3 down, 37 to go!

Caer Caradoc is a geat hill to climb. You can find it just North-East of Church Stretton, and on the oppsite side of the valley to the Long Mynd. As you approach down the A49 it rises up sharply out of the flat plains around. It is a proper hill, with steep sides that make you wonder how you are going to get up.

Bethan, Monty and I met my parents, Carole and Graham, and my brother, Simon, to climb it today. The weather was perfect, overcast for the ascent, followed by sunshine and blue skies coming down. We managed to leave the car near Comley, and walked straight up via Little Caradoc. The picture above is from the top of Little Caradoc (327m), looking towards Caer Caradoc (459m) itself. It was steep walking at times, but not for too long.

The views from the top are great. As you ascend, you get an increasingly impressive view of The Lawley, behind you with The Wrekin beyond, and a great view of the plateau of The Long Mynd over to you right. My dad had fun with Monty. Managed to get almost pulled over a couple of times, and finally accepted that the dog was stronger than he was!

We were expecting strong winds on the top, and it was a little breezy, but not too bad. We easily managed to find a sheltered spot for our lunch. A leisurely stroll down was then in order, heading first South, then curving around East then North around the bottom of the hill. The mid afternoon sun was warm on our backs as we headed back to the car for tea and cake.

My mum is going to arrange to climb another hill with me sometime, and wondered about doing Kinder Scout. I've climbed it once before, with Simon, and remember it being quite a hill. Should be good. Simon is still giving me list of hills he would like to climb, mostly in Scotland, and mostly very high...