The Wrekin is a well known landmark hill and is easy to find despite the unhelpful signs.
At 1335 feet it is a bit of a slog, but pretending to admire the view halfway up allows you to catch your breath. It really doesn't help your self esteem, when, as you slowly puff your way ever upwards, local athletes using the climb as part of their training come bounding past like gazelles....
As I got ever higher the view unfurled itself, mist draped across the valleys.
'The Wrekin' is a corruption of the ancient English 'Uriconion', a Celtic name.
For some time after the Norman invasions it was called Mount Gilbert after a hermit that once resided on its slopes.
The summit is occupied by an iron age hill fort thought to be built by the Cornovii tribe, the same people that created the huge fort of 'Castle Ring' in Cannock Chase. The Wrekin was their capital.
To the West, the tips of the Welsh mountains poked through the low cloud.
We sat atop the sun warmed rock peak eagerly awaiting the spectical of the sunset.
I'd hoped to get a great photo of the hills, mist filled valley and perhaps the snaking glint of the meandering River Severn in the golden evening light, but the clouds rose and obscured the view.
We drank our flasked coffee and nibbled some Hazelnuts I'd roasted on a small fire.
Homeward bound, the toposcope more helpful than the local signs, we headed off....
The Wrekin is a well known landmark hill and is easy to find despite the unhelpful signs.
At 1335 feet it is a bit of a slog, but pretending to admire the view halfway up allows you to catch your breath. It really doesn't help your self esteem, when, as you slowly puff your way ever upwards, local athletes using the climb as part of their training come bounding past like gazelles....
As I got ever higher the view unfurled itself, mist draped across the valleys.
'The Wrekin' is a corruption of the ancient English 'Uriconion', a Celtic name.
For some time after the Norman invasions it was called Mount Gilbert after a hermit that once resided on its slopes.
The summit is occupied by an iron age hill fort thought to be built by the Cornovii tribe, the same people that created the huge fort of 'Castle Ring' in Cannock Chase. The Wrekin was their capital.
To the West, the tips of the Welsh mountains poked through the low cloud.
We sat atop the sun warmed rock peak eagerly awaiting the spectical of the sunset.
I'd hoped to get a great photo of the hills, mist filled valley and perhaps the snaking glint of the meandering River Severn in the golden evening light, but the clouds rose and obscured the view.
We drank our flasked coffee and nibbled some Hazelnuts I'd roasted on a small fire.
Homeward bound, the toposcope more helpful than the local signs, we headed off....
