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| Heather in bloom on Stiperstones. |
19 August 2012
An early start saw us at Stiperstones car park at 7.55am. The road up from Bridges was busy with birds including a flock of wheatears, lots of skylarks, pied wagtails and meadow pipits.
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| This marks the route to Habberley! |
The path over Stiperstones didn’t feel quite so tough having suffered many hours on the rocky paths at Scafell Pike but it is still slow-going. Early morning sunshine was very warm but as we went over the top it began to cloud over. We reached the Shropshire Wildlife Trust reserve at 9.14am, 3.9km. We found the right path direct to Upper Vessons Farm this time and had coffee break at the cyclist’s entrance to Eastridge Woods at 9.45am, 5.4km.
Arriving in Habberley at 10.09, 6.6km, we decided to include Earl’s Hill, having originally planned to turn left to Bank House.
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| Heather on Stiperstones. |
We have done Earl’s Hill before, but as we had gone a bit off-piste, decided to do it again and get it right this time. The final climb up to the summit is surprisingly tough and sure it will be tougher after having done 20 miles on the Hike. Reached the summit at 10.47am, 8.6km. We had been hoping for an hour to get to and from here from Habberley, but it was looking more like an hour and a quarter.
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| Snailbeach mine. |
Arrived back in Habberley at 11.25am, having seen our first real rain on training walks. We lost a few minutes talking to a couple whose dog showed rather more intelligence that the rest of us, as he sheltered under a tree while we chatted out in the rain.
As we headed towards Bank House Farm we had to check the map for the first time on the walk. (Now missed our waterproof map cover which we had lost somewhere by the car at Seathwaite.) The crossroads with the Shropshire Way was clear just before we reached the farm and we turned left towards Eastridge woods at 11.44am, 11.5km. Once in the woods there was a very clear forest track which leads around the edge of the woods all the way to Snailbeach. The Shropshire Way turns left which we could take but it looks like involving much more climbing.
The Eastridge cycle routes cross the path and we braved one of these to find a sheltered spot for lunch at 12.10pm, 12.75km. The path was so easy through the woods that we arrived at Snailbeach surprisingly quickly at 12.57, 14.2km and then set off on the road section towards Tankerville and Pennerley.
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| Stiperstones Inn - can't believe it's only half way on Hike! |
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| Shop at Stiperstones Inn. |
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| Crows Nest buildings. |
The settlements on this side of Stiperstones are very interesting with the mining heritage very evident everywhere. Passing through Snailbeach and Crow’s Nest we got to Tankerville Pottery at 14.00, 17.4km, where a neatly-position bench gave us a final coffee stop. The pottery shop was open, despite the sign and being unstaffed and it is certainly worth a look.
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| Post in the wall at the Old Cross Guns. |
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| The former Cross Guns inn at Crows Nest. |
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| Tankerville Pottery. |
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| Old mine at Tankerville |
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For the benefit of a commenter who thought there were a bit too many pints of
beer on our blog, this shows we drink copious amounts of coffee too |
Continuing uphill we arrived at Pennerley with its viewpoint back across the side of Stiperstones. The path left towards Shelve, marked by a Nant Isa B&B sign at 17.7km, is a good one, being used by vehicles for access to a number of houses along the lane. Arrived as planned on the Shelve road close to the The Firs at 14.25, 18.3km. Then just a short hike back to the car park, reached at 15.10, 20.8km.
Only one more section to complete the hike route - Bridges - Ragleth, and sort out the best path down from The Lawley, and then we’ll be ready to do some serious endurance training!
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| View from Pennerley. |
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| Well, you can't go past The Bridges without a swift pint can you? |
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