Not the Only Wimp...

Soon after our lunch stop, our group split in half for the scenic descent down to Little Stretton.

Probably not a surprise that I chose the Moderate path, where I still needed my walking poles but didn’t have to do any hand scrambling.

The highpoint was seeing a wild foal. 

And there was even some woods at the end of the wilderness area. We came across a bake sale at a church so we had an unexpected sweet treat before returning to the B&B for a shower. For our final evening in Shropshire, we had dinner at a nearby pub. 
 

Shropshire Hills National Landscape...

When I found out that the original route planned for the following day was rated Challenging, I thought about skipping it. Thankfully Camilla found a more gentle way up the ridge from our B&B, which everyone agreed was a nice plan. 

This time we headed south as opposed to north the day before.

Loved this meandering path along a babbling brook. 

Eventually our narrow path reached a road that led to the summit... 

...at Pole Bank at 517 meters (1,696 feet) for a total gain of 322 meters (1,056 feet). As you can see from our clothes, it was cool for late June. As you can’t see, there were lots of other hikers here, but we managed to find somewhere to eat our packed lunch.
 

Surprise! I Went Solo Hiking...

Four hours after we set off in the morning, Claire, our trail organizer, announced that we were going to head towards a challenging ridge and I wimped out. Luckily she had a paper map that helped me find my way off Ragleth Hill as phone service was spotty. 

Much of the path along the other side of the hill was quite lush with lots of greenery and wildflowers.

It was a bit disconcerting when I spotted sheep coming towards me on the narrow path. 

They were likely as surprised to see me and opted to bushwhack. 

I had a bit of a panic that I’d missed the turn off to descend the hill, but remembered to follow the necklace that Veronica gave me: Believe. 

The last section was a bit steep and quite arid. I was happy once I was off that hill and relieved to join up with a couple and their daring puppy after spending nearly two hours alone. 

After enjoying a pint at a pub in Church Stretton, I walked the final 30 minutes back to the B&B for a shower.

Later we hopped in cars to drive back to Church Stretton for a delicious Indian dinner with excellent service at Jaipur Lounge. They didn’t have a liquor license so couldn’t sell wine, but encouraged us to bring in our own drinks. 
 

Hiking Holiday in Shropshire Hills...

On June 27, Camilla drove me and her neighbor Julia to Little Stretton in the Shropshire Hills (west of Birmingham) where we met up with five of Camilla’s friends for a hiking holiday. While most of the ladies wanted a private room, Camilla and I shared a room at the Mynd House B&B. We were both crazy enough to wake up in the middle of the night to watch that fateful presidential debate between Biden and Trump.

Little Stetton was indeed little, but it was also quite charming. 

That first night we walked to the nearby Ragleth Inn for a pub dinner.  

After breakfast the next morning, we set off for our hike from Little Stretton to Ragleth Hill for a circular hike.  

We weren’t very far in before we hit quite a steep hill, which a bunch of students were scurrying up while I huffed and puffed. 

The climb was worth it for the views.  

Luckily the rest of the climbs were gentle despite going down to Church Stretton, where we stopped for a drink, before going back up into the hills. Just loved how this postal box was decorated by knitters.

Nice that the sheep didn’t seem to mind moving off of our path. 

We brought packed lunches along from the B&B.

Not too shabby of a view from our lunch stop!

 

More Animal Sculptures...

As I’ve shared before, I love animal sculptures by Gillie and Marc and go out of my way to see their work whenever it appears in London. These paparazzies were in a park near Paddington Station... 

...as was The Wild Table of Love. I’ve posted this large sculpture before, but wanted to feature Dogman and Rabbitwoman on two of my visits: this one being in March 2024...

…and this in April 2024.

These critters visited Southbank in spring 2024...

…while these visited St Paul’s Cathedral in June 2024.