The Long Mynd with Jen and Nick

The Long Mynd has been on the list to do with Jen ever since I started the 40 hills challenge. Jen is one of our oldest and best friends, and she got married to Nick last December. Nick, on the other hand, is one of our newest friends, having only met Jen a couple of years ago! We met on Saturday to climb the Long Mynd with both of them, planning 2 hills along the way.


It was a glorious day, warm and sunny, so we packed our picnic lunch and plenty of water, and set off from Carding Mill Valley by the National Trust tea room and shop and headed on up the valley towards the hills. We took the path up towards the waterfall, which was not as impressive as when we were last here in the snow in January. Most of the climbing was done here, and once we reached the Shropshire Way we headed for our first and highest peak:


Pole Bank with Jen


The higher we climbed, the greater our views, particularly looking back East over Church Stretton to Caer Caradoc, Lawley, Hope Bowdler and other (to us) nameless hills. As we approached the summit, Jen got into her stride and powered up the final slopes, beating us all to the trig point and toposcope. Once there, we had views West towards the Stiperstones and beyond. It was a little hazy, but nevertheless, better than being in the cloud! Jen has (wisely) got Nick to carry their lunch up the hill in their picnic rucksac, so they were able to enjoy drinks out of a wine glass (I never checked to see if they were glass or plastic...)


We all enjoyed lunch, and managed to take our photos of ourselves at the top before a crowd of other walkers arrived to spoil the view! We also saw a few mountain bikers around, cycling over the top. I also noticed that this part of the Shropshire Way is also part of the Ride UK network for horse riders. There were no riders around today though. Plenty of sheep, skylarks and crows, but no horses...


After lunch we headed off the top via a small path East down to the road, which we followed North for a short way, before picking up a path on the right signed to Townsbrook. This route headed up and down a bit (mainly down) until we could see our next destination:


Yearlet with Nick


Now, a word about Nick. As mentioned earlier, we are still getting to know him, and so, what to say about him? He is a writer, and has his own website. He is fond of horror stories and mysteries/legends, and has particularly liked those bits of my blog that have referenced local stories - check out The Roaches and The Wrekin for examples. So, what to say about the Long Mynd? There don't seem to be that many legends or stories about the Long Mynd, but I have discovered that some local legends have it that both Wild Eric and the White Lady haunt the Long Mynd. Wild Eric was a Saxon warrior, and while I'm not sure who the White Lady was meant to be, she apparently likes joining in with local dances. We didn't do any dancing, which is perhaps why we didn't see her on our walk. Further research (well, a quick google search) makes me wonder whether my original information was correct, and whether Wild Eric is, in fact, Wild EDRIC.

The tale of Wild Edric is both beautiful and sad, as all good storied tend to be. Edric was a great Saxon Lord in Shropshire, and loved to hunt in the Shropshire hills. Legend has it that one day he came across a beautiful maiden, whom he took back to his manor. He discovered she was non other than Godda, a Fairy Queen, and we married her. She agreed to marry him and remain in human form so long as he never reproached her for being Fairy. All went well for many years, until one day he lost his temper and broke his vow. She returned to the land of the fairy, and he never saw her again. He became a wild man, hunting for her across the hills. He died shortly after, but the legend tells that he can still be seen hunting for Godda across the hills...

He was not out hunting while we were there...

Yearlet looks like a small detour on the map, but when you get to the bottom of it, just as the path would otherwise descend back down towards Townsbrook, it seems like quite a climb. The direct route up (which we took) was steep, but not too long, and we managed it without too much difficulty. Jen, once again, managed to find some extra energy to storm up, allegedly running part of it! We found her sat on the cairn. The views from here seemed even better, and we could see Caer Caradoc better than before. We enjoyed a short rest before heading down, steeply, to the small pond which I assume is Townsbrook.

By now Monty was thirsty, and very hot. He managed to reach down for a drink from the pool, but I thought he could do with a cooling dip, so 'encouraged' him to jump in (OK, so I pushed him...). He was fine, although Bethan did accuse me of being 'very mean' to him. It certainly cooled him down!

It was only a short walk form there back to Carding Mill Valley, and the cars. We enjoyed a cup of tea and a scone and Bethan had a huge ice-cream.

It was a great day. Thanks Jen and Nick for these hills, and especially to Nick for the inspiration to research about Wild Edric...!

Up The Wrekin

Hill five done today! Nigel drove us down to Shropshire to climb The Wrekin. This is a great hill that rises above the Shropshire plains giving great views all around. It's 407m high, and involves a short, sharp climb up to the top. It's another ancient hill fort, just like Bickerton and Caer Caradoc. You can still make out some of the earthworks. Legend has it that The Wrekin was formed when a giant was walking to Shrewsbury with a huge shovel full of earth to destroy the town. He met a cobbler with a sack full of shoes needing repair, and asked him for directions, telling him that he was going to damn the River Severn in order to flood the town. The cobbler replied that Shrewsbury was a long way off, showing him all the shoes he had worn out walking from there. The giant gave up his quest on hearing this and dumped his shovel of earth down, forming the Wrekin...

We didn't see any giants today.

The weather was perfect. Morning showers cleared for us to walk up in the sunshine. It was a bit hazy for really good views, but you could see down to Caer Caradoc and the Long Mynd as well as East to Brown Clee Hill (on the list for anther day!). We enjoyed the walk as did our 2 dogs.

We had a quick driving tour arund Wenlock Edge to Cardington for lunch at The Royal Oak washed down by a pint of Shropshire Lass.

Another great day, good weather, a good hill and good company!

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...