29/12/14 - Middle Earth

Walk Inspiration - Historic Walks in Birmingham
Distance - 3 Miles
Geocaches - 3 out of 4


Time to set my walking goals for 2015.  One of them is to discover more of my City of birth - Birmingham.  I have already created The Brummie Ring and I intend to discover more of it's boroughs within the City Limits.

Having a spare day over Xmas, I might as well start a touch early.  I can also combine it with another list ticking exercise - Birmingham's Top 10 Pubs.  A double score for today's entertainment.

In honour of the fact that the only book my 16 year old son has read is (half of) the Hobbit by JRR Tolkien, we head out to the land that provided the inspiration for Middle Earth - Moseley Bog.

Sonia wants to bring the dog.  I am worried if its too Boggy, we might not be allowed into the pub.  I am outvoted 2-1.

Park up at a place that takes Sonia all of 2 seconds to use her anagram skills.

She didn't waste those skills on The Millstream Way

Head off south following the River Cole.  A winter wonderland.  If I had been quicker with the camera, I could have got a festive Robin on a frozen log.  I will file that with the owl from yesterday.

Off into the Frozen Winterland

First cache of the day is on an Elder Tree.  Despite googling it before I set off, we fail to make the find.  Next cache found is opposite the Prefab Houses on the outskirts of Moseley, before skirting the edge of the pool in Swanhurst Park.

Dog gets to go some places

Swanhurst Park

A short bit of road walking leads us to Moseley Bog.  It's quite a place, an oasis of countryside completely surrounded by the City.  I also didn't need to worry about the Bog, as the terrain is navigated via duckboards.  Which make a fine place to hide a cache.

Moseley Bog across the Frozen Wastelands

Onto the Duckboards

And into Middle Earth

Quite an experience and over far to quickly.  We emerge in a council estate before getting to the old part of Sarehole and finding Tolkien's childhood home from 1896.

We demand a Blue Plaque

The walk takes us down country lanes and to a genuine ford, before returning to the Mill.

The Path Back to Sarehole

An interesting and short walk.  Time for the pub.  Its a short drive to the Prince of Wales on the Alcester Road.  6 Real Ales, Dog Friendly but no food.  And to top it all, we were served by a barman decked out as a Peaky Blinder.

Just before Rush Hour

Sonia is Googling "Dog Friendly Moseley Pubs that do Food"

For the drive home, we put on Radio 6.  The DJ starts up a phone in for people "that have visited places that are used in works of literary fiction".

You can guess what we did?