Shrewsbury, Much Wenlock,
Ironbridge. Sorry, that was yesterday. Today is Clun, Offas Dyke and the red Kite feeding station.
The weather today seemed to have got its act into gear, so our plan was to visit Clun, and end up at the RSPB endorsed red Kite feeding centre at Gilgrin Farm, Rhayader in Central Wales. The day was planned so that we got to Gilgrin about 2pm: they feed the kites at 3pm and the guidebook suggested getting there an hour earlier to ensure a good spot.
We hadn't heard of Clun until we came across a leaflet in the array of material available in Trap Cottage. There seemed to be a couple of Nature Reserves in the area and the church seemed interesting.
Before setting off we wandered up the road beside the farmyard and found some interesting stuff. This view goes over to Brown Clee Hill.
The farmers seem to have their own version of Neighbourhood Watch.
Churches, most of which had signs up about everything being marked, seemed to have a similar scheme operating. I'm not sure if that is why so many Anglican churches were open for visitation. It was notable that few Catholic or Non-conformist places were open. Perhaps they can't afford this security scheme?
Sheep trying to raise the browse line!
I hope this is the Tugford Ash. Quoting from the
Farm website ".. the largest Ancient Ash Tree in Shropshire, with its girth of 6.8m it is also one of the ten largest in The British Isles." It is a registered significant tree.
We drove past the Diddlebury Church many times and finally got to stop there this morning. A very pleasant small village/parish church.
As we headed off towards Clun we found this pub in Aston on Clun. I have no idea why a pub in this area should call itself the Kangaroo!
Before getting to the main village we went to look at Clunton Coppice quite high above the village of Clunton a couple of miles East of Clun itself. Judging by the moss growing on the trunks of these sessile oaks it get quite a bit of moisture.
A view from the coppice out over the valley.
One of the 'attractions' of the area is the grave of John Osborne. As we got into Clun I saw the cenetery so pulled in find said grave. It didn't seem to be there but stone told a sorry story.
We then spotted St Georges Church - a dominating presence above the village - and it also had graves in the churchyard including that which we sought, together with that of his wife. Wikipedia reveals that they actually lived in Clunton rather than Clun..
The church.
The "Caring for God's Acre" approach recognises the importance of churchyards as refuges for wildlife at a smaller scale. As I have said elsewhere there are a few cemetery trusts in Australia that couldbenfit from this approach.
The artwork here was created by an Abyssinian artist to memorialise the death of Dermot Thesiger the third son of W Thesiger of Milebrook House. On researching this
- checking with "A Life of my choice" by Wilfred Thesiger; and
- the website for Milebrook House (thank you information lady at Knighton for that information)
I found that Dermot was the younger brother of Wilfred Thesiger whose exploits as an explorer and soldier in the 20th Century have fascinated me for years.
An interior shot of the church. Again the kneelers are a great splash of folksy colour.
On our way to Rhayader Frances was able to catch this guy managing the verges. In the really narrow lanes I think they cock the cutter up to prune the hedges.
A couple of shots of the central area of Knighton (or Tref-y-Clwdd).
We wanted to see a bit of Offa's Dyke which formed the border between Wales and England. This was a small section close to the visitors centre.
The whole dyke is many kilometers long and is one of the long walks of the UK. We didn't have time to do much walking but were quite amused by these sign posts.
Heading on towards Rhayader we found another tract of open grazing with sheep wandering around (or in some cases sitting in the middle of the road, not moving for cars).
We got to the farm somewhat early, having made good time from Knighton, and the person selling tickets said we didn't need to be in the hides until 2:45, rather than the 2pm we had read somewhere. So we went to do their Farm Trail. This gave a good look at the hides from outside.
Somewhat higher up it gave a good look down at Rhayader and across to the hills behind in mind.
The way was well marked.
At 3pm the feeder turned up and started to wield a shovel.
Click on this to get an impression of the flock of kites swirling around as they decide when to come in to feed, Other pictures of the Kites, and other birds involved are in a separate page.
This was a fantastic facility developed by the owners of the farm. They are to be congratulated on what they have achieved.
We drove straight back home to finish packing. My beer tonight was one I picked up in Shrewsbury the previous day. It celebrates that town as Charles Darwins birthplace.
Bird of the Day: Not hard. Red Kite
Building of the day: St Georges Church, Clun.
Garden of the Day: no nominations
Bad taste of the Day: the Catholic priest and his friend who rabbitted on loudly about church local politics most of the time they were in the hide at Gilgrin.
View of the Day: Looking down from the high point at Gilgrin
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