Waltham on the Wolds, 24th September 2017

Steve D led 16 ramblers on this 10 mile walk from Waltham on the Wolds taking in the local villages of Bescaby, Saltby, Sproxton and Stonesby.

Waltham is nearly 180 metres above sea level and there are a number of local transmitting aerials/masts that take advantage of this high elevation. The first part of walk passed the NATS Station broadcasting to aircraft using East Midlands Airport. The local, tall TV mast is the main TV and radio broadcasting mast for the East Midlands. Built originally in 1966, the first mast collapsed and was rebuilt in 1968. In recent years the change from analogue to digital broadcasts reduced the aerial height to its current 300m. 

At Bescaby, the walkers passed the gallops which are part of the former Croxton Park Race Course. This operated from the 1820s to 1914 and in its time attracted many famous jockeys for flat and hurdle racing. It did not survive the First World War. However, the Croxton Park Novices Race is still held annually at Leicester Racecourse. 

Saltby operated an RAF and US Army Airforce airfield during the Second World War. It is now used by Buckminster Gliding Club and used seven days a week. Gliders and a Lancaster bomber fly-past provided an aerial spectacle during lunch and the afternoon. 

Many of the local villages have a heritage of quarrying for limestone and iron ore. Sproxton was still quarrying iron ore until the 1960’s. 

The ramblers returned via the aptly named Stonesby whose quarry was used for landfill in the 1990’s and is now a wildlife nature reserve. 

Here are some photos taken on the walk.
As big as dinner plates
My little pony - gender stereotyping not discouraged in the Ramblers
Blogger tries to remain anonymous
Lunch at Sproxton Village Hall
Ironstone house, Sproxton
Crown Inn, Sproxton - a missed opportunity
Steve's new headgear means you can never get lost near Waltham
Sproxton to Waltham - part of the Scalford to Buckminster Mowbray Way.  This 9 mile Long Distance Footpath !! links the Jubileee and Viking Ways.
St Peter's Church, Stonesby - take five
Motif known as the Belvoir Angel on a headstone in the churchyard - carved in slate in the late 1600's and now the logo for the Team of nine parish churches, in the Diocese of Leicester, which runs from Bottesford to Long Clawson

Church Stretton Weekend Away, 15th to 18th September 2017

This year's Weekend Away was based at HF Holidays' Longmynd House, Church Stretton, formerly a hotel built in 1900 as a hydro-spa when Church Stretton enjoyed a brief period of celebrity as a health resort.  Three days of walking were planned with two walks each day.

Both Saturday's walks started in the car park with a short briefing.
Then  the longer (anticlockwise) walk ...
... went up the Carding Mill Valley, location of a carding factory built in the 18th century, and named after a stage in making cloth.  This very steep-sided valley ...

... rises gradually to the famous Long Mynd plateau whose geology dates back to the Precambrian era.
Top of Carding Mill Valley looking back at Church Stretton

 
There the route met the Shropshire Way which took us along good tracks to Pole Bank the highest point on the Long Mynd at 516m with excellent views to the west in clearing weather.



Toposcope on Pole Bank
Then it was over Round Hill and down over open country ...

... for lunch, taking care to avoid the suicidal cyclists.
After lunch, down to Little Stretton ...
 ... and eventually back up to the Ong Ynd Hotel.

The shorter (clockwise) walk led by Elaine ascended Townbrook Valley to Pole Bank before turning back along the Shropshire Way to meet and greet (very briefly) and immediately leave the rest of the group ...
... before descending Carding Mill Valley for ice cream in the National Trust cafe.

Sunday took us on an interesting drive over the top of Long Mynd to The Bog Visitor Centre to visit the Stiperstones, a 536 metres quartzite ridge formed 480 million years ago.
During the 1870s the Stiperstones area was one of Britain’s main sources of lead.  Commercial mining started at Bog in the 1730s and stopped in the 1880s but the mines were re-opened in the early 1900s to extract barytes until production ceased in 1922.  At The Bog there used to be 17 individual mines and, altogether in Shropshire, a staggering 950 mines at 180 separate locations extracting barytes, calcite, clay, coal, copper, fluorspar, fullers earth, iron, lead, limestone, sandstone, silver, tar and zinc.

The shorter walk took both parties up the gentle but rocky slope of the Stiperstones ridge ...
 ... in very misty conditions
Coffee stop on the ridge

At last, a clear view of the Stiperstones
Then it was across farmland past evidence of mining ...
Remains of Tankerville Mine - one of many near Shelve
to Shelve itself ...
Church of All Saints, Shelve - about to host a parachute jump for teddies!
 


... and back along one of Offa's routes (see below) to The Bog Visitor Centre for tea and cakes.






Seven of the group left the rest on the Stiperstones and descended to Ratlinghope (pronounced Rachup by the locals) and Bridges on the longer route.

Lunch in the Golden Valley on the Shropshire Way again


On Monday, after a briefing in Church Stretton itself, ...

... Rab (after some important and useful reconnaissance earlier in the weekend) took us up the slopes of Caer Caradoc, a volcanic pre-Cambrian rock thrust upwards by movements deep down along the Church Stretton fault. The summit is crowned by an Ancient British Iron Age or late Bronze Age hill fort after which the hill is named - Caer Caradog in Welsh meaning Caradog's fort.
Distant view of Caer Caradoc overlooking Church Stretton

Group below Caer Caradoc
The group then split up with half climbing up and over Caer Caradoc Hill, giving Roger the opportunity of experimenting with his camera ...
Looking back to Church Stretton

... before descending just before Little Caradoc ...
Little Caradoc, The Lawley in the distance
... and getting a drenching in the last mile back to Church Stretton!

Other resources:

 http://www.walkingbritain.co.uk/walk-1180-description - Walking Britain, Pole Bank from Carding Mill

 http://www.ramblers.org.uk/go-walking/routes-and-places-to-walk/about-ramblers-routes/route-detail.aspx?routeUID=2909 ) - Ramblers Routes, Long Mynd long walk

http://www.walkingbritain.co.uk/walk-1809-description - Walking Britian, Shelve and Stiperstones from The Bog

http://www.shropshirehillsaonb.co.uk/enjoying-the-shropshire-hills/shuttles/  - Shropshire Hills Shuttle Buses

http://shropshirehistory.com/mining/mining.htm - Shropshire mining history

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geology_of_Shropshire - Shropshire geology

 https://www.hfholidays.co.uk/country-houses/church-stretton/ - HF Holidays Long Mynd House

http://www.shropshiresgreatoutdoors.co.uk/walking/walking-with-offa/  - Walking with Offa, a series of eighteen pub walks in Shropshire   

Burrough on the Hill, 10th September 2017

Paul's walk today ...
... started next to St Mary the Virgin, Burrough-on-the-Hill ...
 
... before heading across the stubble ...
.. to St Michael & All Angels in Thorpe Satchville for coffee.
Then it was up to the RAC observation point on top of Burrough Hill, site of the Iron Age hill fort ...
,,, before crossing the Country Park ...
... and returning via Somerby to Burrough.

Epperstone, 3rd September 2017

Gail's walk today attracted a lot of interest (39 people) as it was adverised in the Notts Guided Walks Programme.  It explored the undulating (and stile free!) countyside north of Epperstone and east of Oxton.
The start outside The Cross Keys, Epperstone


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