Hopesay

Today I did the #3 hike, which was about 12 miles with about 1,900 feet of assent. Our days started at around 60 degrees Fahrenheit, rising to the high 70s. It felt much hotter though, when hiking up a steep hill in full sun.

Trip descrip: From Clunton walk through Steppleknoll Wood and then on to Bury Ditches Hill Fort. We continue past the pretty village of Hopesay to Stokesay and the Craven Arms.

So we first hiked up to Clun Castle. All excerpts from Wikipedia.

"Built around the late 11th century by the Norman lord Picot (Robert) de Say as a motte-and-bailey timber fortress."

One of our hikers gave it two fingers up because England beat France the previous night (the Normans were French). Below, the castle as seen from the village bowling green, which of course was brown.

"The Great Tower: Transformed in the 14th century by the Fitzalan family into a luxurious hunting lodge featuring a prominent four-storey tower designed to mimic an older Norman keep.

"Decline: Damaged during conflicts like the Welsh attacks and the English Civil War, leaving it mostly ruined by the 16th century."

We saw lots of castles because William the Conqueror wanted strong defenses on the Welsh border, to our immediate west, to maintain control of England. The border area is called the Welsh Marches, "march" deriving from the German "mark," meaning border. I learn so much trivia on hikes.

Lots of fields were planted in oats, barley or wheat – or were harvested. The predominant colour was of a sandy beach.

Prior to reaching these fields we had hiked up to an Iron Age hill fort called Bury Ditches. "Bury Ditches is often rated as a spectacular example of a surviving hill fort as it forms a neat oval shape and is situated on the crown of a hill called Sunnyhill and comprises up to four multi-vallate ditches and rampart banks as part of its defensive earthworks and two well preserved entrance ways."

We hiked up two long, steep hills. The second was near the village of Hopesay, pronounced Hopesee. One of our hikers said "I hope I never see this hill again." LOL

There was a church near the end. I often have to snap a photo and run to keep up with the group. So this is a quick snap:

And page one of a two-page history of the church:

19 July