Date: 24th – 27th January 2008
Participants: Graham Beevor, Peter Cox, Alan (Curly) Durrant, Graham Hicks,
Martin Hime, Richard Hime, Simon Hime, Phil Knowles, Drew Rush, Malcolm Rush, Brian Shaw and Geoff Wright.
Billed as the 40th Anniversary hike efforts were made to encourage previous participants to return. Some success was had with Peter, Curly, Graham H, Martin and Phil all putting in an appearance. Regrettably Malcolm Duff and Clinton Hudgell could not be convinced and Howard Hillier-Daines had taken everyone by surprise by deciding to retire. Martin also brought along, as first time hikers, his two younger brothers, Richard and Simon, who had also been 22nd Finchley Scouts and had wanted to do something positive in memory of John Schmitt.
The planning meeting was, as usual held in North Finchley in early December, and although only a small number of the participants attended it was decided to visit the hills of South Shropshire, with accommodation being sought in Church Stretton.
We would cover part of The Long Mynd on the Friday, the top ridge of which, on a clear day, offers some excellent vistas. On the Saturday we would walk along the Stiperstones, more austere than The Long Mynd with it’s barren rocky summit. And, on the Sunday morning we would make the short climb up The Wrekin.
Geoff arranged the B&B, which due to the numbers involved, meant that we were in three different houses.
He assigned Old Rectory House to Peter, Phil, Graham and himself, as they would all travel separately and needed the additional parking space it provided.
Geoff who had the longest journey arrived first and grabbed the room with the double bed. Peter arrived a little later at 6.45pm and had the room with twin beds.
Half an hour later Phil arrived, deposited his gear in the room with an en-suite, and joined Geoff and Peter for a nice cup of tea and piece of ginger cake. Graham H was not due to arrive until breakfast on the Saturday morning.
Not long after, they walked into town to book a table for 12, at the Jaipur Indian restaurant for Saturday night, and then to get some pub grub. Having completed the first part of their mission they walked down the high street to check out the local pubs. After looking into the King’s Arms, the furthest away and discovering it as good as empty, and that they didn’t do food, they went back along the road to The Buck’s Head, where the beer was good and the food was adequate.
Just after 9pm, realising it was their duty to check out all the pubs before the others arrived, they strolled back to the King’s Arms to find it had shut early. Next it was the Malt House in the centre of town, which after entering, they discovered was attached to the Beijing Chinese restaurant.
Drew drove up with Brian, who he had collected from the traditional meeting place outside Robert Dyas in North Finchley, and Malcolm and Graham B who he had collected from their homes on the way.
They arrived just after 10.30pm at their B&B (Highcliffe), a spacious Edwardian house with panoramic views of Stretton Hills. After dumping their stuff they walked into town and met the others for a drink and to finalise the plans for Friday.
Curly and the Hime brothers were not due to arrive until the Saturday evening.
After booking a table at the Chinese restaurant for Friday night we returned to our lodgings for the night.
Friday
After breakfast and having got themselves ready, Geoff, Phil and Peter strolled the short distance from the Old Rectory in Burway Road to Highcliffe in Madeira Walk to meet the others. They were already outside waiting.
After exchanging pleasantries we set off, first to the end of the road and then onto a short footpath. It seemed like a good day for walking – no rain and not too cold. We were however expecting to be hit by the wind once we were on the hills.
Indeed as we turned left onto the road that led up the valley we got our first taste of what was to become a very windy day.
We had hoped to follow this path all the way up the hill but unfortunately there was no public right of way through the farmer’s property that lay ahead of us. After consulting the map it was decided to climb the hill on our left and join the footpath that runs through the golf course at the top.
It was not long before Peter realised how unfit he was and was questioning his decision to put on his hiking boots again. As we neared the top we stopped for a breather and to enjoy the view.
As we looked back we not only had a clear view of the route we had taken but we could see Three Fingers Rock on Caer Caradoc, the hills on the other side of the A49 and Church Stretton.
As we stood up to move on a golf ball came flying over our heads, but when we reached the course there were no golfers to be seen. It was not until later that evening that Geoff confessed to having found the ball and thrown it down the hill.
We fought against the wind as we crossed the golf course, stopping occasionally to take photographs.
After one such instance Graham decided to check the map, when all of a sudden it blew from his hands. Within a moment he was chasing after it and made a splendid rugby tackle to retrieve it. Phil and Peter went over to help him fold it up but just as the task was almost complete the wind caught it again. Graham chased after it again but it was out of sight by the time he reached the brow of the hill.
Upon returning to the rest of the group a quick check revealed that whilst between us we had several compasses Geoff had the only other map. He therefore took the role of lead navigator for the rest of the day. Questions were of course asked during the rest of the weekend as to how three experienced, ex Scouters, could between them have lost a map in such a way.
From the golf course there was one more climb before we reached the top of the ridge – it was up Haddon Hill. We each set our own pace with some of us taking much longer than others to reach level ground.
We followed the footpath for a while before turning west for a short distance across country. The idea was to cut over and meet the path that linked up with Jack Mytton Way, part of the Shropshire Way.
Despite the fierce wind in our faces it was still dry and clear. Without realising it at the time we were quite lucky, as we later discovered that only a few days earlier the weather had been so bad that walkers could hardly see 10 meters in front of themselves.
After a short break we were ready for the next stretch that would take us to the Trig Point at Pole Bank.
As we made our way towards the highest point of our journey we were able to enjoy the great views, including the Stiperstones to the west. We could clearly see a number of the rock formations that we would encounter on the Saturday.
The viewpoint at 517 meters is in fact the 4th highest point in Shropshire and it is said that on a really good day you can see the mountains of North Wales. And, to the south it is possible to see the Black Mountains and Brecon Beacons, whilst to the north the Cheshire Plain and to the east the Malvern Hills.
Although the days of standing on top of Trig Points have long past, for old times sake, Messrs Beevor, Cox and Knowles still posed for a photograph.
Thoughts were now turning to food and we hoped that as we made our way down we would find a suitable location out of the wind.
Luck was on our side and shortly after we resumed we arrived at Pole Cottage. A small sheltered area where there was presumably once a cottage surrounded by trees. Although no cottage there was a large ramshackle shed made from corrugated metal.
Brain and Malcolm settled themselves inside to eat their lunch.
The rest of us stayed outside and after looking around decided to settle ourselves on the trunk of a fallen tree. This made for a fairly comfortable seat as we tucked into our packed lunch.
Comfortable and out of the wind it may have been but the longer we sat there the colder we got.
About half an hour later it was time to get going again. We checked the map and tried to decide which of the paths to the south-east and down the hill we would take.
As things turned out the decision was not made until the last moment, based upon what the path ahead looked like. It was a straightforward walk down the path that came out at Manor Farm in Minton.
From here we followed the road all the way to the outskirts of Little Stretton. It was now 2.30pm and time for another decision – there were three choices as to the route back to Church Stretton. We could either cross the road and take the footpath over the top of Ragleth Hill, follow the road all the way, or take the footpath up the path parallel and to the west of the road.
We took the third option and followed the road round to the ford, where the path began, and stopped for a break.
It was the first decent break we had had since lunch, during which Graham decided to do a bit of bird watching.
Refreshed we plodded on – the path headed up the hill and followed the contour lines before leading back to the road.
It was a question of whether to return up the hill again on another path or follow the road. This time we chose the road.
As we approached the outskirts of town with the light starting to fade our thoughts turned to refreshments and a nice cup of tea. Fortunately we found Berry’s, a pleasant little teashop situated down one of the side streets. This was probably the end of the day’s hike as, after emerging some 45 minutes later, we walked down the road to do a little shopping before heading back to our respective B&B.
After changing and freshening up we reassembled at the Malt House for a drink, before enjoying our Chinese meal in the attached restaurant. It was then back into the bar for another drink, but alas no game of cards. It was Howard that usually provided the pack and in his absence no one else had given it any thought. Nevertheless we still blamed Howard and even considered deducting him some points for not officially passing over his duties as ‘entertainment officer’.
We eventually adjourned to our beds and slept well.
Saturday
As promised, Graham H arrived at the Old Rectory House just after 7am, in time for breakfast – a leisurely affair during which he caught up on what had happened so far.
After this we prepared ourselves for the day ahead, loaded our gear into Phil’s Land Rover and were just having a quick photo session when Drew drove into the car park with the others.
More pleasantries were exchanged before we finally set off across The Long Mynd towards The Stiperstones. It was an interesting journey along some narrow roads that went up and over the hills we had spent the previous day trekking.
Our starting point for the hike was the public car park at ‘The Bog’ – an unusual name but the area was extremely wet until a drainage tunnel was constructed. It was also the site of what was once the largest lead and barytes mine in Shropshire.
Although lead mining ceased in 1883 the waste was reworked for barytes during World War I.
All that remains now of a once thriving community, demolished in the 1970’s, are the school (a visitor centre), a former pub and the ruins of the miners institute.
With our hiking boots on and our packs on our backs we set off in a southerly direction through a wooded area, nicely protected from the wind. After emerging from the trees we crossed an open field and then the road before making the only real climb of the day.
We scrambled to the top of The Rock, where Graham H passed out some chocolates as we took a break and took some photographs.
After this bit of fun we carefully climbed down to the footpath that we followed along the ridge to the north.
By the time most of us had reached the next landmark – Nipstone Rock – Malcolm who had strode ahead, was already halfway towards its summit. Geoff quickly followed but the rest of us decided to just stand and watch.
As we moved on we could once again see our next target and probably did not need a map to get there.
The path led down to a small wood, around it’s edge, over some styles and through a kissing gate, before leading to a steady climb to Cranberry Rock.
Although steady, it was quite tiring and we all took shelter on the lee side, where cups of coffee were enjoyed, along with more chocolate from Graham H.
Malcolm set off first again but the rest of us tried not to get too far behind. By now it was very rocky underfoot and quite difficult to enjoy the spectacular views whilst watching every step we made.
Malcolm reached Manstone Rock first and was already on his way down from the Trig Point on the summit (536m) when the rest of us arrived.
Brian, Geoff and Graham B also climbed to the top, whilst everyone else could not be bothered or did not have the energy.
We did not stop here for long and only momentarily paused at the Devil’s Chair as we followed the path along the ridge, which was now littered with lots of other walkers who were out enjoying a lovely morning stroll.
Our thoughts were however now turning to food.
We had decided that we would visit the Stiperstones Inn for lunch so therefore took the path to our left down and round the edge of Green Hill, into the village.
We entered the small crowded pub at about 1pm. There was FA Cup football on the television and only a few spaces available to sit down. The beer was good and the food, from an extensive menu, was more than adequate. Graham H also decided to try the Whinberry Pie – a local delicacy, advertised as homemade by ‘local ladies who work slavishly to bring you the most delicious and temptingly naughty desserts’.
Bilberries, known locally as whinberries, are heathland plants widely distributed on the Stiperstones. Traditionally harvested by local people using special combs, the berries were at one time sold for making dye and providing valuable income for poor mining families.
It was almost 3pm when we got going again and instead of following the road all the way back we decided to try and follow some footpaths and tracks.
We started by walking in the opposite direction to enable us to pick up a path that led out to the west, before turning south along the edge of some wooded land. This was not a bad idea, but the initial climb was horrible – the track was deep with mud causing great difficulty in walking.
Nevertheless progress was made and we eventually arrived back at the road. Here we wanted to follow the track straight past an old mill but were not sure if there was a right of way. We asked a passer by, who turned out to be the property owner, and were politely told we could not get through. We followed the road round and then took the track that was parallel to the road, before finally arriving back at the car park just after 4pm.
We returned to our respective B&B to get cleaned up, have a rest and get ready for our evening meal.
Curly and the Hime brothers arrived at about 6pm and after settling into their accommodation went to the Bucks Head for a drink. Geoff, Phil, Peter and Graham H joined them just before 6.30pm and the others turned up at about 7pm.
When we arrived at the restaurant we were quite surprised to find it packed out, making us rather pleased that we had taken the time to book a table.
We enjoyed drinks and papadoms but were not happy that our main course took nearly 2 hours to be served.
It was quite late by the time we finished and Malcolm decided to retire immediately. The rest of us returned to the Bucks Head for another drink, only to find that it too was very busy and full of under age drinkers.
We took it in turns to drift away to try and recover from the day’s events.
Sunday
After breakfast at our respective lodgings we packed up our gear, paid our bills and assembled in the car park of the Old Rectory House.
Curly and the Hime brothers had swelled our number to 12. How fitting that we should have a record number of hikers on this 40th anniversary event.
After checking our maps for the location of The
Wrekin, we set off, in convoy, on the relatively short distance to our starting point.
It was a pleasant day and there were already plenty of cars in the car park and surrounding roads. This was obviously a popular site for visitors.
Like most Shropshire hills The Wrekin has its fort, begun in Bronze Age around 3500 years ago and rebuilt by the Celts in the Iron Age, about 500BC. It is believed to have been the ‘capital’ of the tribe called Cornovii by the Romans, who lived in Shropshire and Cheshire.
We wasted no time in getting underway and with the climb starting immediately it was not long before we were strung out. We regrouped at the Halfway House, a little way up, where tea and refreshments can be purchased. We did not however use the facilities and plodded on towards the top.
Although not steep it was a steady climb and on the whole quite enjoyable. There where several points where we thought we were almost at the top, but it was not until the radio mast loomed ahead did we know for sure that the climb was nearly complete.
Although several other walkers going up and down had passed us, it was relatively clear at the summit, from which it is said that 17 counties can be seen. We soaked up the atmosphere and took an assortment of group photos.
Refreshed we continued along the footpath down the other side of the hill. It was steeper than the route up and those of us without walking poles had to watch our step carefully. Halfway down we followed the footpath to the north and then round to the north-east, parallel to the track across the top.
We eventually reached a crossroads and had to decide whether to take the path to the road and walk back to the cars or climb the hill again and make our way back to the Halfway House. Graham H needed to get home so he took the first option, whilst the rest of us decided to head for some refreshments.
The fitter members of the group found this extra climb no problem but the less fit began to think it was just one climb too much and thought they should have joined Graham H.
We stopped at the Halfway House for about half an hour and then made our way down the slope and back to the cars. Those of us that needed to get back home bid a fond farewell whilst the rest of the group made arrangements as to where to go for lunch.
It had been an excellent weekend of hiking and a relief that we had not had any rain.