29/10/11 - Gorgeous Industrious

Distance - 7.3 Miles
Inspiration
Caches Found - All looked for

Ironbridge

At the end of August, I took the Times Newspaper with me to Greece.  As I sat and read it in our prison apartment, there was a walk detailed at Ironbridge in the pull out weekend section, with a link to the details at the end of the article.  Despite having a toilet that wouldn't accept paper, we did have wireless Internet - so I spent a week booklinking various free walk series and dreaming of cool autumn days to walk in Blighty.

Its taken me 2 months to get time to do it.  Where do the weekends go?

This is the birthplace of industry and you could make a real day of it by getting passes to the museums.  However, I don't have time and do have a labradoodle that probably wouldn't have been welcome.  I just concentrate on a stunning walk, that was more woodland than river.

As its an working class town, there are working class vices.  Just as I am about to cross the famous bridge, I spy a pub next door to an award winning pork pie shop.  And more of that later.

Pies Left

There was always going to be a shot of the bridge.

Cross the bridge and find cache number 1.  I have downloaded all caches within 0.25 miles of the walk and a world record of 46 were found.  I have only attempted the ones on route and it provided a nice distraction.

Head East along the south side of the river.  Have to nip off track for cache 2 and re-emerge from the bushes in front of startled Germans.  Continue all along the this cycle way, passing the tile museum and ending up at a foot bridge on the way to the Tar Tunnel.  I don't know what it is either.

Find a canal here and I can see a tramway up the woodlands that mean that I am in for my first climb of the day. 

Uphill next to the tramway

This sets the scene for all the return journey - getting high in woodland and having the occasional stunning views through the trees.  Stop to arrange the camera from a footpath that is right next to the dining room of a hotel.

Power to the People

Come around the back of the Bliss Hill Victorian town and get a few caches.  One involves a precarious dangle down hill from a tree on a steep hill and as I am signing the log, the labradoodle comes barrelling down past me.  No harm done but she does get frustrated with my caching.

Through Lloyds Coppice on the Rigeway path. 

It's in the trees

Finaly work my way through Dale Coppice and a dodgy council estate before taking the downhill path back to the carpark.  I oass colebrookdale church and the YHA before dropping down a path called simply paradise.  I wouldn't go that far, but it was better walking country than Greece.

This is why I want to stay at a YHA

If I changed one thing about the walk, I would go in reverse order so that you pass all the pubs and pie shops on the way back to car.  I drive back through and fortunately, I can pull into a bay to load up at Mrs Miggins.  I cannot choose between the pie and pasty.

You all know what I ended up doing.... a two handed savoury chow down.

Get back home and check the Times.  This weeks walk is in the Wyre Forest.  I have it scheduled for the end of December.