22/07/25 - West Midlands Way - Stage 8 - Shifnal to Penkridge

Exit Through the Gift Shop

More public transport liberties with the West Midlands Way. I chose Shifnal, instead of Tong, to finish Stage 7. It would have been possible to resume from Shifnal, but two miles of busy road walking did not appeal. A handily placed station at Cosford - next to the RAF Museum - enabled the Monarch's Way to be soon picked up and get me back on track.

Jets through the fence

Lots of historical interest on this walk through Staffordshire agricultural fields... a couple of priories named after the colour of the habits worn by the nuns. White Ladies is a ruin. Black Ladies is a moated farm house. Linked by Charles II escape from Worcester - Boscobel House the home of the famous Royal Oak. 

White Ladies, with a fresh faced Mappiman from 2012

Catholic hidey-hole of Boscobel House

Black Ladies from the footpath

The Monarch's Way has been kindly re-routed from a road into fields just before Boscobel House. There may have been an exit, or it may have been a ruse to get the unsuspecting rambler to pay an entrance fee. Before I knew it, I was next to a sign saying "Ticket required" and with no way of escape apart from going through the gift shop. The cheery hello from the staff indicated they were definitely going to extract money from me if I looked in their eyes. Just keep moving.

Not that I needed to keep my dollar for the pub.

The first OS Map Big Blue Cup of Joy at Lapley. A town simply dripping in history, with a hall, manor house and a locked church that could not be explored. Externally, you could see the different building materials used in the various extensions.

Lapley Church - sandstone, Norman origins

Of course the pub was long dead. The Vaughan Arms was easy enough to spot from the architectural layout and naming it "Vaughan Arms House" after a refurb seemed a bit of a kick in the teeth to the 2,500 thirsty inhabitants left behind. Notes from the 2008 closure;

Its demise followed the closure of the village post office, a threat to remove its only phone box and an Oxford University study that ranked Lapley seventh among the most deprived areas across the country for villagers' ease of access to important local services and facilities.

Vaughan Arms House

Surprisingly, the pub at Whiston is still a going concern, even if it is of little use to the daytime rambler. Opening hours from 5pm. The sign proclaims "Holdens Beers" but it is not a tied house.

I have to wait until Penkridge. The Littleton Arms next to the train station. Horrible inside, no real ale and to add insult to injury, the train line gets suspended while I was battling through a £5.75 Staropramen. 

The main North/South line suspended for four hours. Scores of trains cancelled and thousands of passengers displaced.

All because of a man having a fag on a railway bridge. 

I know this, as he asked me to collect his cap that had blown off, as I walked underneath prior to my pint.

The stand-off between him and British Transport Police had to be seen to be believed. I'll stop the blog here before I use the word "woke".

£5.75, a 90-minute wait and a £14 Uber to Wolverhampton

Walk Details

Distance - 13.5 Miles

Geocaches - 12

Previous Stages - Stage 1, Stage 2, Stage 3, Stage 4, Stage 5, Stage 6 (Part 1), Stage 6 (Part 2), Stage 7

20/07/25 - Good Beer Guide Pubs of Abergavenny

Into the (Wye) Valley

What a charming little place Abergavenny is.  Our latest Dog Sit had us strategically positioned Llanfoist. A short walk over the ancient bridge and across the castle meadows leass to a town full of foodies. 

This is what AI has to say:

Abergavenny, known as the "Gateway to Wales," is a charming market town nestled at the edge of the Brecon Beacons National Park. Surrounded by dramatic mountains and rolling countryside, it offers a perfect blend of natural beauty, rich history, and vibrant food culture. Whether you're exploring its medieval castle, browsing the independent shops and bustling markets, or indulging in award-winning local produce and real ales, Abergavenny provides a warm and welcoming base for walkers, foodies, and history lovers alike.

Let's check out the Real Ale situation - with 4 Good Beer Guide Pubs to explore.

The Grofield was found on our first meander of the town.

Solid, family-run

Notable for two reasons: A beautiful beer garden, which we ignored the u-shaped bar to make haste towards. And table service. I really wasn't expecting "we will come to your table to take your order". A COVID hangover or making maximum use of their iPad POS devices.

Their secret garden

Wye Valley HPA setting the tone of the weekend.

We walked past The Bridge on the way back to our temporary home. At 6pm there waslive music, with a Sterophonics tribute act on and he turned out to be rather good. "Maybe Tomorrow" and "Have a Nice Day" alternated with crowd pleasing Tom Jones covers.

The Bridge - and Amber with Mrs M

The Butty Bach - my most consumed ale - was so disappointing, I tried the Rev James. The dog quickly got bored with "What's New Pussycat?". I couldn't justify the expense of drinking out when we had a quieter garden to sit in and a Waitrose middle-class beer aisle to ram-raid.

Sunday Night saw us attempt to understand why the Railway Inn and The Station were nowhere near any train tracks. A conversation starter if ever I met one. Transpired the station was moved in the 1960s.

The GBG Tick was the Station and I had completed my research. My taste-buds could be excited with something other than Wye Valley. Bass is a permanent fixture.

Team Mappiman heading into another pub

Bass ordered but oh-no - the barrel had gone. At least, the Butty was spot on.

More Wye Valley

Strange opening times - 3pm to 4pm - so I guess the locals made the most of it when it was open. A very convivial atmosphere, mostly single blokes who had taken the dog for a walk.

We moved to the enclosed beer garden to ponder what would happen if a pub offered something other than Wye Valley. Would the good people of Monmouthshire revolt?

To be fair - the 'Spoons - The Coliseum - would have offered its collection of world beers and Ruddles but we would not have been welcome with our four-legged friend. 

17/07/25 - Saltwells to The Bull and Bladder, Home of the Bathams

Blessing of your heart: You brew good ale

The Ramblers Meetup Invitation had me at "and then we will visit the Bathams Brewery Tap".

I failed to notice distance, walk type, where we would be going or indeed, who I would be going with.

Let's answer the questions in turn....

Distance - 5 Miles

Walk Type - Planned as linear, with the bus for the last 1.5 miles back to Cradley Heath Station. I was too tight to pay the £3, having more time at my disposal than funds.

Where We are Going - a walk through Saltwells Country Park - visiting the quarry and a reservoir. Then along the Dudley 2 Canal, including the nine locks. Walk leader then "abandons" his flock and says "time for the pub, I will you show you the bus stop, but I plan to stop for a session. You are welcome to join me or make your own way back.

Who I would be walking with - Its the Ramblers. You are never sure who will turn up. But I probably didnt expect a gentleman in Chelsea boots who then commented on the Meetup Page post walk that he "thought the lady who patted me on the train was lovely, but they were all very nice". I have no idea what he assumed this type of group would be. Once again, I was the youngest - but only by two years. Reminiscing about the hot summer of '76 always provides the necessary data to make deductions.

Photos:

Doulton's Quarry - Zoom in to the rock-face for a giant dragonfly

Nine Locks down to Delph Road

The walk leader was correct to make it an "every person for themselves". He had done his work and only gone wrong twice. Some stayed for one. Some drank cider, coke or Stella. Most had a Bathams. I stopped for three and left the hardcore for their afternoon session. Complicated rounds were starting to form and I didn't want to leave in a pensioner's debt.

Always keen to find something new - I noticed that the pub used to be a lodge for the Buffs. See the RAOB glass above the door.

The beer, as good as always.

RAOB

Bathams in the Garden

The horrified bar man recovering from 15 ramblers, paying separately. 

The classic frontage through rush hour traffic

Walk Details

Distance - 5 Miles

Geocaches - 5

16/07/25 - History Today at Astley Church

Medieval Effigies, A Monastery, A Castle and a Forge

A Rambler's route, walked solo. Who would have thought such a quiet part of Worcestershire would have so much history.

Starting at St Peter's Astley Church, I am reminded I really need to read "How to Read a Church" by Richard Taylor. To be fair, asking ChatGPT to give a summary is a start - especially when it asks if I would like it tailored for where I am visiting. I could have spent a good hour looking for the clues it suggested were there.

St Peters, Astley

St Peter’s Church in Astley, Worcestershire, is a Norman-founded building with well-preserved Romanesque features and later Gothic additions. Highlights include a 14th-century font, Jacobean pulpit, and the 15th-century Blount Chapel, which houses striking polychrome effigies of the Blount family. The church reflects nearly 900 years of religious and artistic heritage.

The path down to New Bridge is one of my favourites. Carved through sandstone, presumably through hundreds of years of footprints, it takes the rambler to New Bridge and Glasshampton Monastery. The monastery a former Georgian Country manor house, ruined by fire and repaired by C20th Anglican Franciscans.

Into the Woods

To the Monastery

The monks (and other hired hands) are hard at work on the harvest, gathering potatoes and spring onions. Previously well explored paths do bring me to the notice board for Oliver's Mound. Information boards always providing inspiration for future walks - the masonry from Shrawley Castle repurposed at Holt.

Trees stopping the views to the river but the high ground can be traced

Picnic at Dick Brook, at the marker stone for a forge. Just a handful of bricks remain, although if I looked hard enough, I should have found signs of canalisation of the brook.

Forge

The walk kind of goes wrong as I head back to Astley. Wheat fields are being harvested, so re-routing required least death from combine harvester is attained. The less said about the wooded descent to the Dunley Road the better. Unless you know where I can send the bill for the bad cagging on my Rohan Bags. The view to Abberley Quarry as it opens up more or less makes it all worthwhile.

Harvest time in Worcestershire

Back at the "Doors Open" church to look at the Medieval Effigies to the Blount Family.

Next time, I will be better prepared with a ChatGPT inspired "I Spy" list.

Love the little dogs at heel

Walk Details

Distance - 8 Miles

Geocaches - 0

Walk Inspiration

14/07/25 - Slow Way/Rail Trail - Hagley to Stourbridge

Happy Black Country Day

The Wyre Forest Rail Trail came to an abrupt end at Hagley. Yet there are plenty of Black Country stations to explore of the same line - with rail trail routes becoming available once you enter Warwickshire. Slow Ways coming up with an alternative resource to inspire a short route from Hagley to Stourbridge.

Seems fitting that I reach the South Western edge of the Black Country on the day that flags with red and black chains are all over social media pronouncing "Happy Black Country Day!"

A simple walk - the Monarch's Way providing some countryside and up and over Wychbury Hill. Will the obelisk still have the graffiti pronouncing "Who put Bella in the Wych Elm?"

“Who put Bella in the Wych Elm?” is a mysterious graffiti phrase linked to the 1943 discovery of a woman’s skeleton hidden inside a wych elm tree in Hagley Wood, near Stourbridge. The body was never identified, but the name “Bella” emerged after the graffiti appeared in nearby Birmingham in 1944, sparking decades of speculation. Theories range from espionage—suggesting she was a Nazi spy—to occult murder or a local crime. No one has ever claimed responsibility for the graffiti, which has reappeared intermittently over the years, keeping the unsolved case alive in British folklore and true crime lore.

Climbing Wychbury Hill on the Monarch's Way

The Obelisk

The Graffitti

Black Country Views

Stourbridge is entered from the south, passing the Seven Stars too early.

But on the final day of the second 2025 heatwave, who could resist cask Jaipur at £2.45 in an Air-conditioned 'Spoons?  Not me.

Long may the month-long (into its third month) promotion live!

15th Jaipur, 1st branded glass.

Walk Details

Distance - 4 Miles

Geocaches - 3

Walk Inspiration - Slow Ways

Previous Slows Ways - Birmingham to Blackheath, Blackheath to Halesowen, Halesowen to Stourbridge, Stourbridge to Kinver, Kinver to Highley, Highley to Bridgnorth, Bridgnorth to Much Wenlock

Previous Stage on the Wyre Valley Line - Worcester to Droitwich, Droitwich to Hartlebury, Hartlebury to Kidderminster, Kidderminster to Hagley

08/07/25 - Titterstone Clee Hill

Radar Love

It's been a long time since I last climbed either of the Clee Hills. A route on Titterstone in The Great Outdoors Magazine (via the Library's Pressreader Service) caught my eye.

The Clee Hills, in south Shropshire, are a dramatic pair of upland peaks—Brown Clee (the county’s highest point) and Titterstone Clee—offering panoramic views across Wales, the Midlands, and beyond. Rich in geology and industrial heritage, they were once heavily quarried for dhustone and mined for coal and iron, leaving behind relics like tramways and hillforts.

I always get Brown and Titterstone mixed up. For future reference, Titterstone is the one with the "golf ball" radar station on the top.

Today's Quarry - from Riddings Gate mini car park

Common land to begin the walk, with paths on the ground having little resemblance to the OS Maps and high ferns making going sketchy, but I eventually arrive at Hill Houses. Surprisingly for such a small place - Hamlet would be too grand a title - there is a "Big Blue Cup of Joy" marked on the map.

Of course it is closed and it has taken an awful lot of research to work out what it was called. The Gate Hangs Well and detailed as being in Farlow. I could not even identify a pub-looking building, so it is likely to have been knocked down and rebuilt as a private house. Only a couple of references online - CAMRA and the usual local newspaper story of villagers campaigning to save their local.

The closest I get to a pub today.

Road walking to Cleeton St Mary. It's the type of place where every car driver waves at you. A school and church the notable buildings.

Cleeton St Mary

It's then onto the main prize - a climb of Titterstone on the Shropshire Way, followed a descent over Magpie Hill, passing the amusingly named Random Cottage.

A beautiful day for it and a fine place for lunch.

The "Golf Ball"

360 Degree Views

Walk Details

Distance - 8.75 Miles

Walk Inspiration - TGO Magazine 

Geocaches - 2

05/07/25 - London Spiral Stage 20 - Carpenders Park to Hayes and Harlington

Limited Interest - Decision Point Looming

Oh dear - the London Spiral Walk is starting to get a little stale. The last leg involved a lot of non-pavement, fast-traffic country lanes. It could not be described as wholly enjoyable. If anything, the stretch from Carpenders Park to Harlington Station is even worse.

There is nothing of any interest in 14 miles of walking. I have 6 photos on my phone. 2 of a too-early visit Good Beer Guide pub and one of an identikit 'Spoons that was the highlight of the day.

Early on, Oxhey Woods provides traffic-free countryside walking alongside the dog walkers of North London.

Woods.  Trees.

 

Then it's the outskirts of Pinner. Too early for the Good Beer Guide Woodman Pub and too many miles to walk to hang around for it's opening. Housing estate after housing estate. Admire the shed extensions on the rooflines. Find the house with the most cars parked on a repurposed front lawn. Dull, dreary walking. At least I get to tick off a couple of podcasts.

Wish I was at the Woodman End

At Ruislip, the OS Map switches from London North to Chilterns East and at least there's countryside again. The Hillingdon Trail takes me around Northolt Aerodrome along Yeading Brook. More or less all the way to the day's finale at Hayes and Harlington Station. Marshland, a babbling brook and mowed grass fields. You wouldn't think you were in London. It's so dull.

The Hillingdon Trail is a 20-mile (32 km) waymarked walking route through the London Borough of Hillingdon, running from Cranford Park near Heathrow to Springwell Lock in the Colne Valley. The trail offers a varied landscape of canals, ancient woodlands (Ruislip Woods NNR), rivers (Pinn and Colne), meadows, and historic landmarks like St Dunstan’s Church and Harefield’s ANZAC Memorial.

Refreshment desperately needed in Hayes, where there are near unlimited choice of takeaways.

One Good Beer Guide Tick available - the ubiquitous Wetherspoons Botwell Inn making the Bible for the 17th year running. Long may it continue when you can drink cask Jaipur for £2.29 a pint in London.  Best thing on the menu? Chicken in a basket.

Best a man can get (In Hayes)

I'll give the London Spiral until the next crossing of the Thames - although getting through Heathrow Airport doesn't promise great walking. Maybe I'll get some good photos.

Walk Information

Distance - 14 Miles

Start - Carpenders Park Station

Finish - Hayes and Harlington Station

Areas Walked - Pinner, Ruislip, Hillingdon

Geocaches - 11

Pubs - 1

Previous Walks - Stage 1, Stage 2, Stage 3, Stage 4, Stage 5, Stage 6, Stage 7, Stage 8, Stage 9, Stage 10, Stage 11, Stage 12, Stage 13, Stage 14, Stage 15, Stage 16, Stage 17, Stage 18, Stage 19

04/07/25 - A Crewe Pub Crawl

Judging

A pub crawl that was generated from a post in the British Pubs Facebook page. I used the Bar Trek App to plot the recommendations. Traveled up to Winsford for some Adventure Lab Caches and by the time I arrived at Crewe, there was only an hour to spare.

A return journey, but over the passing months, I have forgotten which were Good Beer Recommendations and which were merely recommended by locals. I am sure that I will be able to work it on the ground.

First stop is an early opener, The Crewe Dog. Hosted in one of those indoor markets that the North does so well. A small collection of eateries and Asian supermarkets, with a central area of high tables and stools for consuming your purchases.

Not Brew Dog

Service was tricky. The bar was unmanned. I had a wander around, hoping to determine how Thai Basil differs from Italian Basil. I came back. Still unmanned. Problems with the San Miguel tap.

Eventual service, and my Cask Merlin's Gold was in ropey condition. A little murky, little buts floating in it if you looked too closely. Not in the bible.

More success at Hops, where world's collide. Crewe is a little bereft of Geocaches but there is one in the front beer garden. 

Geocaching and Chouffing

As you can see, this is a Belgian specialty house, with an extensive bottle menu and several on draught. But they also love traditional British dispense, with a selection of curated cask beers. Hard to make up my mind, but in the interest of scarcity, I went for the hunchbacked gnome. Good Beer Guide and an Orval Ambassador - just like my much loved Tripel Bs in Worcester. 22 others exist in the UK. Maybe I should create a Google Map?

I honestly thought that The Borough Arms was closed down. If ever a place deserved an external lick of paint. Mrs M would have been tutting, but I am riding solo and can venture where I choose.

Freehouse since (and last painted) 1867

And what a gem!  A beer oasis, with all the beauty inside.

All my friends have been there

Upstairs, downstairs and a rather nice patio garden. At least 8 cask ales on and as usual, I peak rather too early. The Thornbridge Crackendale was absolutely superb but then I clocked a reason to stay for two.

How to get in the Good Beer Guide - Import the best of the Midlands

Superb and straight into my Top 10 pubs in the UK. The benefit of the two drink stop is that by the time I have finished, Tom's Tap House and Brewery around the corner is open.

Industrial Drinking

A few quirky touches to raise it above the usual Industrial Unit Tap Room. A sense of humour - with the electronic board pronouncing "Today's Evil Keg Filth".  A second screen details the Cask and a surprising varied selection of ciders. Which I could not resist. A schooner of a cider from Ross on Wye.

Indoor space, outdoor space and hybrid, where you can sit in a shipping container. Likely to be more lively during the regular evening events, I was made very welcome by Tom's Dad. He took me for the pub ticker I am and asked "Where Next?". I saw the slight eye-roll when I said "The Earl of Chester" and left with his words, "You really need to try Ebeneezer's" as I left.

What is wrong with the Earl of Chester I wondered? 

A relatively long walk - but in the vague direction of the station - and I found an unassuming back street terraced pub. Entered, no punters and on a sparsely populated bar, I swear to God I only saw Carling.

Like Homer Simpson's dad, I did the hat off, 360 degree turn, hat back on to wonder how this got added to the list? Was someone on British Pubs pranking tourists? Something to ponder on a repeat visit to Ebeneezer's.

It's only at home, two days later and blogging that I determine that it is in the Good Beer Guide. I must have stumbled on an unused bar. 

Twice I have judged a book by its cover. One day, I will learn to give things a little more time. 

02/07/25 - Ebrington to Ilmington, via Foxcote

On the Trail of the Yubbington Yawnies

More folk tales from the Loreman Podcast. Episode 6 tells of the simple folk of Ebrington, known colloquially as the Yubbington Yawnies.

Most villages have an idiot. Ebrington is full of them, according to legend. Famed for;

• Caging cuckoos to stop summer ending
• Fishing for the moon in the village pond
• And most famously, attempting to make the church tower grow by covering the base in manure, prompting a poem.

“The Yubberton Yawnies be so wise

They mucked the tower to make it rise

And when the muck began to sink

They swore the tower had grown an inch”

This all happens to be in prime Cotswold walking country.

I start at a previously undiscovered car park hidden behind a new build estate and handily positioned for the pub, the Ebrington Arms. North, climbing hills to Lark Stoke. Some fine views in all directions. I am sure the OS Maps had a feature where you could use the camera and it would identify topological features and superimpose the data on the views. If it is still there, I couldn't get it to work in the field.

Lark Stoke Hill Views

And over Ilmington

A drop down to the edge of Ilmington. This is a village recently walked on the Centenary Way. This means I have crossed the border from Gloucestershire into Warwickshire.

Back uphill, over Windmill to walk the grounds of Foxcote House. 

A gap in the hedge to view Foxcote House

Nash's lane to take me back to the pub. Did I find any idiots? Walking back into town, I followed two late middle aged ramblers who stopped to start passionately snogging. I wouldn't have minded, but this took place at the spot where I was thinking of having lunch. For a moment, I was worried things were going to escalate but they spied me getting my banana out (not a euphemism) and scuttled off.

Oh, and the pub beer garden had two men in identical clothes (yacht shoes, pink knee length shorts, stripey tops), with identical hair (bald, beard) both drinking rosé wine. Do these people phone each other up first?  

The pub was labelled by the Times as the best Village Pub in England. It used to be owned by someone connected with the North Cotswold Brewery     and sold a beer called Yubbies. It has changed ownership since my last visit but still has beers from that brewery in the line up. Knowing it would be more than a fiver a pint, I asked for a sample of the Shagweaver first.  

Cotswold Village Pub - The Ebrington Arms

Cask beer in a summertime garden

Perfect condition. Just goes to show, you can have cask in summertime. If you pay £5.45.

Walk Details 

Distance - 7 Miles

Geocaches - 7

Walk Inspiration - Loremen Podcast and Harry Hargreaves The Third Book of Cotswold Rambles, Walk 3

Previous Loremen Walks - Churchill, Burford, Long Compton, Swinbrook, Minster Lovell

01/07/25 - West Midlands Way - Stage 7 - Bridgnorth to Shifnal

Pub Archaeology at Ackleton

For the first time on the West Midlands Way, public transport dictates a modification to the route. 50 years ago, our intrepid twosome of Ron Leek and Eric Jones ended this stage at Tong. A village with a population of 240, that has "no Post Office, no shop and no bus service". 

A minor modification, albeit involving the best part of 2 miles of lane walking, sees me end at Shifnal.

First, I have to get there and I am a little bit excited by this route. It takes me to places previously unexplored.

Worfield was the first - and what a quaint little hamlet it is. Like the place that time forgot. The shopkeeper sits on a deckchair on the street outside. The approach is made after crossing the River Worfe. Ron and Eric's guidebook shows an impressive waterwheel, which has sadly collapsed into the river.

A blog from 2011 shows it still standing

Once through the grounds of Davenport House, its into the village, where I was too early for the still functioning pub.

Worfield is a picturesque village in Shropshire, nestled along the River Worfe, known for its historic charm and connections to literary and architectural heritage. P. G. Wodehouse, the famed comic novelist, had family ties to the village—his parents were married in St. Peter’s Church, and he spent part of his early childhood at nearby Stableford. Just outside the village lies Davenport House, a grand Georgian country mansion built in 1727 by architect Francis Smith of Warwick. The house, now a popular wedding and events venue, stands as a fine example of early 18th-century English baroque architecture.

Dog and Davenport - for another day

Agricultural walking until the OS Maps shows two Big Blue Cups of Joy at Ackleton. I never for a second expected them both to still operational, but to lose both seems rather cruel.

The Folly (or Folley) Arms on the main road is long gone. Reported first closed in 2014 and now two cottages. Whatpub telling the story of how the name changed between the two spellings until at one point it was Folly on one side of the sign and Folley on the other.

Both cottages for sale suggesting a recent renovation

At the end of the village is a far more healthy looking pub, the Red Cow. I am slowly trying to tick off all the Holdens Tied pubs and this was actually saved in my Google Maps. It was 11:40am when I arrived and I thought long and hard about waiting the 20 minutes for the legitimate tick.

Potential Bonus - 18th-century, Grade II Listed, yet dead

Mobile coverage was sketchy but thankfully, I managed to hitch onto some free WiFi to determine that this, too, is a dead pub. It looks like a Covid Casualty, with the last post on their Facebook page, a heartfelt monologue, the type of which that I am reading far too often these days. With a twist, The Red Cow were bemoaning a lack of staff, rather than punters.

Badger, with its sandstone caves and dingly dells and Beckbury are next up. Will I strike lucky on the next Big Blue Cup of Joy? The answer is kind of. The 1800s coaching house once known as the Seven Stars has been rebranded as a "Pie and Smokehouse" restaurant". Not that I am normally one to mock anything with a Pie in the title, it all looked a little Miller and Carter. Still, the local rambling group were gathered outside, arguing about who's round it was, so I nipped in first. Too warm to trust the Brakspear Cask, a pint that never sets the juices flowing, I decided on a first time for a long time Kronenbourg 1664.

Holy Smokey Cow - an open pub

It transpired that the walking group were not the Ramblers but a "South Shropshire Wellness" group. From brief discussions, it appears that "Wellness" can be achieved through fresh air, moderate exercise, ordering puddings with custard when the mercury is in the mid 20s and drinking beer. I think they are onto something more than that woman who was married to the fella from Coldplay. She just peddles perfume to make your fufu smell nice.

Refreshment completed - it was time for me to make my detour and head directly North, through Ryton and picking up the lanes to take me to the train station and Shifnal.

This is a town I have recently discovered on foot, so in the interests of something new, I ignored the Good Beer Guide Pubs and test out the Jaspers Arms for a post-walk pint. Typically, its possibly the best pub in town. A free house with pump clips of former glories nailed to the ceilings. Many, many Chesterfields, including a rarely seen double seater that wasn't a sofa. A lovely patio, overlooking the railway viaduct. Most importantly, a very chatty bar-lady, who ensured the conversation flowed between disparate groups of punters.

Three GBG Ticks, but Mappiman says this is the best in town.

Walk Details

Distance - 12.5 Miles

Geocaches - 0

Previous Stages - Stage 1, Stage 2, Stage 3, Stage 4, Stage 5, Stage 6 (Part 1), Stage 6 (Part 2)