Shropshire 2023 Part 1

Tuesday, 4th July - Saturday, 8th July.

My flight from Toronto was delayed about 2 hours before taking off, meaning I arrived at Gatwick after the train, that I had a ticket for, had left.  There was no refund or exchange, so I had to purchase a new ticket.  The journey to Church Stretton was delayed (which meant I could apply for, and get, a partial refund for the delay).  Initially I was supposed to arrive in Church Stretton at 5 p.m. but with the delays I finally arrived at 8 p.m.  During the train journey, looking out of the window at the familiar countryside, I experienced some excitement about the next 3 weeks.

Upon arrival, I hit the co-op for some breakfast supplies, then went to the chippy for a value pack of sausage, fish, chips, and mushy peas.  I lugged all of that along the road to the bunkhouse near All Stretton where I got myself fed and settled in.  Note: the next two photos were taken the next morning.

The track up to the All Stretton bunkhouse

 

The bunkhouse itself

The next day, Wednesday, I headed into Church Stretton along a trail that runs parallel to the road (I tried using different routes throughout this holiday, so I wasn't walking the exact same path every time I needed food).

I went for a boot-fitting appointment (having to kill some time before an appointment slot was available) and came away with some £320 boots that looked good but were suspiciously snug - the shop owner explained they were meant to be snug to avoid sliding in them and creating blisters.  The good news is that I did not experience any blisters during the holiday, and I like the look/style of them.  The bad news we will come to.  I left my used, tatty, Keen boots for them to throw away (in hindsight, this might not have been the best move, even though there was no tread left on those).

After grabbing some lunch from the co-op, I headed out for a walk to test out my new boots.  I wandered over to, and up, Helmeth Hill - a winding trail that did not match what showed on my Hiiker app map.

 

From there I wandered down a track I've been on before, down to Hope Bowdler (the settlement, not the hill), stopping at an honesty shed, not to purchase anything, but to make use of a picnic table there to eat my lunch.  The view was not too exciting though.

After a small group of other walkers arrived, I left there to head across to, and up, Ragleth Hill.

I descended the steep southern end of Ragleth Hill and, at this point, realised my boots felt even tighter, especially across the widest part of my foot.  Also, my left small toe felt crushed under/into the next toe, and my big toes now touched the front of the boots, admittedly while going down a rather steep slope.  I theorised that my high arch flattens out over time as I am on a walk, thereby causing the feet to elongate.

Across and through the edge of Little Stretton, and then up Ashes Hollow, following the little beck for a long way up onto the Long Mynd.

When I connected with Pole Bank Walk I turned right and followed that until it became the track down Town Beck Batch, and then came back down off the Mynd.  I hadn't been down this valley before and was quite impressed by the view.

Somewhere along this route something pulled in my left calf muscle and I limped back into Church Stretton.

I bought supplies to make my own lunches from the co-op, along with a pack of cider, then bought fish 'n' chips again, which I ate in the Rectory Wood park to eat.  After this, I limped back to the bunkhouse in All Stretton, still with an aching/throbbing calf muscle.

On the Thursday I managed to walk back over to Church Stretton, but in addition to my tight left calf muscle, my right shin/ankle was now swollen and sore, reminding my of the problems I had in both 2013 and 2015.  Luckily, I had wisely brought my trekking poles with me, which helped alleviate the pain.  I purchased some food supplied for meals and snacks, and then went back to the bunkhouse to read for the rest of the day.  I spent the Friday at the bunkhouse as the injuries were rather painful, but on Saturday I managed another walk to Church Stretton for more food supplies.

Part 2: Sunday the 9th - Tuesday the 11th