Walk report No, 383 Coughton
For our October ramble we started at the Throckmorton Arms in Coughton and walked through the Heart of England Forest. It was a lovely autumnal day to enjoy the mixture of trees and open areas coupled with the views across the countryside. We stopped for our coffee at St Leonard's Church in Spernal which is a small church with its origins in the 13th century and currently looked after by the Friends of Friendless Churches. We finished with a pleasant, sociable lunch at the Throckmorton Arms.
Walk Report No. 381 Feckenham
In August the Roving Ramblers took advantage of the dry weather to walk round Feckenham's Nature wetland Reserve known for its diversity of wildflowers, wetland birds, dragonflies and especially the Brown Hairstreak butterfly. We didn't see the butterfly, but two baby deer were watching us walk along a path. It is a lovely walk-through spinney woods, fields, mowed corn and the high grasses of the reserve. Though the five stiles were a fitness test for some. We had an unusual coffee stop where we sat in a bird hide with views of Bow Brook.
Walk Report No. 379 Salwarpe Valley, Droitwich
Rosemarie led a lovely walk from Salwarpe church down the Droitwich canal whose banks were lined by reeds and fishermen. Sylvia using her Merlin bird call detection app identified the very noise call of the common reed warbler, blackcaps and white throated warblers plus the usual suspects. Turning away from the canal we walked across fields through woods and along quiet country lanes. In the distance we heard a cuckoo and overhead a buzzard was soaring. We finished our walk with a well-earned drink and lunch at the Copcut Elm.
Thank you Rosemarie for a very enjoyable day. (click on photos to view an enlarged image)
Walk Report No. 378 Flyford Flavell
Pam and Jenny led another very enjoyable walk of about 4.5 miles from Flyford Flavell via Abberton. It was a sunny but coolish day, idea walking weather. Lunch followed at the Boot Inn. The photos show a herd of very young bullocks who were very interested in us and a row of trees full of mistletoe (and crows).
Walk Report no. 377 Lapworth and Packwood House
We enjoyed a really good morning for our circular walk starting at the Navigation Inn in Lapworth, with a coffee stop at Packwood House. We walked along parts of the Stratford and Grand Union canals under sunny blue skies. The last of the daffodils were appearing and the hedgerows were full of blackthorn blossom. It was a great day spent in beautiful countryside and good company.
Walk Report No. 375 Great Alne
We had the most lovely winter’s day for our February ramble - sunny and dry, and cool rather than icy cold - so we were a cheerful group as our leaders, Pam and Jenny, led us from our starting point in Great Alne.
Though the route was essentially flat, we nevertheless found ourselves from time to time on ridges from which we enjoyed wide and uninterrupted views of the landscape around Alcester. We saw much evidence of the recent rainfall – the River Alne looking rather high, ponds threatening their surrounding banks, and I have to admit that the ground underneath our feet was at times, rather squishy!. It was so uplifting to experience the signs of the seasons starting to turn. We found snowdrops to be much in evidence and encountered a cheerful display of bright yellow aconites. We were treated to the sounds and sights of buzzards wheeling above us in the sky and even, giving me great excitement, the first skylarks! Our route took us past Kinwarton Dovecote where I took the first group photo. The circular 14th-century Dovecote is managed by the National Trust. It is rarely open to human visitors so in being able to peek inside, we were quite fortunate, more fortunate than avian visitors whose entry points are now permanently sealed.
After the ramble, lunch followed on our route home, at The Jubilee Inn in Studley.
Many thanks go to Pam and Jenny for a delightful morning.
Sylvia Edwards
Some photographs below - click on an image to view full-size photograph (click the x at top right corner to return to group page).
Walk Report No. 374 Oversley Wood
Thankfully, our 5-mile ramble in early January coincided with a dry day, which was rather a relief - especially to me as leader! - after all the rain of the preceding weeks.
We started from the car park in Bull’s Head Yard, Alcester, and made our way out of the town towards Oversley Wood. Once in the woods, we took the gently undulating path anti-clockwise. It was a pleasant route, one that had been recommended to me by my trusty adviser, Murray, as being particularly suitable for a winter’s day to avoid mud, fields and boggy grassland! Partway round, I told everyone of how during the recce, Murray and I encountered two men checking the tawny owl nesting boxes they maintain and refurbish voluntarily there on behalf of the British Trust for Ornithology. They explained to us how the numbers of breeding pairs and successful rearings vary from year to year; last year was a bumper one with three pairs raising eight owlets between them but a whole season can go by without any success at all.
But back to the ramble. Nothing ever goes as expected, does it? Unknown to us, a tree had fallen near the end of the route since we had reccied it, completely blocking our way. However, your fellow u3a members are a plucky lot! – and perhaps motivated by the idea of lunch, each of us soon found a way through, either scrambling around, over or between the branches of the unfortunate tree. The photo shows the stalwarts posing cheerfully in front of their conquest!
Once we were back in Alcester, a well-deserved and tasty lunch followed at The Turks Head.
Reported by Sylvia Edwards
Walk Report No. 373 Ipsley and Arrow Valley Park
An enjoyable festive time was had by members of the Rambling Group at The Golden Goose on Wednesday 4th December 2024.
The December ramble was shorter than usual, but just as enjoyable. We started from the Golden Goose in Ipsley and headed to the Arrow Valley park by footpaths, where we stopped for our coffee break by the lake, then back onto the Golden Goose to enjoy our Christmas meal. 18 of us sat down and thoroughly enjoyed the food and ambiance.
