Now that the site has now re-opened we spent a few days in Herefordshire last week.
Timothy glad to back!
The Herefordshire Oak - still bare but I think a slight suggestion in the colour of leaf buds to come. First photograph taken in March as in 2020 the park couldn't open until July and last year it was April (due to lockdowns).
We arrived Tuesday lunchtime and in the afternoon did the usual click and collect for shopping at Morrisons in Leominster. Sadly, Wednesday it rained all day so we didn't bother going anywhere.
Thursday the weather was fine and as B didn't want to visit any villages (and of course he doesn't like visiting churches) I finally suggested a trip to Titterstone Clee Hill which we had seen in the distance from both Ludlow and Tenbury Wells. There is a car park quite near the summit which saves walking all the way up which was just as well as it was SO windy and I nearly got blown away just taking photos.
Titterstone Clee Hills is 533 metres above sea-level and the third highest hill in the Shropshire Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. Most of the top of the hill is common land used for grazing sheep, air traffic control and disused and working quarries.
Clee Hill is one of the few hills to feature on the Mappa Mundi map in Hereford Cathedral.
As you can see the views were just stunning although sadly it was quite a hazy day.
There is evidence everywhere of mining and quarrying for a dolerite, known locally as "dhustone", which is used in road building. Many of the industrial buildings still remain including early examples using reinforced concrete.
Also on the summit of the hill are two radar stations (not visible from the car park) The first radar station was constructed in September 1941 and used by the RAF during World War 2. The station was disbanded and closed in September 1957 and is now part of National Air Traffic Services Radar Network. The smaller radar station is used by the Met Office. Also out of sight on the summit is an Iron Age Hill Fort and Bronze Age Cairn which I would dearly love to see. Finally there is a mound of boulders formed during cold intervals of the Devensian Ice Age and called the Giant's Chair. Hopefully we will return on a less windy day and explore further.
We stopped off also at the view point in Clee Hill village which is located 395 metres above sea level. The Kremlin pub in the village, now closed I think, was the highest pub in Shropshire.
On the way back we stopped off in Tenbury Wells as B wanted to try and buy in Tesco a hose attachment for the kitchen tap in. They didn't sell them but he did buy some pansies to plant up in a tub.
We had a quick walk round the town centre.
A rubbish photo taken from the car but if you peer through the railings in the centre of the picture you can see what is known as Tenbury Wells Castle or Burford Castle or Castle Tump.
It may have been built before the Norman Conquest probably by Richard Le Scrope (who also built Richard's Castle which we have visited a few times). He was a Norman invited to England by King Edward the Confessor in the late 1040's.
What was a motte and bailey castle controlled a crossing point on the nearby River Teme. Today there is no sign of any ditches and all that remains is a mound less than 4 metres high. When we next go to Tenbury Wells I will see if I can access it.
I hope everyone is staying safe and well.
All photos taken by me with the Panasonic Lumix FZ330 bridge camera
