Our Last Full Day in Church Stretton: Climbing Caradoc

For an OS map of our loop walk to Caer Caradoc (5.9 miles; 9.49 km; 1.054 feet total ascent), click here.

We were up before 9:00 a.m., which felt like progress in the attempt to shake off jet lag. After a breakfast of tea, toast, and strawberries, we set off at 10:55 for our Caer Caradoc walk.

It was wonderful to set out walking again, and very soon after leaving town, a view of our destination spread out in front of us. 

On course for Caer Caradoc (from the south): we would head around to its right and then up its northeast flank

I enjoyed everything about the walk—the surprising scent of honeysuckle in one of the hedgerows, the different textures of the paths (even the slightly muddy ones), and the birdsong of skylarks and cuckoos. And the sheep! It was lovely to see them again. 

One ewe was separated from her lamb in another field (although there was no gate between fields so they could have found each other if they had been clever enough), and the lamb had the loudest cry we'd ever heard from a sheep; it was deep and resonant. On the walk back, there was a lamb that sounded like it was bleating the word "lamb" in a low voice, and I joked that it was really saying, "Don't . . . eat . . .  lamb!" But I am getting ahead of myself. 

Ken could describe the route in more detail, but I would say that the most noteworthy feature of the walk was (unsurprisingly) the views, which demanded frequent stops both on the way and especially from the top. As we skirted around the east side of Caradoc, we also met some walkers who provided some good route advice and just enough social interaction to give Ken an energy boost as we made our way gradually uphill to the top.

It was overcast and cold but the views were still amazing. Ken pointed out many features: to the west was the Long Mynd, the site of our wonderful last day's long walk with Susan last year. Looking east we could see the long line of Wenlock Edge, on which we will walk for the next day or two. Looking south there was a wonderful panorama of hills and valleys. And to the northeast lay the Lawley and the Wrekin, with the north Shropshire plain and perhaps even Cheshire hazy in the distance.

 

From Caradoc summit: looking north towards the Lawley and, in the distance, the Wrekin

 Although it was cold sitting on the top of Caer Caradoc, eating our buttered bread, it was wonderful. After both reading about it and then having had a great view of the hill from our All Stretton Airbnb on the last day of our B2B Part Two walk last year, it was a walk Ken really wanted to do—and we did it!

A daredevil on the rocks!

[Ringing the summit were a variety of dramatic rock formations as well as the distinctive ditches and ramparts of an ancient hill fort; one of the rumoured strongholds of Caractcus (i.e., Caradoc, AKA Cymbeline). Whatever the reality of who built and inhabited the fort, it is pretty awe-inspiring. Given how cold it felt in the wind in late May, I'd hate to have had to man the fort in winter!—Ken]

I was surprised to see a small patch of what looked like yellow violas, a flower I would associate with domestic gardens rather than mountains. I wondered if they had been introduced by rabbits in the same way they had been in my garden at home. We also saw a red kite several times, a bird of prey that was extinct in Britain but has been reintroduced with success, as we saw today. It was majestic as it glided around.

Note that cameras "flatten" the landscape: this was very steep!

 

In some ways, descending a mountain is harder than ascending, and this descent involved a path with loose gravel. At one point my foot skidded on the gravel and I found myself flat on my back. I was wearing gloves, so my hands weren't skinned, and thankfully I landed "well" and didn't injure anything. I landed on the day pack that I was using, but the otter-seals, who love mountain walks, were uninjured.

The Seals at the Summit of Caer Caradoc

 

After our descent we walked straight into Church Stretton and went to Jemima's coffee shop. We sat in a room with couches and shared Earl Grey tea and slices of cake: orange almond for me, and bumblebee(?) for Ken, a banana-pineapple cake with cream cheese icing. Both cakes were good, but I liked Ken's better.

While I was previewing the cakes in a different room, Ken unpacked the day pack I had been wearing and discovered that I had partially crushed my lightweight aluminum insulated water bottle. We think it is somehow leaking at the lid, though we haven't quite figured it out. I was pleased that it was my bottle that was damaged, since I had previously dented it by dropping it on the pavement in a parking lot. Ken's water bottle is still pristine.

The King's Arms, Church Stretton

We came up to the hut after that, and then went down again for dinner at the King's Arms. I had carrot coriander soup, and helped Ken eat his order of faggots (meatballs), mash (mashed potatoes) and gravy. It was the first time we had tried faggots, which are apparently associated with the region in which we are travelling. They were excellent, and tasted like they had oatmeal and herbs in them.

We came back up to our shepherd's hut for a final evening of relaxing and enjoying the view out our window before walking on to Wenlock Edge tomorrow.

 

"I have just two minutes to shop, and it's deadly!" Or, Bookstores and Walking Holidays Don't Mix!

After spending literally all day yesterday inside our shepherd's hut in a jetlagged but happy state, watching the rain sheet down over the small town of Church Stretton and its verdant surround of hills, today we awoke—late but not nearly as late—to the sight of sheep on those hills, of bright clouds and occasional sun, a cold but crisp day to explore.

We ventured forth around noon taking a shortcut path into the town. It's a likeable place. Thursday is market day, and we succumbed to buying two punnets of fresh strawberries. We looked at a few cafes, all of which looked busy, friendly, and full of good food, and we settled on the Holly Bush Cafe where we enjoyed sandwiches and salads, with tea for me. Workmen in huge wellies, walkers with rucksacks, locals who were regulars, and a huge white dog made for an enjoyable and lively environment. 

We aren't people who shop for fun; in fact, we avoid shopping even when we probably should. Today, however, we had such a lovely time looking at things that were useful, beautiful, or both (William Morris would approve). The one place we always enjoy shopping is a bookstore, but going into bookstores on a walking holiday, according to Ken, is torture. We simply can't carry books with us in our rucksacks. There was a small used bookstore with a good collection of local history books that interested Ken, and there was a new bookstore that had several books that were similarly intriguing. Usually I don't enjoy looking in new bookstores because there is little that entices me, but this one had an appealing selection. While we were in this bookstore, a woman walked in and declared, "I have just two minutes to shop, and it's deadly!" On the street outside we could see a coach with its doors open, waiting. I'm not certain if she found something in that short amount of time. 

We went to an outdoor store and Ken bought a large scale yet very handy, pocket-sized, un-foldable map covering Caer Caradoc, a nearby hill we hope to climb tomorrow, weather permitting, as well as some of the territory on our upcoming walk to Wenlock Edge (the first day proper of the B2B Part Three). We looked for secateurs (pruning shears) at a general store, a garden store, and a convenience store because we've been debating the virtues of carrying shears to cut down nettles around stiles in certain situations. So far we haven't bought any. I've noted that we've survived this many walks without shears, and will probably survive this walk as well [albeit with a few nettle stings! —Ken]. We went to a local chocolatier and bought eight different flavoured chocolates and one piece of Turkish delight. 

I had been looking for an inexpensive book to read while we're in the shepherd's hut, with the plan of discarding it along the way. Although I teach "great literature," I realized that on holiday you don't really want to read something tragic, weighty, or depressing. Thomas Hardy's novels wouldn't be a go-to, for example. We went back to the used bookstore so that I could buy Elizabeth Gaskell's Cranford and Cousin Phyllis in a combined volume for £3.50. We then visited several charity shops, which were well-organized and had good things. I saw a nicer copy of Gaskell's Cranford and Cousin Phyllis for £1. I also saw a Life of George Eliot by her husband J. W. Cross for £5, which seemed amazing to find in a charity shop. It was so thick and heavy—if it had been something to do with Charlotte Brontë I would have bought it and carried it until we posted a package, but I decided the weight wasn't worth it for me since George Eliot isn't the focus of my research. 

At a gift-shop, we resisted buying OS map-themed items such as a cook's apron or tea-towel with a map of Church Stretton on it. Ken was tempted! In the final charity shop, I saw a blouse I instantly liked, with an intricate pattern of  flowers and rabbits on it. I tried it on, and it fit like it was made for me. That almost never happens when I'm shopping for clothes. It was £4.50. I bought it.

After a rest in our shepherd's hut, we went down again for dinner at the King's Head pub, for a huge portion of steak and ale pie (Ken) and spinach cannelloni (me) in a nice atmosphere. A lovely day at a slow pace.

We've Arrived in Church Stretton!

View of Church Stretton from inside the hut

The report for Wednesday afternoon is that we had, in Ken's words, "the lie-in of the century" today. After going to sleep at 9:00 p.m. on Tuesday, I woke up at 4:45 a.m. when Ken's elbow hit the wall in our small shepherd's hut. He kept sleeping, and I fell asleep again at 7:00 a.m. We then slept some more and finally "got up" (though not really) at 12:30 p.m. on Wednesday. Ken built in a jet-lag day for us to do nothing, and that is exactly what we have done all day in our "Hilltop hut"—nothing. It has been for the most part pouring rain outside, and we've simply enjoyed the view of the green hills and trees. 

On Monday, we got a ride to the airport with our friends Matt and Eva, who happened to be flying to Germany on the same day as we were flying to England. Our flight was uneventful, which is what one always wants. I don't even recall any turbulence. Ken and I didn't bring headphones (keeping pack weight minimal), but we synchronized our seatback screens and watched Mr. Bean's Vacation together without any sound. It worked quite well as a silent movie, and it helped that we had seen it before. We did the same with Wallace & Gromit's The Curse of the Were-Rabbit, but that was a bit harder to follow without the dialogue. I also fell asleep during the latter half. 

At Gatwick airport train station, Ken printed off our train tickets to Church Stretton. Given that Gatwick is in West Sussex and Church Stretton in Shropshire, the train trip was long and involved three separate journeys. The trick was to keep awake enough to get off at the right stops to make the changes. Both Ken and I nodded off at various points, but managed to stay awake. I actually stood for the latter part of each train trip, and a couple of times I almost fell asleep standing. 

But we made it to our shepherd's hut, and now we are thoroughly enjoying our rest!

 

Introducing the B2B, Part Three

Here is our Barnstaple to the Bay, Part Three itinerary: from Church Stretton in Shropshire to Eyam in Derbyshire. 

Our trip will begin where we left off Part Two, with a few days at Church Stretton in the heart of the beautiful Shropshire Hills. We will start with a walk to, and then along, Wenlock Edge—of A.E. Housman fame—before heading northeast to visit the namesake bridge and many museums at Ironbridge Gorge, the birthplace of the Industrial Revolution. We will then proceed across eastern Shropshire and into part of Staffordshire, visiting Boscobel House (and a descendant of the famous "royal oak" where Charles II hid from Cromwell's troops in the English Civil War). From there we will continue across Staffordshire, visiting the natural playground of Cannock Chase as well as Shugborough Hall, with a nearby canal junction and canal paths aplenty then guiding us east alongside the River Trent. Finally, will turn north to enter Derbyshire following the River Dove into the beautiful and justly famous Peak District: our walk coming to a climax visiting the beautiful valleys, villages, and country houses of the area and finishing at village of Eyam, whose residents' heroic self-isolation during the plague of 1665-1666 has justly earned it a place in history.

I (i.e., Ken) normally like to link to an Ordnance Survey "map itinerary" of the entire trip, but because of life's busyness I have not had time to complete it. (Building an OS map of a three-week walk is very slow since both our computer and the OS Maps software struggle handling such a long walk.) So for now, readers can skip the next paragraph and go directly to a text itinerary, which will give a sense of where we are going, the places we'll visit, and how many miles (and kilometres) we will walk each day.

For an OS Map of our journey, click [map to come]. Once at the linked OS map, take note that if you tick the "Add key waypoint labels to route" box lower down in the left hand margin, you will be able to see our stopping points for each day of Part Three of our walk; namely, days 62 to 82.

 

Here is our itinerary

Three "jetlag days" in Church Stretton, followed by: 

Day 62: Church Stretton to Wenlock Edge (6.5 miles; 10.5 km)

Day 63: Wenlock Edge to Much Wenlock (10.1 miles; 16.3 km)

Day 64: Much Wenlock to Jackfield (Ironbridge Gorge) via Benthall Hall (7.3 miles; 11.8 km)

Day 65: Rest day touring Ironbridge Gorge museums

Day 66: Rest day touring Ironbridge Gorge museums 

Day 67: Jackfield to Albrighton (8.4 miles; 14.8 km)

Day 68: Albrighton to Boscobel via Boscobel House (6.1 miles; 9.8 km)

Day 69: Boscobel to Penkridge (12.5 miles; 20.1 km)

Day 70: Penkridge to Milford via Cannock Chase (8.1 miles; 13.0 km)

Day 71: Rest day in & around Milford to visit Shugborough Hall

Day 72: Milford to Colton via Haywood Junction & associated canal paths (7.8 miles; 12.6 km)

Day 73: Colton to Doveridge (12.7 miles; 20.4 km)

Day 74: Doveridge to Thorpe (13.9 miles; 22.4 km)

Day 75: Rest day in & around Thorpe and Tissington

Day 76: Thorpe to Hartington (9.3 miles; 15.0 km)

Day 77: Hartington to Litton Mill (11.6 miles; 18.7 km)

Day 78: Litton Mill-Millers Dale-Chee Dale loop walk (7.3 miles; 11.8 km)

Day 79: Litton Mill to Bakewell (6.6 miles; 10.6 km)

Day 80: Rest day in & around Bakewell to visit Haddon Hall

Day 81: Bakewell to Baslow via Chatsworth Estate (4.55 miles; 7.3 km)

Day 82: Baslow to Eyam via the Edges (9.5 miles; 15.3 km)

Concluded by a weekend at Eyam & Sunday worship at Eyam Church before heading back to Gatwick for our return flight...

Welcome to our blog!

At Buttermere in the Lake District, 2017           (photo: Grace Pearson)

Hello! Ever since we were married in 1998, Sara and I have had a shared love of British culture (Sara's deriving from her fascination with 19th-century literature; mine deriving from my love of history and a memorable work exchange experience in the Lake District in 1992). After honeymooning in the U.K. in 1998 and especially after a month-long holiday in 2004, we've tried to get across the pond as much as budgets and work schedules have allowed. 

And it was in 2004 that we discovered the enjoyable pastime of doing walking holidays in England given the generous rights-of-way laws there, where as long as you are responsible, you can walk on established rights-of-way over private land. For all the splendour and adventure to be found hiking the wilds of Canada and the U.S., other than a very few select trails such as the Appalachian Trail or the Pacific Crest Trail—much too adventurous for us!—walking on private land here in North America is next to impossible. By contrast, in the U.K. and especially in England, there is a thriving walking culture, which means that there are nearly endless walking routes available to be followed (or self-constructed) using long-established rights-of-way over private land, country lanes, railway paths, and other tracks through the beautiful countryside. And depending on your route, there's nearly always a pub in the village at the end of the day—and no grizzly bears!

On that holiday in 2004 we did several multi-day stretches of point to point walking carrying small backpacks and staying in bed and breakfasts—and loved it! In 2008 we were much more adventurous and followed a week's warmup in the Cotswolds with a 20-day, 200-mile (320 km) walk across northern England generally following Alfred Wainwright's "Coast to Coast" walk (or "C2C"). It was a terrific walk and we'd highly recommend it.

As the years passed and we became (slightly) more technologically advanced, Sara had the idea of blogging our walks, beginning with our "Pilgrimage of Thanksgiving" in 2013 to celebrate a successful kidney transplant given to me by my sister Susan in 2011. We walked around 450 miles (725 km) in 40 days across the south of England from Devon to Dover (hence the "D2D")—with Susan walking for a week with us in the middle—taking rest days in cathedral cities and literally singing our way across the land in village churches and, most memorably, Canterbury Cathedral, where we were welcomed as pilgrims: something we'll never forget! You can find Sara's blog of that 2013 walk (with comments from me in blue) by using the navigation on the right-hand side of the screen to get to her very first post in May, 2013.

After taking shorter holidays to England with Sara's dad in 2015, with my mom in 2017, and then enjoying a lovely 20th anniversary holiday in East Anglia and the Peak District in 2018, more recently we have planned a new, meandering and, because of its length, multi-part walk from Barnstaple in Devon to Robin Hood's Bay in North Yorkshire (the "B2B"; and yes, we have a thing about alphabetic acronyms!).

The B2B Part One was in 2019 (a walk of around 200 miles in 26 days from Barnstaple to Stroud, Gloucester), and it will take us at least three or four more legs to get to Robin Hood's Bay. You can read Sara's account of our 2019 walk—which had a few small challenges including a first for us on all our trips: many days of rain!—by using the right-hand navigation to go to her first post in May, 2019. 

We were to do the second, 36-day leg from Stroud to Church Stretton, Shropshire in May-June 2020, but that was postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic. We finally were able to do that trip in 2023, though we have not blogged all of it because of "technical difficulties" during the trip itself and then an overbusy life in the months afterwards. See Sara's partial blog of our B2B Part Two; her initial post is on May 5th, 2023 and then you'll need to read "backwards," (i.e., upwards, of course). We hope to finish that trip's blog later this summer. 

And now we are getting ready to embark on B2B Part Three! We will pick up the walk where we left off in Church Stretton and journey to Eyam, Derbyshire over about three weeks' time, with some rest stops along the way. Read the posts beginning in May 2024 for an account of this trip.

The seals at St Margaret's Bay, Kent, in 2013

Oh, and our blog title "Walking with Seals"? It's all the fault of our friend Jennifer, who in 1999 told us of friends of hers who took their stuffed "Piglet" on vacations and had photos taken with him in famous locations. Since then, we haven't traveled without Lucille and Anastasia, our North-Pacific Otter-Seals! Over these many years they have gotten more and more "real" in the Velveteen Rabbit sense, but they are always excited to ride in our rucksacks as we walk!  

Once again, welcome to our blog and read on for our adventures walking with seals in England's "green and pleasant land"...

Under Construction...

Posts for the rest of our B2B Part Two (Stroud to Church Stretton) walk are under construction...