Wheels Around Europe . . . . . . . : Shropshire's rolling hills

Friday, 5 August 2022

Shropshire's rolling hills

4th and 5th August 2022

I decided on a little mid week trip to take advantage of the beautiful summer weather we're enjoying and started off with a trip to Biddulph Counrty Park and Biddulph Grange Garden.

I've not been here for far too long !

It was great to see the gardens again and the mid summer sunshine showed them at their most beautful.

The dahlia walk wasn't quite at its best but another couple of weeks should see it there.

The rest of the gardens were looking pretty good.

Next it was onto an old favourite of mine, Colemere near Ellesmere Shropshire where we enjoyed a walk around the lake and long the Shropie canal again.

After that it was onto the Shropshire Hills, it's only about 20 minutes or so south of Shrewsbury, but feels like a world away.

Stiperstones was the destination with it's rolling hills and craggie outcrops of quartzite rocks on the ridge dating from 500 million years ago.

The area is famous for it's crimsom coloured heather in late Summer. It was quite vivid today in early August so the fine weather must have encouraged it along a bit.

The area is rich in wildlife and enjoys impressive panoramic views in all directions.

I saw a couple of Red Kites circling in the distance.

The paths were quite obvious and easy to follow, but along the ridge the path consists of quite large angular boulders, so careful foot placement is essential to avoid trips to A&E.

Dogs excluded, Louis just romped across them !

We did the circular walk along the ridge then moved to a nearby carpark at The Bog Mine which was originally lead mine and workings first began in the 1730's.

There is a visitor centre selling lots of cakes, and there are the ruins of the former mine buildings

But is now just a scenic and peaceful place to park up for the night.

It's a little lower down and less exposed to the wind that was blowing up on the ridge, although I think the wind's dropped everywhere now.

There's also another rocky outcrop to visit, accessible from The Bog, Nipstones Rock, so after tea I had a walk to the top and had yet more spectacular views.