The trip to Shropshire had been long in the planning. My ambition aim was to complete all ten Marilyns in eight days. I felt singularly unambitious after reading that one hill bagger had tried to do them all in one day! All the hills were quite close togther and better still quite close to campsites. What I hadn't planned for was spraining my ankle after falling on hill six which put paid to any attempts at the last four. Until I went spinning through the air on Heath Mynd everything had been going to plan.
The first campsite had excellent views of the Clee Hills and of Ludlow, with High Vinnalls behind. Ludlow was lost in the haze but looked quite pretty at night after an excellent sunset. The weather on arrival was great and I even spent some time dozing in my deck chair in the warm sun! The campsite was about three miles from the summit of Titterstone Clee hill (and clearly visible in the photo).
Saturday morning was clear, bright and warm when I set off for hill No.1. According to the map, this should have been quite easy, just pick up the Shropshire Way which ran past the campsite and follow it to the top. I found the path easily enough and followed it over numerous styles before the signage disappeared. No problem, I'll just use my GPS to put me on the right track, however the external battery purchased especially for this sort of predicament, was dead!. I forced to use my map reading so opted for the easy option and followed the road up the hill.
The hill had been extensively mined and like so many tops was covered in radars and aerials. The map indicated that the Shropshire way went over the top to the trig point, but the only way up that I could see was a very steep scramble up the mossy scree. Views from the top are extensive but reduced by the hazy sunshine. The Shropshire Way continued northwards towards tomorrow's target, Brown Clee Hill.
I had as much trouble finding the footpath on the way down as I did on the way up, so stuck to the road. I arrived back after 4 1/2 hours and collapsed gratefully into my deckchair. I'd covered 6 1/2 miles and climbed over 1300feet due to a rather undulating route. The summit was at 1750ft marked by a cairn and a trig point.
I moved on the next day to a new campsite near Craven Arms. I went via Brown Clee Hill. (See previous blog entry for details of that walk.) The new site was about 2 miles from the summit of Callow Hill, one of the smaller hills. I took notice of local advice and again walked up via the road to Upper Dinschope and then up the steep side of the ridge, through woodlands. I managed to find a less well used, overgrown path to the top. Only when my trousers were soaked up to my buttocks did I realise that I had some waterproof trousers in my rucksack.
Callow Hill is marked by this tower called Flounders Folly. There were brilliant views both east towards the Clee Hills and west towards Long Mynd. Callow Hill is at the southern end of Wenlock Edge, marked by the tower. It took me 3hrs to cover 5 1/2 miles and 930ft of ascent. The return route took me along a short stretch of the ubiquitous Shropshire Way. After lunch, I drove Archie to nearby Craven Arms for the second hill of the day View Edge.I left the van at Stokesay Castle and ignoring the Shropshire Way this time, walked up a grassy slope towards Stoke Wood and followed a path around the base of the hill. View Edge is a bit of a misnomer as it was a round hill, covered with trees at the top and no view. There was no path to the top so I got as near as I could and turned for home to avoid the rain sweeping in from Wales. I got back to the van in 2 hours having covered 3 miles and 570ft of ascent. I had time to have a look around Stokesay castle before returning to base camp.
The next day the weather became quite autumnal, but the strong breeze kept the showers short and there was still plenty of sun to enjoy. My next camp was on a farm with great views of a hill I didn't have to climb and some extremely friendly chickens. They appeared like groupies every time I stepped out of the van.
The next hill on the list was Burrow which had a hillfort on top. I set off after lunch to follow what appeared to be a straightforward path to the point where access was allowed to the hillfort. I hadn't gone very far before I met some locals barring my way. They turned out to be nice quiet lads content to stare and allowed me to pass unmolested. At this point the route went awol and I had to rely on the trusty GPS to navigate my way pass the unfriendly signs to pick up the access path to the top.
I have to confess to climbing over a fence to get to the actual summit and if I had any sense I'd have returned the way I came. However, I decided that the quickest way down was downhill and followed a path that soon petered out amongst trifid-like blackberries. I emerged scratched and bleeding a long way from where I intended and had a very weary foot slog back including one brief but very steep climb that reminded me of the Puy Mary. It will be no surprise by now that the way back was via the Shropshire Way. (5 miles, 3 3/4 hours and 1160 ft of ascent!)
I moved on the next day to a rather expensive site in Wales which was the nearest point I could get to Heath Mynd. (The toilets were very nice and I used the wi-fi for free). I did a tour around to see if I could park close to the hill but this wasn't possible. I chose to walk up via the road and take the gentlest gradient but it still took quite a time. Heath Mynd has been openned up as access land so you can make your way to the top but there are no actual paths up the hill. The hill was covered in heather and bracken but luckily it was quite dry. Although sunny, there was a very strong wind especially at the top. The views were stunning: a full 360° panorama that took in Stiperstones to the north, Long Mynd to the east and Corndon Hill (a Marilyn just over the border in Wales).
Feeling rather chuffed at having got the top of a rather difficult hill (and not having learnt from previous mistakes) I took the quickest way down only to put my foot in a hole and spending 10 minutes writhing on the ground in agony. (At least it was a soft landing). Since helicopter rescue seemed unlikely, I picked myself up and made my way off the hill as best I could, sliding on my bum down the steep bits. Once back at the road it was mostly a downhill plod. I did try to hitch a lift but to no avail. I made it back to Archie just as the sun was setting, having covered nearly 8 miles in 4 1/2 hours with 1365ft of ascent, most of it limping.
Further walking was out, so I spent the remainder of the trip admiring the view from the next campsite, which was located just west of Stiperstones. The view was towards the plain around Shrewsbury and the Pennines in the far distance. It wasn't so bad as I had access to wi-fi and spent my idle hours catching up with Strictly Come Dancing.However I have some unfinished business in Shropshire (The Wrekin, Caer Caradoc, Pole Bank and Stiperstones). I'll be back!
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