Shropshire Hills 2014 Day 2

Day 2 Friday 25^th July 2014

I awoke at 5:45 a.m. with sunlight pouring in through the windows (I had left the curtains open on purpose) and had slept like a log.  Even so, I dozed off again until 7:30.  Over breakfast I debated where to walk today, and Janet suggested going over to Cardington, somewhere I did not go last year.  After heading into the village for a few chores and supplies, I was off!  It was hot and I was sweating but, unusually for me, I did not notice it that much.  Like last year, I deposited some ciders in the stream at the between Caer Caradoc Hill and Helmeth Hill.  I looped around the back of Helmeth Hill and then went anti-clockwise around Hope Bowdler Hill to see the Gaerstone and Battle stones, and had great views along the Hope Bowdler and Winstone Hills.

The view back to Caer Caradoc

Gaerstone

Battlestones

A steep descent down a narrow country lane past North Hill Farm led me into Cardington.   

I stopped at the pub for a cider, but ate sandwiches I had purchased earlier that morning.  The return trip started by heading past the Cardington church, then it headed pretty much due West through the fields.

Then I went up the (what I thought last year was) steep ascent of Caer Caradoc.   

At the top a couple told me there were thousands of caterpillars, and showed me a picture they had taken on their phone but, despite that, I did not see them.

Back down at the stream I had a, now cooled, cider, then walked back to Church Stretton where I sat in Rectory Field for a while to write my journal.  I wandered through the Rectory Woods to kill some time (and further kill my aching knees) before repeating last night’s meal in the same locale.  Call me boring!

Day 3