Shropshire, Powys and Herefordshire

We got back from Scotland on Sunday and used Bank Holiday Monday to take up the carpet on the stairs and landing, before the arrival of the decorator on Tuesday. Having sorted him out, we headed down to Bow House and left him to get on with it.

When we arrived on Tuesday afternoon, the whole site smelled of flowers, with the musky scent of fields of rape everywhere. Weather wise, we’ve had a great week, with some sunshine and decent day time temperatures, although it’s been chilly in the evenings.

We’ve used our time to do some walking, some chilling and to catch up with a friend who’s been walking some more of Offa’s Dyke and staying in her beautiful Campervan. On Wednesday we headed into Church Stretton for some grocery shopping, followed by a walk through Rectory Woods. The woods were carpeted with Bluebells and the air was full of their scent – true signs of Spring.

Thursday involved a trip to Much Wenlock, but not before we’d stopped for a walk on Wenlock Edge in glorious sunshine.

We headed down into the town for some lunch, only to fall foul of that strange phenomenon, the parochial habit that pubs have of stopping serving food at 2pm. We arrived at 2.20pm so had to settle for a bag of Cheddars.

We’d been to Much Wenlock in Absinthe in the past but, strangely, we’d never visited the Priory. We used our English Heritage membership to pop in to the grounds, which were deserted apart from two conservators and one other visitor. It’s such a calm space and looked good in the sunshine. https://www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/places/wenlock-priory/

On Friday we headed to Knighton, across the border in Powys, to meet up with Moira and her beautiful Brazilian Bay.

We walked up to the Offa’s Dyke visitor centre where Alison stood astride the boundary between England and Wales, then to a quirky cafe for lunch. A lovely day and great to catch up with a favourite friend.

The weather was a bit cloudy with some rain on Friday but cleared on Saturday, so we popped into Bishops Castle for some shopping and a coffee at the Poetry Pharmacy. We also arranged to meet Liz from Marlon’s meals to collect some tasty home made meals. We love having some of their meals in the van’s freezer to alternate with things that we cook ourselves.

Back to the van and the usual suspects were after the bird food, watched attentively of course, by a stalking Schnauzer.

Ralf had been a bit mad all week, so we took him to Croft Castle in Herefordshire to try and tire him out a bit. There are lots of ancient trees in the Parkland, including some Chestnut Trees planted from Spanish ships during the Armada. One Oak tree, The Quarry Oak, is apparently 1,000 years old. https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/features/croft-castles-parkland

Alison drove down to Swindon on Monday to babysit whilst Gabbie had a hospital appointment, so I was home alone with Ralf. I used the time to start this Blog and to fit a new outside light to the van. As I write, it’s up, but doesn’t seem to be working. It’s fitted with a PIR so hopefully darkness will make it work later.

We headed into Bishops Castle on Tuesday afternoon for a walk along the Shropshire Way towards Colebatch, stopping at the end for a pint in the Six Bells. Just what we needed before heading home on Wednesday.

A great week then, to be followed by some hard work on carpet removal and titivating at home, before our house goes up for sale. Our next trip is to Ireby in Cumbria, including a Foraging Day at the end of May. Check back soon to see how we got on.