Thursday 24 August and we set out somewhat later than planned to go to the Shrewsbury Folk Festival once again. We planned our journey to arrive at exactly 1500hrs when the show opened and this we did - to the second! We were, however, marshalled into a massive queue behind all those who had arrived throughout the day. Unfairly, people arriving after us were "processed" first and this left us starting the weekend a bit fed up as we waited half an hour to get onto the field we were queued in. We soon cheered up, however, once we wandered into Shrewsbury and had dinner in the now famous Beefy Boys.
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On Friday we had another mooch around Shrewsbury, had coffee and cake, bought an egg slicer in Lakeland then wandered back for fish and chips at the show before the musical events for the weekend started. It was very cool in the evening.
Sat, Sun & Mon were spent with the usual meandering around the festival watching some very good acts and some bloody awful ones. The weather was pretty awful. Showers and freezing cold once again, but at least we didn't get as wet as we did at the Beardy Folk Festival. We must buy a poncho for these events.
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| Cambridgeshire and Huntingdonshire flags proudly flying (so we could find our van) |
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| The floor had to be relaid after the constant attacks by Morris teams |
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| Delicious ice cream |
On Tuesday 29 we packed up and drove the short distance to Stanmore Hall Campsite, just outside Bridgnorth, stopping at the large Tesco in Shrewsbury for provisions. The weather wasn't too good so we chilled for the rest of the day in the van.
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| Morris Leisure Stanmore Hall |
On Weds 30th we walked the 3 miles or so into Bridgnorth along a very hilly path. The famous cliff lift was out of order so, even after our hike, we had to climb the steep hill to the top of the town. Bridgnorth is a very pleasant place for a bimble and we found a smashing pub for lunch. Suitably refreshed we walked back to the site via M&S for some provisions and a quick stop at Stanmore Country Park, an ex RAF Station.
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| Great pub |
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| Clee Hill |
On Thurs 31st we trundled further south into Worcestershire and a wonderful little CL, Goodleigh Hill, near Pershore. The information pack put together by the lady running the site (Emily) was a masterpiece of information and would take days to read thoroughly! We had a quick walk into Pershore and had dinner in one of the pubs.
On Friday we walked into Pershore again to visit the Abbey, get some lovely meat from the butcher's shop and then headed for a walk around the village of Wick, admiring the many lovely old cottages. On the way back we stopped at the garden centre at Pershore College and bought a couple of plants before attempting a cross-country obstacle course back to the van.
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| Hydrangea and a Cambridge Blue Salvia |
Saturday was a day for a very long walk - over 13 miles up Bredon Hill and a circular route back over Nafford Lock to Pershore and then home. We were gasping by the time we crossed the lock and we were looking forward to stopping for a long, cool drink. The pub we were aiming for, the Swan at Birlingham, was closed on a Saturday afternoon. What pub closes on a Saturday afternoon! We just about made it into Pershore before total dehydration set in. That first pint of lager shandy was delicious! It was a hot day and the climb wasn't easy, but it was worth it. What was annoying was local landowners deliberately blocking public rights of way. Tossers!
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| Closed! |
Sunday was hot and sunny and we were knackered after our long walk the day before, so we had a quick walk into town for coffee and cake and then relaxed for the rest of the day, enjoying a very nice glass of Piesporter Goldtropfchen we bought in Tanners in Bridgnorth.
On Monday we sadly left this lovely site and arrived home in about 2.5 hours.
