Friday 14 April 2023 - Around Appleton

Here are Richard and Jenny and Sue at the start of a regular Friday morning walk, which started along the Bridgewater Canal from the London Bridge pub. Sue and I walked this route last December (report here) and on previous occasions, so as I have a backlog of postings, I'll make this one brief, comprising mainly annotations to the pictures taken in the drizzle that accompanied us all morning. (Not rainy enough for me to don waterproofs, but the others made up for that.)

Richard was most concerned about the body he spotted in the canal, but it turned out to be 'armless.

Daffodils by Dingle Lane

Wild Cherry

There was a hammering woodpecker in Lumb Brook Valley

Bluebells

The woodland is bursting into a 'spring green'

Wood Anemone

Opposite-leaved Golden-saxifrage

On the path to Pewterspear

Albino mallards on the pond at Pewterspear

Forget-me-nots

Janus, where we paused on a bench for elevenses

More early Bluebells

Mustard - a crop

More forget-me-nots before the rain intensified and the camera was stashed

Back at the canal, from the bridge in one direction - the outfitters

In the other direction, the steps where passengers would embark on the barge to Manchester 

before the days of the railways - now in the garden of the London Bridge pub

Here's the 10km route. It took us 2.5 hours on this occasion. We kept moving in the drizzle.

It's a lovely route, close to home. Click on any image for a better view and access to a slideshow.

Next Friday walk - Friday 2 June:
Y Garn and the Glyders. 13km on the route described here.
Meet at 10am at the Ogwen Cottage Visitor Centre. 

Monday 11 April 2023 - A Visit to Bridgnorth

Easter Monday saw us meeting up with my old University pal, Peter, his wife Cassie, and his even older school mate Rod and wife Kate. Peter and Cassie are over from Calgary, and we all met up in Bridgnorth, recalling our previous meeting in Wales on 1 November 2017.

Anyway, whilst we spent most of the day chatting and enjoying a fine luncheon spread, Peter, Sue and I did, in between hefty showers, manage a 5km stroll around Bridgnorth. First we headed down to the river Severn on a good path under the Severn Valley railway viaduct and past Daniels Mill, which may have been mentioned in the Domesday Book of 1086.

Soon the riverside path was gained, along which we walked into the low level part of the town.

The following pictures trace our route up to the high level and through Bridgnorth's well maintained antiquities.

Window tax!

Friary remains that used to be the site of a carpet factory

St Leonard's Church

The old grammar school

Inside the church, where lots of nice 'bric a brac' china and jigsaw puzzles were being sold

Town Hall - built on stilts to provide a covered market place for the town

Remains of the C12 castle, which leans four times a much as the tower in Pisa!

A view towards the railway from the lovely Castle Gardens

The church of St Mary Magdalene was designed by Thomas Telford and built in 1792-95

There's a good view to the river from the path below the church

We made our way down to the railway station, where the 'pre-Beeching' era is alive and well. My Iain Allan trainspotter's bible is in the loft, or I'd tell you whether I've spotted Pendennis Castle before (almost certainly 'yes' - I think I spotted all the 'Castle' class as they ran through Albrighton, where I used to go trainspotting after junior school.

After lunch, the sun came out and we were able to enjoy tea and cake outside Rod and Kate's house, where Jane, who had driven over from Denby Dale for a few days, joined the party.

L to R: Cassie, Kate, Rod, Peter Jane and Sue

Then Sue and I went home, via Great Grandma Dot (now 98) in Eccleshall. What a lovely day out.

Saturday 9 April 2023 - Wythenshawe parkrun #517

Here are some of this week's team, assembled before the start - Jeanette (stress fractured foot, so marshalling - get better soon!), Laura, Paul, Rufus, Jenny, Isabella, Mike, Sue and Owen.

Conditions were deemed to be good, as 292 participants assembled at the start.

Mike and Isabella and Ted assumed their usual position under a tree from which they could cheer us on from the start.

The run went particularly well for Sue, who on her 262nd parkrun managed to go half a minute quicker than ever before, bringing her PB down to 23:50! How did that happen?

Full results are here.

Some of us adjourned to the stables cafe, and Isabella soon insisted on a visit to the neighbouring playground.

A lovely way to start the weekend.

And Sunday brought more fun, by way of the Wythenshawe Community Run.