Shropshire Hills 2019 Part 1 Day 2

Tuesday 30^th July 2019

I had a late start as I was trying to dry some clothes I’d hand washed the previous night.  I had put them in the dryer (yes, they had one in the bunkhouse, but no washing machine) for about 3 hours last night, and they ended up extremely hot, but still wet.  This morning I did another attempt and got them reasonably dry.

I walked the few kilometres into Church Stretton to get some food, then carried on south, walking a track over to Little Stretton, then following very quiet roads through Minton down to Hamperley, a route I have done many times in the past, and because of that, not taking many photos.  I turned right and headed up past Prior Holt, at which point it begain raining, then followed the wide forestry track through Nut Hatch up on to the Mynd.  I had forgotten about the detour around the gliding club runways, and ran right smack into the eastern boundary.  Walking clock-wise, I followed the orange-topped posts to avoid being hit by a glider, and make my way around and the up and through the gliding club proper.  The rain had eased off at some point during my wander around the club, but I wasn’t hopeful it had gone for good.

Walking alongside the Port Way, the single lane road that runs atop the Mynd, I eventually passed Pole Cottage, then turned onto the track that ran up to Pole Bank, then down and past the Shooting Box.  I took the Carding Mill Valley track just as the rain started up again and saw a wild pony and foal, so stopped to take some quick shots. 

Carrying on, I dropped down quickly into the valley, soon coming to the junction that could take me up to the Lightspout waterfall, and reminisced over how I once placed a can of cider into the stream here, buried under a number of rocks to both hide it, and ensure it would be kept cool in the quickly flowing water, only to return hours later to find the can empty and flatted and left slightly further upstream.  I guess someone had a drink on me that day.

I considered a cream tea and had a brief stop at the National Trust tea shop on the way down, but couldn’t bring myself to spend the amount they were asking for when it wasn’t even homemade.  Hoping that a café in Church Stretton might offer a more reasonable price, I headed back into town.  I was floored at the price at Berry’s coffee shop and decided a cream tea was not to be today.  Church Stretton has changed since the first time I came to visit only 6 years ago, catering more to tourists that had a bit more ready money than I.

I picked up a microwave curry from the co-op and carted it back to All Stretton for dinner.

Day 3