Are you questioning your life?
These are the words emblazoned outside Neen Sollars Church and my answer - quite frankly - is yes.
I need to get out of the house and the minute I arrive at Mamble, the heavens open. Another day in the rain. It's becoming biblical now. For future records, let it be known that Ashwood Bank in Worcestershire has now experienced 42 days of continuous rain.
What would have been a fine walk is a relentless slop-fest of mud and despite owning better waterproofs, I have misjudged.
At least there were a couple of interesting "doors open" churches to explore.
Mamble St John the Baptist
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| St John the Baptist, Mamble |
Dating from 1200 - a handy sign tells the story of all the treasures available. An effigy of a recumbent, cross legged knight. C14th stained glass windows, hidden from the destruction of idolatry in a manure pit before being refitted. C16th brass, floor mounted memorials to John Blount. A bricked off Catholic chapel with a collapsed roof.
The internet suggests there is a memento mori skeleton in the South aisle. Indeed, there are pictures of it on the Internet. I must have been following the guide too closely, as there is no mention of it and I failed to notice it.
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| Instruction Manual for a Church |
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| The Cross Legged Knight |
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| Meet the Blounts |
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| Only a couple of sections lost |
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| One to find next time |
Neen Sollars All Saints
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| Church Farm - looking at All Saints Church, Neen Sollars |
Quite the treasure inside - a 1624 alabaster memorial to Humfrey Coningsby. A traveller "never seene by any of his acquaintance on this side, the seas, or beyond, not any certainty knowne of his death, where, when, or how from his first journey to his last was 16 yeares & 6 months"
A man after my own heart.
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| Quite something to stumble upon |
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| Worthy of a Zoom |
The Walk
North East from Mamble, where I got a little lost in Wissett's Wood before finding the forest ride to Neen Sollars. Crossing the River Rea before lanes back to Mamble.
Grim.
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| Day 42 of 2026 rain. And there have only been 43 days in 2026 |
The Sun and Slipper
The real reason I am here is to get another tick from my 1960s Historic Inns of Worcestershire Guide Book.
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| Uniquely Named |
The first thing to note is there has been major modernisation, with the timber framing either removed or plastered over.
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| Which one is preferred |
The entrance is from the car park at the side, where the first door along the corridor is to a bar, where the only source of light is from the log fire. There is no way I am not sitting in front of that, even if I am in the dark.
I can hear plenty of noise from the restaurant next door, so the place is surviving from food sales rather than beer sales.
That said, the Three Tuns Charter - Untappd has it as a best bitter, the pump clip advertises it as an amber mild - is wonderful.
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| The Day Saver! (and the log fire) |
Walk Details
Distance - 6 Miles
Walk Inspiration - 100 Walks in Hereford and Worcester, Walk 72
Geocaches - 4
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