Shropshire legends, pub archaeology and poor spelling
Proper wild walking on the Shropshire/Powys border. Mitchell's Fold, a 2000 year old Bronze Age stone circle, the immediate highlight, no more than half a mile from the pot holed car park.
Originally 30 standing stones, now down to 15 and like all stone circles, a bugger to photograph.
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| According to legend, Mitchell the Witch |
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| Looking back over the car park |
Of course, legends are associated;
The area now occupied by this stone circle was once said to be farmed by a giant who kept a pure-white fairy cow. The animal who would freely give up her milk to anyone who milked her, providing they took no more than one pailful at a time. This arrangement continued happily until one day a witch named Mitchell came and milked the cow into a sieve, not stopping until the poor cow ran dry and became crazed. The cow then ran away, never to be seen again. As punishment for her wicked deed, the witch was turned to stone and stands there still as the tallest stone, while the circle of stones was said to have been placed around her to prevent her escaping.
Something to ponder, as I bound across the remote moorland.
How do you milk a cow with a sieve?
Navigation is straightforward - I'm heading for the Castle Ring Hillfort and the drover's trail navugation aid that is Brownlow Callow..... a prominent circle of trees on a hill.
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| Half way and the turning back point.... |
As always, my 20 year old OS Map teases. On the opposite side of the hill is the Big Blue Cup of Joy but I know in my heart of hearts that the chances of a remote pub still being in operation are low. However, it does provide me the chance to complete a little pub archaeology. There is always a story.
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| Even Brownlow - pop. 12 - once had a pub |
One of these buildings is now a boutique hotel and wedding venue called Abel's Harp. I'll save you the trouble of looking it up on Tripadvisor. The hot tub is full of grit.
In 2012, it was the Callow Inn but details of this incarnation are sketchy. We can go further back to the 1970s, when it was the Drum and Monkey. Ronnie Lane of the Faces used to own a fishery nearby. I'm unsure if this set the trend for pop stars having fish related side hustles, but I know Roger Daltrey is a trout farmer. Ronnie frequented the pub and often entertained his celebrity chums at his home.
Back in March 4th 1977, rumour had it that fellow Baggie with more nicknames than you can shake a stick at (God, Old Slowhand and Massive Racist) was playing an impromptu set.
£1 on the door got you live entertainment with Ronnie, Eric Clapton on Guitar and Patti Boyd Can Can dancing.
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| One of the few photos from the night - see the Shropshire Star |
Every pub has a story.
I go looking for more in Craven Arms. This might be the only village in the UK named after it's pub, which is sadly boarded up since my last visit just before covid. If you search hard enough, you can find its successor - the Stables. A community local that provides fine Hobsons Bitter and home made scotch eggs.
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| Potential future venue for N-Dubz, with H from Steps |
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| Balanced Lunch |
Geocaching takes me to the C18th obelisk, marking the distance to major cities on this old coaching road.
Let's hope they didn't let the stone mason lose on tombstones.
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| Things Geocaching Takes you to |
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| This is not the only typo.... See "Aberystwith" for details |
Walk Details
Distance - 6 Miles
Geocaches - 2 and an Adventure Lab Cache in Craven Arms
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