Darnford Valley
Today I did walk #1, 7 miles, 1050 feet of ascent. I choose walks based on three factors. What will I see? Who is leading? Who will be on the hike? I was getting tired of one of the guys who did hike 3 every day. A bit of a motor mouth. I wasn't keen on the hike 2 leader. So I joined hike 1 – my favourite leader and a lovely group of women.
Trip descrip: "Our route follows the beautiful Darnford Valley, then the ancient Port Way heads over the Betchcott Hills to cross the Long Mynd plateau, before descending via Haddon Hill and the golf course, one of the highest in England, and return to the house. Highlight: Enjoy the tranquility of the Darnford and Golden Valleys, the latter aptly named from the vibrant colour of the dwarf gorse bushes lining its slopes."
We ended yesterday at t'pub and started today walking by a historic pub.
It wasn't open but looked inviting.
One of the women I hiked with had a mastectomy 10 years ago. The cancer returned not long ago and she's been through radiation. Her hair has grown back and she looks well, but the immunotherapy she took has had two difficult side effects. One involving her thyroid and another a more intimate part of her body. She'll be on medications the rest of her life to manage the side effects of the immunotherapy. It really brings home my good fortune in not being on meds and not having gone through any ordeal like radiation and chemo. I think I relished today's hike more for having learnt her story.
Below a former church that is now a hostel.
The Darnford Valley was lovely. Before hiking through this leisurely group of cows, we passed a large campsite by a river. Also a farm that had cottages to let. It's a peaceful and scenic valley.
The woman I mentioned above was hiking with her friend, who was a very quick witted Londoner. One day we were sitting in a cemetery having lunch and someone said she didn't feel right sitting there for lunch. "I'd rather be sitting than lying," she said. LOL We encountered Welsh ponies again.
At the end of the walk we descended through a very steep golf course. I don't envy people trying to hit those fairways. There were two lookout posts on the course; one had sheep taking shelter.
As it was our final hike, some of us went to a pub in Church Stretton afterward for a pint. The two Dutch sisters were there and my memory is so poor, I can't remember what we talked about (I've been home a week and a half). I know they've been on many HF hikes so maybe they talked about which ones they liked best, and I may have done the same. Frequent topic among HF hikers.
23 July