Blackmore Caravan and Camping Club Site - Days 57 - 63 of our Autumn/Winter Tour
Monday 8th and Tuesday 9th November 2021 ☁☁⛅⛅☁☁☁⛅☁☁
For Monday we had a single mission and that was to get John his Covid Booster jab after our failed attempt on Saturday, but to complete the mission we were fairly sure we needed to put aside a good chunk of time. On Saturday John had searched all around and about us to try and book a proper appointment but other than travelling a long way nothing was available. Therefore, his only other option was to attend the local Three Counties Show Ground as a 'Walk In' but it seemed a lot of other people were taking that option as well.
In the end we got there (in the car this time and with a flask of coffee) at about 8.45, and left about 10.30 but at least we got the job done. However, that had more or less excluded any outings on Tuesday because John felt quite rough and achy by then so it was feet up, electronic jigsaws and paintings out and plenty of rest for him while we watched squirrels, fat pigeons and the occasional camper scurrying about on site.
Wednesday 10th November 2021🌧️🌧️🌫️🌫️☁☁☁☁
Today was another non event day for us because it was one of those mizzly drizzly days when it's really hard to know what to do! So we messed about in the van until after lunch time, but then because we'd done so little over the last 2 days we decided we needed some exercise and should take ourselves off out somewhere. But where? In the end we dismissed going out in the car in favour of a stomp around the local lanes and villages within this area, so with that in mind we quickly donned our walking shoes and waterproof coats (just in case) and initially headed down to the nearby village of Hanley Swan with it's very lovely duck pond.
From there we toddled off on a 6ish mile circular walk mainly along quiet country roads that were edged by farms, fields, old woodland and lots of quaint pretty cottages many of which looked as if they'd have listed status. Our way took us to Gilbert's End, almost to Hanley Castle and then back to the camp site by passing through Hanley Swan again.
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| We saw this little chap singing sweetly in the top of a tree but we weren't able to identify him! Any guesses? |
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| And this beautiful old oak on Hanley Swan Green |
Thursday 11th November 2021 🌫️🌫️☁☁☁☁☁☁☁
Another dank and cloudy day dawned today so we decided to spend it in the nearby City of Worcester, and in going there we had two main objectives! One was to see the Historic Worcester Cathedral and the other was to purchase a 100% waterproof coat for John - and we accomplished both things but not before being robbed when we first arrived!
Obviously in a City we expected to pay for car parking, and when we got to the Croft Road carpark and noted that the charge was only £3 for 6 hours we thought that was very reasonable. However, after I'd put in our car reg number and wafted my card all the machine did was whirr and whizz without spitting out a ticket😠! Therefore, to try and sort the problem I rang the number advertised by the meter but only to be spouted at by a recorded voice that went on and on .......and on........ and on...... before it finally got to parking issues and told me to deal with the problem by visiting their web site - maybe they were all working from home and nobody was available in the office! Unfortunately that wasn't practical at the time so other than risk a £75 parking fine we had no other option than to go to another machine and pay again! This time I decided to pay with coins but that didn't stop the outcome of us being robbed for a second time because as some of them dropped they didn't register so we needed to add extra ones 😈 🤬. As you may expect this resulted in a few choice words that I wont put into print- but hey ho- at least we got a ticket, and frustratingly that one was for 24 hours 😂!
Anyway, back to the story! From the carpark we wandered into the City's shopping area and almost immedietly spotted a Rohan shop (which sells quality outdoor gear), so we nipped in to see if they had anything that fitted the bill, and of course they did. John tried on a jacket and he more or less decided there and then that it ticked all his boxes, but the only draw back was the price tag. Even so he would have brought it there and then without looking any further, but as I quite like shopping, I had other ideas so I dragged him round several more shops but all to no avail as he'd set his heart on the first one so that's what he got! However, we did manage to barter a 15% discount with our CCC card and I did warn him, that seeing as he'd blown our budget we'd just have to manage on bread and jam for the rest of the week🤣🤣🤣.
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| The Saints above the main portal |
I really don't know what it is about Cathedrals but I always enjoy going inside for the sense of tranquillity and also to see what treasures lie within, and this one certainly didn't let us down. I could put dozens of pics on but as our wifi is very slow I'll have to settle for just a few of my favourites.
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| The Font |
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| Just one of many stained glass windows |
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| The Magnificent Organ - We'd have loved to hear it play |
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| And the intricate Alter Piece - how long must that have taken to carve? |
Today we only followed it for a about 4 miles, 2 down one side, then over a bridge and back up the other side, but in so doing we were able to admire the many mute swans that are protected within Worcester Swan Sanctuary. Apparently the sanctuary was set up in 1980 following a national decline in the population of Mute Swans, which in part, was caused by the lead used in angling weights at that time. The numbers in Worcester then improved but this resulted in a lack of food becoming a problem, and as the years went by swans were found collapsed and starving on the river banks. To deal with this problem 'The Swan Food Project' was born and this regularly supplies floating swan pellets and mixed corn, but along with that, the local Sainsbury's donate left over bread to supplement their diet!
While we were walking we also spotted another creature that we definitely didn't expect to see this near to an urban city centre!
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| An Otter swimming and fishing for his lunch. Apparently Otters were once extinct in Worcestershire! |
Friday 12th November 2021 🌫️🌫️☁☁☁☁☁☁☁
Today was another dull one but at least it wasn't raining! Initially we hadn't really planned to do very much at all, however in the end we decided not to be lazy so we packed a picnic and headed off for a couple of local nature reserves. These were Crew's Hill and Blackhouse Wood and The Knapp and Papermill reserves, and there we were hopeful that we may have had one or two encounters with feathered or furred creatures. However, it wasn't to be; we only encountered extremely narrow roads to get there and lots of slippy slimey muddy trails through the wooded areas.
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| In places it was barely wide enough for our car so it was a good job we didn't meet anything coming the other way! |
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| No Animal Pics so I'll add this one of the new coat being modelled😂 |
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| Autumn Toadstools |
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| The Prettiest bit of the Knapp and Papermill Nature Reserve. |
Saturday 13th November 2021
Our final hill walk in this area was what was planned for today's outing, and I really think John had saved the Best and Toughest till last 😂! Following leaving the campsite we drove a short picturesque distance across Castlemorton Common which in times gone by (1066) used to be a royal hunting ground, but now the common land is used as free grazing for sheep and cattle.
Our walk started directly from the Swinyard Carpark and the trail initially took us past the old flooded Gullet Quarry where there were numerous signs and a barbed wire fence banning any quick dips - 🏊 but it was far to cold for that today 🏊!
The quarrying industry in this area took off in the early 20th century when increasing use of cars led to greater demand for road improvements. Malvern Stone was ideal for this and it seems that the quarrying resulted in a great number of scars being formed across these beautiful Hills. However, the constant digging eventually became a bit of a public nuisance because of the noise and dust and this led to most of the quarries in the area ceasing production, thus allowing nature to reclaim them.
Our first conquest of today's walk was to be Midsummer Hill (932 feet high) and even though the climb up was steep it was nothing compared to what was to come later. However, the shelter right at the top was a perfect stopping place for coffee and Pork Pie😂! We thought we might need some extra energy for the next slope.
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| The Shelter is a memorial built by Reverend H L Somers (who gave the hill to the National Trust). It was built in memory of his son who was killed in The First World War. |
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| I tried to get John to lie down and 'pose' in a specific position for this shot but he wouldn't oblige😂 |
That was Chase End Hill (627 feet), and going up wasn't really that bad but we could have done with a sledge 🛷 to come down the other side! To say the least, as we descended though a heavily wooded area it was extremely steep, muddy and very slippery as we tripped and skidded over old tree roots and hidden rocks, and when we needed to climb over a very high style I really thought I might come a cropper 😱 but my very dear Husband was there to catch me ❤. So after that little adventure we were quite happy to get back onto the very quiet Chase End Road for our return trek back to the car.
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| We were quite surprised to find a Retail park out on these quiet country lanes - but we did! |
In total our walk was about 6.5 miles but because of the terrain it felt much further! I think in total we climbed about 2,392 feet up and probably dropped something similar coming back down !
Sunday 14th November 2021 ☁️ ⛅ ⛅☁️☁️☁️☁️
We've just had a quiet day around the van today getting one or two little jobs done in preparation for moving on tomorrow to Cannock Chase in Staffordshire. And I'd just like to let our readers know that it's unlikely we'll be able to post any Blogs from there because rumour has it that the site is devoid of Wifi, TV and phone signal 😲! Can't imagine how we'll pass our time 😂 - maybe we'll just have to talk to each other for a change 🗨💬🤣.
Finally, just before I go I just want to share a proud picture of our Grandson Thomas as he prepared to go and lay a wreath for Remembrance Day With his Dad Paul 💕
Take care and Chat again soon 😘
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