Day One (15th October 2013) - Part One
It started off sunny and at
Shrewsbury we left the usual route we take South and headed towards Much
Wenlock. On route we passed the village
of Cross Houses with its unusual bus shelters.
By then it
was cloudy and the view over to the Wrekin quite threatening.
Rising to a
height of 407 metres (1,335 ft) above the Shropshire Plain, The Wrekin is a prominent
and well-known landmark, but despite common misconceptions it has never been a volcano. It is simply formed of igneous rocks left
there as the mudstones and sandstones around it have been eroded. There is an
Iron Age hill fort on the summit almost 8 ha (20 acres) in size, to which the
name Uriconio originally referred. It is thought the fort was built by the
Cornovii tribe and was once their capital.
I decide to
add to my collection of inn sign photos during our trip, irrespective of the
speed of the car and the rain on the windscreen.
Don’t you
just love St George and the Dragon?
The talbot
was a white hunting dog which is now extinct because of its lack of purpose and
need for constant care, but it has been credited with being an ancestor of the
modern beagle and bloodhound. The term talbot is used in heraldry to refer to a
good-mannered hunting dog.
Our first
stop of the day was in Much Wenlock, a small town in central Shropshire.
It's a long time since I sat at one of these...
The front of this building dates to 1682 but the back is much older.
The Wenlock Olympian Games set up by Dr
William Penny Brookes in 1850 are centred in the town.
Dr Brookes is credited as
a founding father of the Modern Olympic Games, and the Olympic mascot for
London 2012 was named Wenlock after the town.
Back at the
car in the Priory car park we had a picnic lunch having not set out until 11.15 in the morning because
of Partner-who-loves-tea’s work commitments.
Our next
major stop was at Tewkesbury – hopefully to be blogged soon.
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Lovely photographic journey. Loved the bits about the Talbot, being a lazy dog (my words!) requiring a lot of constant attention -- no wonder it's considered to be the ancestor of the beagle. Fits Lucie/B. to a T.
ReplyDeleteI was looking forward to this trip and I am not disappointed...so much to see and admire, and thanks to you so much to learn.
ReplyDeleteLove the unusual bus shelters, the inn signs, the old buildings with so much history attached, especially the priory ruins and the antique shops (my favourite).
I hope Jo found something nice that caught her fancy....
What a beautiful trip! Yes, the George & Dragon sign is the nicest of its kind I've ever seen, and I thank you for explaining about the Talbot.
ReplyDeleteLooking forward to part II and learning something about Tewkesbury.
An excellent set John. It is an area I don't know very well.
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for sharing your travels this way -- these are places i would love to visit, but may never have the chance in person. Seeing them through your eyes is a treat.
ReplyDeleteLooking at your nice pictures, I realise I have not ever been to Much Wenlock. Clearly something to remedy. I thought at first that it was Shrewsbury - at least until I read the text - another beautiful and interesting town, to my recollection. I look forward to reading about Tewkesbury and seeing the pictures.
ReplyDeleteOh, and I didn't know what a Talbot was either. Except a sort of very old Vauxhall car.
ReplyDelete