Sunday 17 May 2020

17/05/20 - Searching for Arlescott

Distance - 6.5 Miles
Walk Inspiration - AA 1001 Walk - Walk 472
Geocaches - 1


Lock down week 8 and the exact use of these metal containers has become lost in time.

Beer Barrels in a Much Wenlock Shut
Relics from a bygone era
Not that Much Wenlock troubles the Good Beer Guide.  A cursory check of the bible reveals there are no entries.  But how interesting is Market Drayton with its half dozen. Once the blog is written, I will be checking if they have a Premier Inn.

What Much Wenlock lacks in Good Beer, it gains in history. An Abbey, a mention in the Domesday Book and the birth place of the Modern Olympics.

Market Hall
Not forgetting the Market Hall
Instead of a pint, I'm going to track down the Medieval Village of Arlescott. Its a nice walk around Ash Coppice, on very good paths that show that the winter floods are leading to summer droughts.  Bone dry, despite the guide booking telling me of several swampy conditions.

Ash Coppice
A bimble around Ash Coppice
Arlescott has an eponymous farm and cottage but signs of the Medieval village are thin of the ground.  The OS Map uses the special ancient font to signify the "cultivation terraces". The map is probably more interesting than the photos at GZ.

Arlescott Medieval Village
Exciting medieval terracing
Arlescott
As displayed on the map


The remainder of the walk is a joy. Two long distance paths are used - the Jack Mytton Way taking me through fields of yellow rapeseed and the Shropshire Way running through sunbathing sheep and their newborns.

Rape Seed
Unusually for a rapeseed field, a decent gap to walk.

Shropshire Way back to Town
Crisis?  What Crisis?

Signs of normality back in the village. The Coffee Shop, doing takeaways, reminds me that as well as Cask Ale, its been 8 weeks since I have a had a coffee.  The locals sit on benches, eyeing me with suspicion as I collect the information for the Clock Tower Earthcache.




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