Shropshire Walkabouts – Page 3

Night lights

Just a few late afternoon photos finishing off the walk for the Season Challenge the other day. It is surprising how quickly it gets dark now.

And did anyone spot the pelican and puffin?

Monthly Photo Challenge: The Changing Seasons #11

The penultimate month of this year-long challenge. There was a time when I thought I might not be here to finish off the year as a move was on the cards. Still is I hope, but not this year. Still I am more than happy to have had a year to record the changes here in my adopted town and gather some memories.

The trees have gone from green to orange and yellow and umbers and ambers since my last post. The copper beech I can see from my house turned red, then orange and is now a golden-coppery colour. That is the few leaves that remain. Fog and rain since the beginning of the month has had their toll, but today I went out shortly before sunset after a shower to gather in the remains of autumn.

Date: November 13 2015
Weather: sunshine and showers, chilly wind
Temperature: Cold (9°C)
Time: 3:45 – 4:45 PM

I’d hoped to catch a sunset as the sky had cleared after a heavy rainstorm. Grabbing my new lens I wrapped up warm as the temperature has finally fallen to below 10°C in the wind chill and headed up to the square where the last of the market traders were packing away.

Since it was cold and the ground wet from the recent storm I decided to just do a circuit of the castle and see what I could find, but naturally I have to show you what the pollarded limes are doing now.

You may notice that the Christmas lights have been hung up between the trees, but I shall try to capture them once they are turned on at the end of the month. Continue reading Monthly Photo Challenge: The Changing Seasons #11

Monthly Photo Challenge: The Changing Seasons #10

October already, how the years fly past these days. It doesn’t seem 11 months since I was planning and packing for my trip to Australia and New Zealand. Luckily we have been experiencing an Indian Summer here in the UK. September and October have been mostly dry so far. Misty mornings give way to bright cloudless days until mid afternoon when cloud descends again. Being sunny and unseasonably warm I am not even going to complain about the nights drawing in. For now.

The only issue is that because we haven’t had any cold periods yet a lot of the trees are still very green looking; we need a sharp cold hit to trigger the process that causes leaves to turn colour. Still, I decided that this month I’d take you back along the common where we can get a good view of the town and any colouration of the trees and shrubs from above. Hopefully next month we will see more changes.

Date: October 14 2015
Weather: sunshine and cloud
Temperature: Fresh and sunny (11°C)
Time: 12:00 – 13:15 PM

I’m not going to talk too much this month, I’ll let the pictures tell the story and those of you who have been following this series should recognise a lot of the views.

The ‘daffodil’ bench

It’s that time of year…

There are some burnished golds and copper tints and I see that the meadows have been mown and the bracken is dying down. Continue reading Monthly Photo Challenge: The Changing Seasons #10

A Walk on a Wild Ridge

I meant to return to the Stiperstones in Shropshire during August when the hills would be a purple haze. Unfortunately the damp weather conspired against me but on a gloriously clear day in mid-September I did go back. The Stiperstones is a spectacular 10-kilometre ridge in south-west Shropshire rising to 536 metres above sea level.

We started the walk this time from the Knolls car park which lies between the Bog Visitor Centre and the hamlet of Bridges at the base of the Long Mynd. There is a fairly short all-ability trail on a broad, level, well-surfaced track running along the southern edge of the Reserve.

There are resting perches and a tapping rail as well as plenty of benches providing views over the area, although the actual quartzite tors are only just visible. There are no benches on top so make the most of these. Continue reading A Walk on a Wild Ridge

Park Life

Sunday was a beautiful day. The sun was shining. It was reasonably warm for the time of year and it was my birthday. To celebrate we went for a walk in a nearby National Trust parkland, Berrington Hall, where a new route has been created through the broadleaf-woodland, followed by coffee and cake in the courtyard with live music from a folk group celebrating the apple harvest and a last lingering stroll around the walled garden and orchard simply dripping with apples of all colours and sizes. Care to join me?

We decided to follow the blue route but cut alongside the lake and then follow the yellow route to cut across and join the blue one again. Although we have visited Berrington many times, it has always been during the period when the lake walk is closed due to grey herons nesting there between March and July.

Looking back towards the house, built in 1775 by Thomas Harley and designed by Henry Holland in the latest French influenced Neo-classical style. Continue reading Park Life