27/12/11 - Shifty caching in Shifnal

Caches - 20
Distance - 4.4 Miles

Shifnal

Last walk of the year and the December geocache numbers are looking very poor indeed.  Look for a local geotrail and I am getting further afield to find the numbers.  Shifnal has only been previously known to me as a traffic avoidance detour when the M6 is at its usual standstill.  I have wondered why there are so many pubs and restaurants and the cache descriptions have explained it's history as a coaching spot on the London to Holyhead road.  That makes sense.

There a number of cache trails from the town and surrounding villages, so I work some into a nice walk around the Manor house, returning to do some urban caches in the town.  All done on a glorious day and back for 11:45 for the last of the turkey.

Park up at the imposing Church, heading west on the A4169 for a couple of hundred yards before turning south down a footpath that runs past the manor house, and less impressively, the sewage works.  The caches are probably as close together as the rules allow and come very thick and fast.

The best part of the walk is under Lodge Hill, where mankind has used their influence on Wesley Brook.

Weired

Climb up Lodge Hill for some decent views over Shifnal.

Lodge Hill - Camera on a cache

Nice blue sky - better than yesterday

Once around Lodgehill farm, its a case of going into the town to try and find any remainders.  Bit of urban caching around industrial estates and alongside railway embankments.  From the cache containers, I can tell they have all be laid by the same team.

So that's it for 2011.  88 Blogged walks and 101 trips on Everytrail.  Looking forward to next year's walks already.

Happy new year.