Distance - 5 Miles
Geocaches - 8
Walk Inspiration - Country Walking Magazine June 1999 Walk 29
My daughter's placement year comes to its conclusion, so once again, we are heading up country to do the two car job that is moving her out of shared accommodation and back to the bosom of the family home. For the next three months, until we take her back.
It provides an excellent opportunity to explore another part of the country. A search through my extensive walking resources indicates that Skelmersdale may be prettier than it sounds and only 3 miles away from the house that needs evacuation.
Looks promising as we park at Beacon Country park, with some fine views stretching from Snowdonia to the left, to the Lakes to the right and Anglezarke Hill behind.
Views from the Beacon
The walk drops us down a muddy and overgrown path through where we meet a couple of other walkers with a Labradoodle. Sonia asks whether its a boy whilst unnecessarily peering below at it's under-carriage. A lone man asks me the way to the Beacon and I can tell him and he heads off. We dive into the bushes for a geocache and he comes back, walking in the opposite direction to the beacon.
Path toward Anglezarke Hill
The path delivers us to Roby Mill... a hamlet that has a pub. After a long journey, we are gasping for a drink but despite some furious door rattling, its apparent it's not open at 11:30am. No choice but to press on, but not before Sonia makes a new friend.
Sonia, meet Anthony
Fields around the back of Roby Mill
Roby Mill is a two pub sort of place and we do find the Star Inn open for lemonades at 11:50. Refreshed, we head off for some road walking. Every house is having an "Open Garden" day for charity, so someone sat on a deckchair attempts to lure us into their abode to look at the daffs.
We don't have time for this, not when there are caches to find on the great path to Ashurst Beacon. Fine walking, to be rewarded with great views.
Ashurst Beacon - and a handy guide to the views
All that remains of the walk is to follow the golf course to the car. Then its off to pick up Ellie, who's been texting us to find out when we are taking her to lunch. 1:45pm is the answer, but the real surprise for her is she's paying.
Over the last two years, I have come to love the Millennium Way, as it has taken me from Pershore to England's centre in Meriden. However, for the last four months, I seem to be stuck Berkswell.
Not that there is anything wrong with being stuck in Berkswell. Nice church, some fine paths and a pub, that despite having been close to 3 times, has not been frequented. Something has to give.
I know where to park. I know which paths to go on. This gives me the chance to attempt a cache that was previously guarded by frisky bulls, who we indulging is some sort of homoerotic orgy. Not wanting to get caught up in Solihull Scandal, I left them to their mountings last time but today, they seemed more restrained. So I made a grab.
Then I get boxed in by them. Then one starts to nibble on the sleeve of my walking top. Lowe Alpine guarantee wicking and UV protection but they are sadly lacking when it comes to Bull saliva.
I did not hang around long enough to put the date on the log, but a hastily scribbled "Mappiman" and the taking of a TB proves I was there.
GZ Ring of Bull.
Following the same paths as Stage 21 gives me the chance to find a previous DNF at Ram Hall. I swear I looked there last time. Its here where I make my way on new paths, heading South through the fields.
Into the Yellow
The Yellow rapeseed looks inviting but it has overgrown the footpath. With a lack of a machete, there is no choice but to try and force my way through. I succeed but am covered in yellow dust as I emerge for a cache that was the only DNF of the day. Too many stingers :-(
On the way here, I passed a 4x4 with a bumper sticker saying "I LLove LLamas". I now know where he lives.
LLoving LLamas. More than Bulls.
The railway line leads me to Truggist Hill Farm, where the footpath signs are replaced with signs saying "No Exit - Private Property".
Does this mean cars? Does this mean walkers?
I have a GPS and follow the line of the path up a driveway. I know I am close to the lane when a window opens and someone shouts at me that this is private property. I reply and say that on the Map it shows as a footpath. He tells me I have the wrong map.
I promise him I will never come here again. This only half placates him.
On emergence at the lane I try and find the footpath signs and they show an indistinct path alongside his property that was not apparent from the signage at the other end.
Here's an idea - rather than shouting at confused ramblers out your window, why not invest in some direction signs that say more than "No Exit".
Not much else to report on paths through Carol Green (never met her) and Benton Green (never met him). Kind of fine, yet unspectacular walking with a number of caches to hunt for.
Paths Like This
After four consecutive months of Berkswell visits, I check out the pub.
Distance - 5 Miles
Geocaches - 5
Walk from - Country Walking Magazine - March 2015
There's two ways of telling that you are near Telford.
Number 1. The caches are invariably in socks.
Cache in a Sock
Number 2. The dog walkers like nothing better than to bag their dog poop. So far, so community spirited. Then they leave them, usually at the base of a tree (often the hint for a geocache), sometimes thrown down a bank. Where they can lie, non degradable in the countryside, for all eternity. Some even have non-standard jolly coloured bags to stand out from the more pedestrian black standard issue.
Are they completely dumb?
I will be a happy man in one person seeing this blog thinks "Hey, I was brain-dead but now I have seen the light and I will put it in a bin or at worse, flick it into the undergrowth".
We are at the Wrekin in Shropshire. Mainly, as the weather promised wall to wall sunshine and I thought the views would be spectacular. It was more misty than expected.
Park up at the reservoir at the foot of the Ercall. Country Walking Magazine want to take us on a there and back excursion to this hill, but it looks a bit dull retracing your steps, so we head off on good paths along the southern side of the Wrekin.
There are a good number of caches, but Sonia isn't feeling the GeoLove and leaves me hunting solo.
Get to cache 4 and I get the first DNF of the day. This throws me so off kilter that I take the wrong path, where another 10 remain to be found on a different day.
Sonia is secretly pleased.
Only one cache left to find.
Cache of the Day - at the foot of Little Hill
In my walking career, I have knocked off around countless Nuttalls, an impressive amount of Marilyns, 50ish Wainwrights and 1 Munro but none of these compare to the 1500ft of ascent up the Eastern side of the Wrekin. It's steepness can be best described as "really needing a Ski Lift". It's even got a false summit of Little Hill, which you gainfully pant up - only to drop back down, before the main event of the Wrekin.
And the clouds haven't lifted to provide the wonderful views that this amount of climbing surely deserves.
Nearly at the Top
The trig point is surrounded by people waiting for some daredevil paragliders to make a move. They have all the gear, but seemingly little idea, as they disappoint the huddled masses by not actually doing anything.
The Masses shout "Jump, Jump, Jump" and then think poorly of themselves
The Wrekin's Aerial Summit
It's a short walk from here back to the car. Unexpectedly, a tea shop presents itself but the 80p mug of tea is kind of ruined by the amount of flies bothering us. After a couple of sips, the tea is disposed off and we half walk, half slide our way down to the car in search of finer refreshments.
I was half thinking of heading to Much Wenlock and knocking of a Top 10 county pub but we really couldn't ignore advertising that was made for us at Little Wenlock.
Distance - 5.82 Miles
Geocaches - 4
Walk from - Discover the Cotswolds - Walk 13
Painswick is at the halfway point of the Cotswold Way, so it seems rather apt that this is our first path, as we climb away from the town to Painswick Beacon.
The Cotswold Way
Molly, our 12 year old Labradoodle, took us by surprise by actually wanting to come today. As its only a 5 miler, we decide to take her along. Not content to have one dog, we are also being followed. As we move across the golf course to the summit of the Beacon, a large Black Labrador is tailing us, keeping a slight distance but present for half a mile.
Initially, we lose him as I hunt a geocache and Sonia takes Panoramic photos on her iPhone.
Superb Views from the Beacon
Another couple of walkers are concerned about the Labrador, who has appeared at one of the hill fort ramparts. They ask if he is with us and I explain that he has been following us.
Using all my dog whispering skills I manage to get him to come over and look at his ID. There is no tag, but stenciled on the collar is the motif "I am not lost".
The dog obviously has the freedom of Painswick.
Relieved, we continue with our walk.
My Old Ladies
Having soaked up the views, we continue along the Cotswold Way, sharing the route with the Golfers. If you are going to waste you time hitting a small ball down a little hole, there can be few finer places to do it than here.
At Kites Hill, we get the 2nd cache of the day, cross the Cheltenham road and head steeply downhill to Cocknells Court.
I am a 1 in 8
Cocknells Court
Wonderful walking along the valley floor, where the route is only shared with sheep and the odd isolated farmhouse.
Gorgeous Walking
We meet up with the Cheltenham Road again and follow it into Painswick. A couple of things remain to make the day perfect.
I have read about the Church and its 99 Yew Trees and ancient table top tombs in the walk guide.
Painswick Church and Tombs
Painswick Maidens shall be true, till there grows the hundredth yew
And no walk is complete without lunch. The Royal Oak provides.
