly route. This included parts of several long distance paths including Monarch's Way and the Windrush Way. The river Windrush passes through Bourton. This walk was just over 11 miles with about 1200 ft of ascent. Mick's group shared it as far as Upper Slaughter from where they returned via a different route.
Life’s a beech
Bad weather had been forecast for Wednesday but a trio of our walkers packed their bus passes, took public transport to Andoversford and walked back from there. A large part of this walk followed the Gloucestershire Way and included a kilometre long avenue of mature beech trees, unusual in that it consists of three parallel lines of trees and does not lead anywhere. One end is in fields by Shrubs Coppice at Notgrove and the other joins a minor road near Cold Aston. This walk was 11.6 miles with about 1700 ft of ascent.
The weather forecast for Thursday was bad so those who walked chose to do a four-miler during what looked like the best period of the day. This took them south from the village to Lower Marsh Farm then back along a stretch of Diamond Way.
Thanks to Michelle, Ian and Mick for leading the walks and to Ian for masterminding the bookings.
The usual quiz night put on by HF Holidays would probably not have happened had it not been for the input of John R and Ian. Four teams of guests at the hotel took part, our two teams ending up not winners but not bottom either. In the absence of any organised entertainment another night we had a home made quiz prepared by one of our number. Otherwise we would have just sat around chatting over a drink after dinner.
Michelle Meadows and Richard Owen
2019: South Downs
Brisk Walks down south
Nineteen walkers of varying briskness took their annual break last October for four days of walking on the Sussex downs, staying again (for some) at the comfortable HF Holidays country house at Abingworth. Owing to ill health John Jaques, whose inspiration and leadership are central to the activities of the Friday Brisk Walks group, could not join us this year for the first time since he started the group.
Ring road
A keynote walk took us to two important local landmarks. The first one that we came to, after passing the eponymous dewpond, was Chanctonbury Ring. This is an ancient hill fort with several tumuli nearby and a distinctive clump of mainly beech trees at the summit. The trees had to be largely replanted following the devastation of the great windstorm of October 1987. Our circuit also took in a climb to the top of a much larger hill fort, called Cissbury Ring, with fine views over Worthing and out to the English Channel. There are traces of flint mines at this site and the use of knapped flint is evidenced in the construction of many local houses, as well as the Grade II listed Wattle House at the village of Findon. The latter was built in 1803 to store wattle pens which were used for the annual sheep fair on the green. Our route back to the South Downs Way took us close to a place described on the OS map as adventure activities; it turns out that it’s a gun club and although shooting could be heard in the distance we didn’t have to duck any hot lead.
He went thataway
Over the course of the week our walks covered various ways and trails, principally sections of the South Downs Way, Monarch’s Way and the Literary Trail. The Monarch’s Way is so called as it roughly follows the route taken by King Charles II as he was making his way to the coast making his escape to France in 1651 after defeat in the battle of Worcester. Many paths bear this name but what was his actual route? For example, at a spot called No Man’s Land there is a Y junction with two onward trails named Monarch’s Way; one with a waymark in blue, the other yellow. It has to be said that this long distance footpath is but an approximation of the route taken by his majesty.
This time Arun
As a change from high ground most of the time, one walk after starting with a climb to the South Downs Way took us gently downhill, passing a well maintained gallop, to the left bank of the River Arun. From here we had a fine view of Arundel Castle. Crossing the town centre by the remains of what is called Maison Dieu we climbed again, this time past the cathedral to make our way through the undulating grounds of Arundel Park before completing the circular walk with another stretch of river along the right bank.
We record here our thanks to Mick and Jan, David and Helen and to Michelle for all the hard work they put in to plan, reconnoitre and lead the walks; also to Penny for handling the bookings with her usual efficiency.
Richard Owen
2018: Lulworth Cove
Brisk Walks on the Jurassic Coast
Three and a half days of testing walks on the Isle of Purbeck were lined up for a party from the Friday Brisk Walk group in October. The group was extremely fortunate to have dry and on most days very warm weather with good visibility for the walks, planned in the summer by Mick and Jan Scott. This was just what we needed for maximum enjoyment of the coastal path with its splendid views stretching west to Portland Bill and east to the Isle of Wight.
The near-perfect circle of Lulworth Cove lay just a few hundred yards stroll from our base at West Lulworth House belonging to HF Holidays. The taster walk for some of the group on the first afternoon was anything but a stroll, as it kicked off with a route past the spectacular Stair Hole, a world heritage site, followed by a stiff circuit from the cove with a tough climb up steps to Bindon Hill. The rock formations at Stair Hole are a riot of contrasts between hard Portland stone and the once level sedimentary Purbeck Beds. These have been lifted up, tilted and twisted to form amazing patterns, vividly demonstrating powerful earth movements of many thousands of years ago resulting in what is called the Lulworth Crumple.
Rock follies
Follies featured on the first full day’s walk. We stopped near one overlooking the black clay of Kimmeridge Bay with its oil well opposite, noting that the nodding donkey was static. Clavell Tower today stands close to the cliff edge and had it not been moved some yards inland would surely have fallen into the sea. This coastal lookout and folly was built in 1830/31 by the eponymous rector and landowner when he came into the land and a lot of money.
After a stretch of coast path high above Kimmeridge Ledges the group turned inland to be faced shortly afterwards with the steepest climb imagineable. The way up was by rough steps cut into the hillside before a welcome break on top of Swyre Head 203 metres above sea level. Phew! The return route along Ridgeway Hill took us past the listed Grange Arch, also known as Creech Folly, built in 1746 in the form of a triple arch of ashlar stone overlooking Creech Grange far below.
Chuffed
After a 13 mile trek, the longest of the holiday, we were very pleased to sit down and let the restored steam train take the strain for a ride back from Swanage to Corfe Castle. The group had opted not to take a section of coast path with three steep descents and ascents, one of which has 200 steps each side. Instead, we chose a level track leading to St Aldhelm’s or St Alban’s head with its working coastguard lookout and the tiny 800 year old St Aldhelm’s Chapel. The disused Winspit quarry on the coast near Worth Matravers provided a convenient site for our lunch break. There we sat in the large open space on the floor of the quarry where once nature had provided solid rock. The stone that has been removed was used to provide building materials for many prestigious buildings in London.
PT cruiser
To finish we had a shorter walk but it still tested us as the ascents and descents were exceptionally steep, especially the climb up to another Swyre Head after we had passed the famous stone arch of Durdle Door. As we paused for breath we were overtaken by a couple of runners, a younger man and a woman, who cruised past us. In some amazement we watched as they both stopped halfway up the 45 degree hill for a minute or two of callisthenics before continuing their run.
Stars in their eyes
Most evenings we enjoyed some form of entertainment put on by the HF team, including the customary quiz, plus a live performance of local songs and rhymes by John Sartin, an original member of the Yetties folk group. One clear evening a few of us took advantage of the dark skies of the Dorset coast to go down to the cove to gaze at the uncountable stars. We also had a fine view of the bright red planet of Mars as we listened to the sound of seawater gently lapping on the pebbly beach.
Our thanks go to Mick and Jan for leading the walks and to Penny Mayo for handling the bookings with practised efficiency.
Richard Owen
2017: Malhamdale
Malhamdale was the most recent destination for a party from the Friday Brisk Walk group taking their October holiday. For the more veteran members amongst us it was the third visit with the group and a popular choice, such is the quality of the walking. The walks were led by David and Helen who seem to know them all like the backs of their hands. OS Explorer OL2 was scarcely necessary. Newer members of the group enjoyed a perfect introduction to this lovely part of the Yorkshire Dales.
Won’t you join us?
A four mile introductory walk sticking close to the River Aire to Airton, then through the countryside back to base, ensured that several of the group were walked in and ready for the serious business of the next three full days, each involving a walk of between ten and 12 miles, as is our wont. Some took the alternative of an hour’s leg-stretcher organised by one of the leaders at the HF Holidays hotel where we enjoyed our four night stay.
The first must-see sight near the village of Malham was the atmospheric Gordale Scar, a deep cleft in the limestone hillside with waterfalls from the stream of Gordale Beck. A steady climb followed until we reached the approach to Malham Tarn, one of the country’s most attractive lakes lying in open land at an altitude of some 375 metres (1230 feet) above sea level. Set in a national nature reserve of 137 hectares, the tarn contains ancient water plants called stoneworts and is home to rare snails and insects such as the strange flightless caddis fly at its only breeding location in the UK. We didn’t see any not flying or breeding. Having completed a circuit of the lake, the group headed back via a precipitous and rocky ravine, which must have once been a steep water course, before arriving at the spectacular limestone pavement at the top of Malham Cove, 91metres high (or 300 feet if you prefer that as measure of its scale).
“I’m on the pavement”
When you get up close and personal with this massive waterfall, now dry but once fuelled by melt-waters of the Ice Age, you realise that the fissures, called grykes and a habitat for rare wild flowers, are deep enough to be quite an injury hazard. Most of us picked our way gingerly across the clints of the pavement to the relative safety of a downward path to join the bank of Malham Beck; it didn’t deter some young people from walking across the top of the cove while chatting on a mobile phone or walking a dog.
These words by Cumbrian poet Norman Nicholson, displayed on a board at the top of the cove, convey something of its aura. “Where flinty clints are scraped bone-bare, a whale’s ribs glint in the sun.”
Wet or what
The north west of England experienced a month’s worth of rain in a day during our stay, and we certainly had our share of it. The day’s walk proceeded, nonetheless, and may be memorable to many of us for its wetness more than anything else. It comprised a trek along an undulating section of the Pennine Way to Gargrave, followed by the level ground of the Leeds and Liverpool Canal for a few miles, then a circular walk taking us back to the hotel. First stop: the drying room.
Quad do you know?
Pausing at Priest Holme Bridge two of the group decided to turn back. Before retracing their route, they took out their flasks for a coffee break sitting on the curved steps leading from the canal to the road above. Hearing the sound of a motor they looked up in some surprise to see a man turn on to the steps and bounce past them on a quad bike. A few minutes later he reappeared from the towpath and rode up to continue on his way.
Aladdin’s garden shed
Tea was taken at a small cafe crammed with garden tools, ornaments and all sorts of knick-knacks too numerous to mention but included a rack made of dinner forks with bent tines which was actually an item for sale and not meant for customers to hang their wet gloves and caps on! There weren’t any precious metals or jewels there but it would not have been too surprising to discover a magic lamp in a dusty corner. This shop is also notable for its fine Victorian lavatory fittings.
Smile please
Mentioning this last point reminds me of the public smallest room at our hotel, Newfield Hall, where patrons were looked down on by a reproduction of Mona Lisa. The smile was nowhere near as mysterious as the Leonardo original, but at least it wasn’t the version with a moustache and some wisps of beard painted on.
May the Force be with you
Fine weather returned for the last walk of the trip, a circular hike from the nearby town of Settle. As we climbed we looked across to Giggleswick, easily identifying the domed building in the grounds of the school. With a little prompting we recalled that this is where TV chat show host Russell Harty had taught in his early career. The varied scenery of this walk took in a view of the distinctive fell of Pen-y-Ghent and a stop at the waterfall of Catrigg Force before a break for lunch on the bank of Stainforth Beck. Here we joined other fascinated watchers hoping to spot the salmon leaping upstream in the foaming brown waters at Stainforth Force. We were rewarded with several sightings of this phenomenon of nature. A short stop at Langcliffe, with its 1945 Victory Tree, enabled us to visit its cared-for church where the Harvest Festival decorations were still in place: loaves, plaited rolls and sprays at every other pew.
On completion of the walk the party gathered for the customary tea and cakes which were enjoyed by some of us settled on the settle in Settle at Ye Olde Naked Man Cafe. We are still puzzling out the origin of that name. A popular theory is that the 17th century building was formerly an undertaker’s premises.
Appreciation
We thank our two walk leaders for providing an excellent selection of varied days out and we also record our appreciation of all the hard work by Penny in arranging the hotel bookings for the group. Next time we head for the Jurassic Coast.
Richard Owen
2016: Selworthy
At the end of their October trip to Exmoor, a party of our U3A walkers heard from John J, founder and leader of the monthly Brisk Walking group, that for the quality of the walking he reckoned this to have been the best of many such holidays.
Gone west
North west Somerset was new ground for this group's annual autumn break and it stood out from a variety of previous destinations, including the Peak District, mid and south Wales and the Shropshire hills, not to mention several dales and moors of Yorkshire. All agreed that the Exmoor terrain was highly rated for its mix of coastal walks, moorland and wooded river valleys. The 2016 trip was marked by good weather throughout the week, this giving us plenty of opportunity to enjoy the changing colours of autumn. In the absence of strong winds before our visit, the trees were mainly still in leaf so we were treated to many spectacular displays of nature at this time of year.
Home baking
The hotel building where we stayed at Selworthy once belonged to the Acland family who had donated great tracts of land to the National Trust. The village, which lies a few miles along the road from Minehead, consists of cottages built for retired estate workers. These buildings are all painted the same distinctive creamy yellow, as is part of the main house now owned by HF Holidays. Many of the cottages feature a low circular outbuilding; this was formerly the bread oven. The village church is white which makes it easy to pick out from quite a distance. The war memorial nearby tells us that this tiny place lost eight men in each of the two world wars.
That's a bit steep
Ten or so walkers took advantage of their early arrival on the first day to warm up with a four miler before the customary tea and a scone (just the one, please) at the hotel. After a brief tour of the village, the first full day began in earnest when the whole group emerged on to the South West Coast Path. We headed west for some three miles, naturally opting for the more difficult way marked “rugged coast path” and enjoying views to our right across the Bristol Channel to Wales. Lots of up and down on this sector meant that the use of walking poles was recommended, particularly when descending. The knees held up all right and a welcome tea break at Bossington helped to restore us before the last two miles back to base.
Whortle it be?
West country cream teas are popular in this area and if you wanted to splash out an extra 50p you could order one with whortleberry jam instead of the usual strawberry.
The bells, the bells ...
One evening our entertainment was provided by the handbell ringers of Minehead looking very smart in their natty purple waistcoats. Things we learned about this pastime: the ringers bought their bells from the USA because they were cheaper and could be delivered in six weeks whereas an order from the Whitechapel Bell Foundry would require a two year wait; the bells from America have a rigid plastic handle compared with the traditional British bell which has a stiff leather handle; a handbell is eight parts copper, one part tin; and the clapper moves in one direction only. Ringing is not as easy as it might appear, as we in the audience discovered when given the chance to have a go. Just imagine a bunch of novices trying not only to ring the right notes but also to sing a round of Frere Jacques.
Bridge over troubled water
Exmoor boasts some of the highest cliffs in the country, so naturally another day's walk, considered by most to have been the best of the week, also had to take in a further section of the South West Coast Path. This time we headed towards Lynton and Lynmouth, pausing to see the Saxon church at Countisbury. We turned inland before these small towns, viewing the water powered funicular lift from afar, and headed for Watersmeet. Our route took us across the river Lyn by a fine arched bridge featuring attractive slanting slabs of stone, rebuilt in 1957 to replace the one washed away in the floods of August 1952.
How low can you get
On our way to the start of the walk we drove through Porlock, famous for its steep hill. It's a 1:4 climb as you leave the village and, in the early days of motoring, cars used to be driven up the hill in reverse gear. Near the top we came across something of a rare sight these days: an AA box. The nearby County Gate marked the boundary between Somerset and Devon. The site is now open road and all that remains today are two stone pillars which served as the gate posts, one in each county.
High church
A climb to the summit of Dunkery Beacon kicked off the last of the three 11 mile walks, a longish haul to the cairn, then across open moorland to a prettier finish through woods and by a river. On the way we stopped to take in a visit to the little church at Stoke Pero, mentioned in the “Domes Day Book”, and said to be he highest and most remote in Exmoor. It is noteworthy for its attractive wagon roof installed in 1897, and still looking as good as new, to replace the previous one which was beyond repair.
Leading lights
The walks were most ably led by by two couples, David and Helen for some, Mick and Jan for the others. We are grateful to them for the time and trouble they took in planning and leading these excellent walks, including doing a recce of the area earlier in the year; and to Penny for her diligent organisation of our bookings with the hotel.
Richard Owen
2015: Dovedale
Trail Mix
An advance party of ten or so from the Brisk Walking group arrived at the Peveril of the Peak country house hotel a few miles from Ashbourne in time for a warm-up walk of about four miles on the first afternoon. It gave the walkers a taste of the Limestone Trail to Tissington and a return via the Tissington Trail; a level walk since the latter was originally the trackbed of the railway line to Buxton which closed in the 1960s.
Three days of more arduous, that is to say hilly, and longer walking ensued. This took place not just in and around the famous Dovedale with its stepping stones near Thorpe, the small village where we stayed, but in many other lovely dales practically too numerous to mention. True to form, the group of about 20 walkers dealt with 11 miles a day. This is a typical distance for this kind of holiday. The technology exists to give you an exact mileage but we won't go into that here.
Every day we were blessed with fine, dry weather, so with mostly clear blue skies we could enjoy the early autumn splendour of the turning leaves, as well as the pleasure of being out in the open for the day. From the higher spots we could marvel at wide vistas of the unspoilt countryside of Derbyshire and Staffordshire.
Nature Study
The wildlife tally included trout in the rivers, a kingfisher was spotted once, a heron twice as well as many sightings of dippers and wagtails; also some cattle with impressive long curved horns. On one walk there was a freshly killed rabbit lying on the trail in the morning and elsewhere another one towards the end of our day. How did they get there, we wondered: were they the prey of raptors dropped from the sky?
Not long after our start of a walk near Lathkill Dale, a typical limestone dale, we crossed a farmyard where we could admire a peacock which sadly for us resisted entreaties to display his tail feathers. A few yards on we were intrigued by a small grotto in the cliff beside the path, because when we peered inside, lo and behold, there was a Nativity scene, some ten weeks earlier than expected. As we set out that morning we checked the availability of the tearoom in Monyash and after the longish gently sloping upwards last leg through Lathkill Dale we partook of a welcome cup of tea. This was offered in three sizes: small, large and pint.
I Remember You
What seems to be a custom in that area is to set a small metal plaque in wooden gates or stiles to commemorate people who had loved walking these dales. One plaque in particular that I recall was dedicated by the “Bleaklow Bores and Other Friends”!
Peak Fitness
Twice one day as we walked in the Dovedale area we met a pair of walkers who it transpired organised Herts Health Walks. Perhaps they saw us at first as potential customers or even walk leaders but didn't press the point too much when they heard that we normally do ten miles in a morning on our monthly walks.
Our thanks for their hard work in planning and leading the walks go to Mick and Jan Scott and to Christine Robinson accompanied by Terry; to Penny Mayo for organising the hotel bookings so efficiently; and to John Jaques who founded and has led the group for many years. We are already looking forward to the 2016 trip.
Richard Owen
2014: Sedburgh
Brisk Walkers in Cumbria
For its traditional October holiday the Brisk Walking group led by John Jaques headed for the north west of England to spend a few days in the small Cumbrian town of Sedbergh which lies in the Yorkshire Dales National Park.
Two of our stalwart members, David and Helen Jost who know the area better than most of us, had made a visit in July and had worked out a programme of varied walks to pick from according to weather conditions. We are indebted to David and Helen for this important preparatory work and for leading the walks during the holiday. Their local knowledge proved particularly interesting as we came to various points during the walks. We also thank Penny Mayo for making all the arrangements with Thorns Hall, the excellent HF Holidays venue, and it was unanimously agreed that Penny should do the job again for 2015.
There was no walk on the first day owing to the travelling time but an HF walk leader at the house gave us an hour's taster of Sedbergh (which I soon learned to pronounce with the second syllable to rhyme with Godber) by taking us round a town trail. It didn't take long to discover why it describes itself as England's Book Town.
Wall to wall
A fascinating talk by local lad Rob Willan, ten years a dry stone waller turned Blue Badge guide, followed our first evening meal. His subject was aspects of the culture of the area and apart from telling us about the making of the local cheese, Wensleydale, and the once widely practised cottage industry of knitting, he opened our eyes to the skills of dry stone walling. We learned about what might be described as the “golden proportions” of a dry stone wall. In the Yorkshire Dales these are 4ft in height and 4ft wide at the base, 2ft wide at halfway and 1ft at the top; also about the through stones which support the weight; and for best results, a gully to set the wall in. Then it might last for many hundreds of years. Sometimes a sheep's skull was set in the foundation, no-one seems sure why but there were mutterings about sacrifice.
We were going to have plenty of opportunity to examine these features of the dales countryside at close quarters, including the many styles of stiles set in them.
Hurricanes hardly ever happen
The remains of Hurricane Gonzalo were hitting the UK at the time of our visit so high winds were on the weather agenda. Fortunately we had sunny spells throughout the first morning and so could enjoy fine views of the Howgill Fells in many changing colours. One could see why these rounded hills came to be dubbed sleeping elephants by the well known fell walker A. Wainwright. If you would like to find out more about these fells, please have a look at the website which includes colour photographs at http://www.visitcumbria.com/peaks/howgills.
Some things you see on these walks stick in the mind. One such was our encounter with an elderly Yorkshireman with his blind dog. Strung along the top wire of a fence opposite his cottage this chap had fixed about a dozen grey squirrel tails. We discovered too that in this part of the world the red squirrel can sometimes be seen.
Up the spout
The following day we still had to contend with gusty and rather wet weather as we tackled the climb alongside the spectacular Cautley Spout. This is a waterfall in the south of the Howgills and is considered to be the highest in England. It has a drop of a good 180 metres. We were going up. Thank goodness there were steps made of embedded rocks, not entirely regular, but without them it would have been really hard going. Even so, the general opinion was that this was the toughest climb most of us had ever done in the UK. We were grateful to come across a sheep pen near the top where we could find some shelter from wind and rain while we lunched. On a day with clear skies we would have had spectacular views across the Lake District from the summit. As it was, we had some pretty fierce weather to contend with on the return leg.
A pub with no beer?
On the road to another circular walk, this time starting from the small village of Ravenstonedale instead of from the HF house, we passed the Cross Keys Temperance Inn (no, didn't go in) and set off in reasonably good weather across the dale. There was a photo shoot when we crossed the Coast to Coast path with our group dividing into two, comprising those who have and those who have not walked the C to C. Railway enthusiasts were catered for as we crossed over or under or were near to several viaducts, reminding us of the building skills of our forbears. A further reminder of our industrial heritage was passed on the disused railway track alongside the former Smardale Lime Works, where still stand the remains of furnaces that were heated to 900 degrees C for up to 10 days before the lime was taken away for a variety of uses. At our destination pub, The Black Swan, we could dry out after a wet finish to the walk by taking tea or other drinks before heading back for our last evening.
Some singing, some dancing
We were offered different activities each night at Thorns Hall. One evening it was by - and with - the local folk duo Ken and Claire from nearby Dentdale, yes we did “sing-along” a bit; then there was the country dancing, although several of us decided to sit that out; and of course the quiz. Congratulations to the team of six from our group who each went home with their prize of an HF mug.
Richard Owen
2013: Shropshire
Brisk Walkers in the Shropshire Hills
An October holiday has become a fixture in the calendar of the monthly Brisk Walking group led by John Jaques. As usual, somewhere more hilly than the Herts/Essex border country is chosen and this time we elected to make our first foray to the Shropshire hills, booking in to the Longmynd Hotel on the edge of the pleasant little town of Church Stretton. We are indebted to Penny Mayo for making all the arrangements with the hotel and to Mick and Jan Scott who led the walks having visited the area to reconnoitre them in June.
Take Caer
On arrival about half the 19 strong party planned a taster (or should that be a tester?) on the major feature of the area, the Long Mynd ridge, only to be curtailed by heavy rain. A full day followed for all the walkers when a good 12 miles in the hills were covered - maybe it felt like more to some of us and, as we headed back, Caer Caradoc Hill proved just too much after the ups and downs of its little sister, the Lawley.
After the warm and wet weather toadstools and mushrooms were aplenty and to the delight of the photographers some stood up to a foot in height. Shortly after one photo opportunity we met a couple coming down the hill towards us, each carrying mushrooms the size of dinner plates. They assured us these were edible and delicious. We took their word for it and pressed on.
The drive to The Bog on the following day involved a spectacular hilly route. We parked at the Bog Mine Visitor Centre, once the village school of this former lead mining community. A visit to to the Centre itself is well worth the drive but we headed off to the Stiperstones ridge which lies parallel to Long Mynd and is the second highest hill in Shropshire. The walk was certainly a challenge as the ridge is littered with sizeable hard-edged quartzite rocks. It was formed some 480 million years ago and constant freezing and thawing has shattered the quartzite into this scree. It would perhaps be too much to expect someone to have cleared it by now! However we were blessed with fine weather and were rewarded with stunning views of the full extent of Long Mynd to the east and the ranges of Wales to the west.
Missed you
At the time of Mick and Jan's visit in the summer, the top of Ragleth Hill revealed a fine view of the area. We were denied this pleasure by heavy mist but, as perhaps you would expect, after we had descended and had our picnic lunch, the sun broke through. The more intrepid members of the party completed the day by adding another six miles or so with a climb to Pole Bank, a high point on the Long Mynd ridge, before returning to the hotel.
A couple of quiz nights made for lively evening entertainment, plus a more relaxing recital on the last night given by an amateur light orchestra whose stay coincided with ours. The 28 musicians had brought their own instruments and only met one another for the first time at the beginning of the week, so the leader had to meld them into some sort of cohesive whole. I'm not sure whether the musicians knew what to expect during their stay, but we certainly got what we bargained for!
Richard Owen