Total ascent, 754m (2474ft).
Tuesday, 23rd July.
As Noel Coward rightly stated, "Mad dogs and Englishmen go out in the midday sun". There were no mad dogs on the walk today, so "Englishmen go out in the midday sun" it is then, though without the 'mad' it's a pointless line. I suspect he therefore intended 'mad' to precede both dogs and Englishmen, leaving "Mad Englishmen go out in the midday sun", a perfect headline for today's exploits (as I saw another late in the walk so the plural applies).
Though Noel wrote the song about Englishmen in tropical climes, the fact that the average temperature today, over 10 hours and 22 miles, was 28°C surely put Shropshire in the tropical category. Mind you I was more prepared than those he wrote about, wearing sunglasses throughout and a rather fetching cap with neck protection, in addition to being seriously lotioned up. On the flipside I was wearing 2 pairs of socks and leather boots, comfortable if a tad warm, and totally forgot to apply lotion to an important exposed area…
So today panned out as follows:
The plan - A 13 mile warm-up through the undulating Shropshire countryside, followed by 7 miles of proper hill walking amidst the beautiful scenery of the Long Mynd.
The reality - A 15 mile (I underestimated) endurance test through the undulating furnace of the Shropshire countryside, followed by 7 miles of proper hill walking amidst the beautiful scenery of the Long Mynd, with bonus endurance testing.
I also managed to sit in my train seat at Wrexham feeling great and stand up at Shrewsbury 25 minutes later with pains in my lower back, which hung around for quite a bit of the day. No idea what caused those, but no doubt it'll stiffen overnight and annoy me for a few days yet as usual (or at worst bring me to a complete halt).
If the 28°C average sounds high, it's because of the numerous long spells walking between hedgerows, the ultimate sun-traps. My Garmin's temperature graph showed several 35°C spikes between midday and 3pm, as I battled through nettles, brambles and sundry other invasive species. Thankfully there was a substantial breeze when I reached the higher ground of the Long Mynd, so I couldn't feel how hot it was, even though it definitely was hot.
The Long Mynd is a beautiful area, as is all of South Shropshire. It looks like an enormous half sausage sticking out of the ground (cut lengthways obviously, it would look stupid and be impossible to climb otherwise, and have a terrifying cliff at one end). I'm not sure many people visit at all, other than Brummies as it's relatively close. It's even got a narrow road along part of the top, which is easily avoidable when walking. I'd managed to convince myself that there would be an ice cream van at the summit car park today and lo and behold, there wasn't.
So why was I bothering to walk from Shrewsbury at all? Well the brand spanking new Heart of Wales Line Trail begins at Craven Arms but I've always considered Shrewsbury to be the starting point of the rail journey, so it made sense (to me) to add two days to the route, mostly on the Shropshire Way, and include the Long Mynd. Do I wish I hadn't? For 15 miles yes, and for 7 miles no, so tomorrow needs to be good!
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