15/16 October 2022 - RAMSOC visits Wilderhope Manor

RAMSOC is Sue's old Nottingham University walking club, and there's a reunion of her contemporaries every October, or thereabouts. I've reported on these reunions and other gatherings many times over the years - here.

This year Sue booked Wilderhope Manor, in Shropshire, and about 30 people sent in their deposits. But by the time we arrived, Covid and other ailments and commitments had reduced the numbers to a very manageable 20, for whom there was plenty of room in this magnificent Elizabethan building owned by the National Trust. Alison and Russell even got a honeymoon suite with a four poster bed - not bad for a Youth Hostel!

I'll report on this trip mainly by way of captioned photos. If you click on any picture you should get a slideshow that doesn't include the captions etc. This may not work on phones. Anyway, it was a lovely weekend, as recorded below.

We set off from Wilderhope, next to Coats Wood, above Hope Dale

After congregating on Friday evening, Pete and Mary went for a ride on their tandem and the remaining 18 all took a stroll from the Manor. Tom had worked out a route - both Saturday and Sunday involved walks along or near Wenlock Edge, rather than wrestling with parking a convoy of 11 cars in Church Stretton, so we gave the Long Mynd a miss on this trip.

The path soon entered the woods

On my map, this place is marked as 'Springfield Coppice', above Hope Dale

Much of the weekend's walking was along a route known as the 'Jack Mytton Way'

It is named after John Mytton (1796–1834), also known as Mad Jack, a Shropshire landowner, MP, horseman, foxhunter, gambler and Regency rake.

The walk proceeded along Wenlock Edge, seeking out a spot with a good view for elevenses

Then we headed down the back of the escarpment towards Munslow

There were good views towards the Long Mynd

Fungi identification was briefly challenged by rock identification as the primary distraction, shortly before a very acute angled path turn at Middlehope

Lunch was taken in the sunshine above Munslow

Munslow sports a fine cricket pitch, for which game today's weather was ideal, but the season is over...

Beyond Munslow, we entered Millichope Park, which has ornamental gardens overlooked by an impressive residence

Millichope Park is a Greek-Revival building, with six Ionic pillars supporting its front portico.
It was built in the mid-19th century by Shropshire architect Edward Haycock for Reverend Norgrave Pemberton, Rector of Church Stretton, to replace a black and white timbered house.
In 1544, the More family brought Lower Millichope and Thomas More, who inherited the estate, started the creation of the pleasure park. The estate passed to his daughter, Catherine, then to her cousin, Robert Pemberton, after which, it descended to Norgrave Pemberton. He left the ‘new’ house, gardens and estate to his cousin, Charles Orlando Childe. He passed it onto his son, who sold the estate in 1896 to Captain Beckwith whose family thereafter descended.
The Grade II, 25-acre landscaped garden includes large lakes, cascades and the George Stuert temple, which pre-dates the house and is perched at the top of a steep cliff rising out of the lake. We saw this from our path, together with a distant view of the impressive Ionic pillars.

Sue W thought she was a champion hurdler, but she turned out to be more of a carthorse

A pleasant lane was followed, with views up the gentle gradient of the escarpment

Soon, a left turn offered the easy option of a stroll back on an easy path - the Shropshire Way, but our esteemed leader chose instead to slither up a path next to Stanway Coppice

This gave us the opportunity to admire lots of buzzards and red kites playing in the thermals (this may have been earlier) and Sue and I picked a box full of field mushrooms that we would savour, fried in butter, the following morning.

Several rainbows appeared as we approached Wilderhope, and a few people donned waterproofs.

Approching from the rear, the stone enclosed circular staircases are prominent

Our route was about 19km, with 400 metres ascent, taking a little over 6 hours

Afternoon tea on the verandah

Dinner in the Great Hall, was provided by an assortment of trainee chefs:

Starters
Pea and mint soup
Vine tomato tart with side salad

Main courses
Thai salmon curry with rice
Beef and mushroom stroganoff with rice
Chicken and apricot tagine with couscous and naan bread

Desserts
Meringues and berries
Spiced apple crumble with ice cream
Pear and ginger trifle
Whisky cake with cream

 

Sunday

First challenge: negotiate the narrow winding staircase without falling over...

Simon and Aedan went in search of fossils, so we were down to 16 for a walk along Wenlock Edge to the north - to Presthope, returning via the Shropshire Way.

There was lots of milling around before we eventually set off

Outside the manor, a water pump pointed the way up to the Edge

We passed some tasty looking Parasol Mushrooms

The Wenlock Edge path was along field edges by Woodside, soon finding its way to the dismantled Wenlock Railway, opened in 1867 and used mainly for mineral traffic until its closure in 1951.

 

Mushroom identifation was the main distraction along the Jack Mytton Way, 

as foliage hampered the views

A blocked tunnel was reached. We climbed some (some missing) steps for the final path into Presthope

Here's the view from my perch, as we paused at a (so called) viewpoint for elevenses (well, twelveses)

A little later, on the field paths of the Shropshire Way, an excellent spot for lunch

Further on, in the Easthope area, a sustained section of slurry was followed by much boot cleaning

There were several massive haystacks in the vicinity

A final wiping of slurry on the grass as we approach Wilderhope, and the end of
an excellent couple of days' strolling

Today's route was about 15km, with 250 metres ascent, taking us 4.5 hours.

Then we went home via Much Wenlock, where we found a nice tea shop for tea and waffles/crepes

A lovely weekend. Thanks to Sue for organising it.

Here are a few more of Sue's photos, taken in the Manor and in Much Wenlock.

Friday = Isabella Day (25)

Another lovely day with Izzie, who continues to love playing with the old Duplo house.

A beautiful, warm sunny morning drew us to a walk to Walton Park, where the big slide is now being attempted, whilst I enjoyed a Walton Perks coffee.

There's a new plaque in the park to commemorate those involved in the crash landing of a Wellington bomber in the park on 3 August 1943.

The plaque seems already to have been unveiled.

The Information Board, however, is still draped in bubble wrap.

Izzie wanted to go home on the tram again - you may recall we did that last week in order to avoid the worst of the rain - so we wandered up to Marsland Bridge and Brooklands Station. Some nice ladies took a photo for us.

I think it's fair to say that Isabella loved the short tram ride, after which she was in a good mood for lunch > nap > playing > going home.

It's a sunny view today looking along the canal from Timperley Bridge to Marsland Bridge.

The two year old spent ages neatly lining up her family...

Then Sue and I went to Shropshire for the weekend.

Sunday 9 October 2022 - The Calderdale Mountain Bike Marathon

This was the 24th running of this event, and the 19th time that I've participated. However, it was the first time I've been without companions, albeit we don't usually cycle together. Excuses ranged from "I have a list of jobs to do" to "I'm in Nice after cycling from the Channel."

No matter, there are always people going at a similar pace (very sedate for me these days) and happy to enjoy a chat.

As last year, the start was from Sowerby Bridge Cricket Club, from where our numbers were collected before setting off. No timing chips here, it's not a race, and it takes the organisers a while to publish the results.

I thought the start was at 9am, but it turned out to be 8:30. I just made it to the grass beside the lead riders, and waited for everyone to go by before setting off at a leisurely pace at the back of the field of 200 or so riders.

It was a new route. Having not had a bike ride of any consequence for months, I was content to walk up some of the steep hills that littered the new route like sand dunes on a beach. I was pleased to find the route still included the technical descent to Mytholmroyd that I've enjoyed so much over the years. I've slowed down a lot, but still passed a few folk who despite having suspension preferred to walk down here. 

Further on, a short section along the Rochdale Canal towpath in Hebden Bridge offered the chance of a scenic breather, after stopping at a support point for orange juice, banana and chocolate caramel shortbread.

After that very short flat section, the route led steeply upwards to join the Pennine Bridleway for a while. The ascent offered increasingly good views across the valley to Stoodley Pike.

After passing the pub at Jack Bridge, this new route went through Colden before turning sharply left through a ginnel where I passed a chap who was preferring to walk along the narrow bridleway (pictured below). These narrow paths between two walls are a pleasure to cycle along, unless you happen to want to overtake (a rare occurence for me these days).

A lovely ride along the Edge Lane track brought me to Reaps Bottom, where a curious sheep looked on whilst I admired the view down to Gorple Lower Reservoir.

After the easy but stony descent, during which I encountered a few walkers, I paused at the dam before crossing the rather depleted reservoir. Here, a bike with a huge electric motor whizzed past at about 40 mph. Not part of the event, although electric bikes are allowed - just the ones that you have to pedal in order to keep them moving.

On reaching Clough Foot, I caught up with the errant biker, who was struggling to get his  heavy as a motorbike machine through a narrow gateway. Event marshals and participants looked on with disdain before watching this person zoom off up towards Widdop.

We headed in the other direction, to join the old route at Walshaw and head up the slithery path that is the Calder/Aire Link bridleway. I've often cycled this, but I walked it today. I realised that I'm definitely far from being 'bike fit'.

After the fast but technical descent to Grain Water Bridge (this is a section where suspension makes a big difference to the speed you can go), the support point was most welcome, with a number of riders congregating there.

The easy lane (Old Road) leads on the old route to the A6033 and a fast descent to Pecket Well before attacking the rigours of Midgley Moor. I was expecting this to be the way. But no, at SD995311 I was directed left, up a narrow, steep, stony path that only the most expert of mountain bikers might be capable of cycling. Even going down this way may have seen me pushing. Anyway the path rose steeply to cross the A6033 road and continue even more steeply up towards Spinks Hill Edge. Luckily, high above the road, a bench offered a little respite for my stalwart steed, the 32 year old Shogun Trailbreaker, which behaved impeccably throughout, despite not having had its usual annual service before the event. (The loss of top gear was almost completely irrelevant!)

Looking ahead, I also needed a rest. In the picture below, the dots on the horizon show the people ahead of me on a very steep section. I could see that even those carrying their bikes were slithering backwards and were then resorting to pushing. We congregated on the top, before they went off ahead of me.

Once on the top of the moor, the trig point at High Brown Knoll (444 metres) was reached without too much difficulty. I stopped there for a few photos.

You can see from the next picture that the route was well signposted, even across the desolate moorland. This section, all the way to Catherine House, covering about 5km, took me around 50 minutes, as great care is needed on some tricky rocky and very boggy sections as well as the easy paths like the one shown. All great fun though!

Luddenden Foot was the next target, but the (easy) old route has been replaced by a more challenging undulating route that uses more of the narrow ginnels that feature in several parts of this marathon.

Once at Luddenden Foot, the route designer had given in and resisted any further innovations, sending riders up and down and then brutally 'up', towards the finish, with such good views across the valley towards Warley that I had to stop and take pictures before struggling to the final, short but lovely, descent to the cricket club.

The welcome was welcoming, and I was awarded the 'oldest bike' award, apparently trumping someone who had assumed that title with a 1995 bike. The spicy tomato soup was delicious, and as a late finisher there were plenty of seconds because the caterers were happy to minimise left overs. It was good to sit outside the pavilion in the warm sunshine and enjoy the feeling of having succeeded in meeting a fairly tough challenge, with a young couple, Liam and Sophie, from nearby Warley who I'd passed and re-passed many times during the day.

The challenging route is shown above - click on the image for a better version. It took me about 5 hours 25 minutes, much longer than ever before, and my Garmin measured it at 44km with 1250 metres ascent. The results are here. I came in position 155 out of 164 normal cyclists, behind a further 26 eBikes, and 8 wimps who did a shorter course.

Well done to the organisers for planning such a brilliant, albeit tough for old timers, outing, and thanks to all the marshalls and to those who put up all the very many signs to keep us 'on track'.

Reports on earlier years' exploits are here.

Saturday 8 October 2022 - Wythenshawe parkrun #494

Another lovely sunny morning for the 228 participants and 30 or so volunteers who congregated for a bit of weekly pleasure.

Sue passed me near the end, to finish half a minute ahead of me in 25:45. She sped up whilst I just maintained an even pace, proving I was just about fully recovered from last week's marathon. (Last year that took months!) I still couldn't keep up with Beth-Louise and her push chair with Harrison on board.

Outside the pony cafe where we enjoyed a sociable half hour with coffees in the sunshine was a crop of what Sue and I had no hesitation in identifying as Shaggy Ink Cap mushrooms.

The mushrooms in the picture above are past it for eating, but the freshly sprouted ones pictured below should be picked, treated with care, and as soon as possible sliced in half and fried in butter for two minutes before serving on toast with plenty of black pepper. Sadly we were on our bikes, with no suitable receptacle for taking them home.

Our 'Wild Food' guide confirms that these commonly found mushrooms are unlikely to be confused with any poisonous species, but they are best eaten within a couple of hours of being picked.

Having stopped at the doctor's surgery for a 'flu jab on the way to the park, I now headed on to Altrincham for a Covid booster at the hospital... - a sign of the times.