The weather looked a little threatening especially for July, as we arrived at Mynd House, Sue and Dave's Edwardian Guest House nestled at the foot of the Long Mynd in Little Stretton.

We were shown to our rooms including one lucky woman with a spa bath en-suite!

Women were able to relax with a cup of tea in the lounge, or outside as the rain had not yet arrived, and get to know one another.

One of us who had come down from the north east normally lives in Australia whilst I had just come over the hills.

While we relaxed we were able to choose our evening meal from Sue's enticing looking menu which included both fish and vegetarian options.

We had an excellent dinner in the candle lit dining room - a grand start to our weekend. After dinner some women went to bed while others chatted in the lounge, and a few went for a stroll around the village (reportedly to appraise the local architecture which was said to be of mixed quality!)

Unfortunately the pressures of my first WW holiday meant that this guide failed totally to take any photos on the first night….. must do better!

Saturday morning looked like the curates egg, "good in parts" so it was in a mixture of shorts, trousers, fleeces and jackets that we started off to tackle The Long Mynd.

The path we took goes directly from Little Stretton up Ashes Hollow a long for the most part gentle ascent to the top of The Mynd through a narrow gorge and then up a wider valley, as we went up the rain came and went and came and went……..

There was much zipping and unzipping, taking off and then putting on again, not what we'd hoped for in July!

The National Trust did a lot of excellent work on the path in the early summer to remedy the damage of "the great rains of summer 07" that had washed away path in places in the gorge and made a brief rocky ascent a little tortuous.

Now we were able to reap the benefit of their work. As we looked back the views south and east began to open out first to Ragleth and Hope Bowdler and then to Caradoc.

As we stopped for a drinks break we were joined by an inquisitive and hungry sheep.

We soon reached Pole Bank, the highest point on The Mynd at 516 metres there I was able to explain in true Walking Women fashion what the group would have been able to see had it been summer……. sorry clearer!

From Pole Bank we followed the route of The Shropshire Way firstly along the road then on the route of The Port Way, a track some 3000 years old used by bronze age travellers.

All was quiet at the gliding station as the wind was a little high, and we sought shelter at the edge of the forest for our lunch.

As we walked through the forest the skies were clearing and we had a good view east over the trees and valley to Caer Caradoc and Hope Bowdler our route for tomorrow.

We descended through a large field where we came upon a super Parasol fungus.

The path quickly led to the lane and we were able to rid ourselves of layers as a seasonally appropriate sun emerged to accompany us to back to Little Stretton and The Ragleth Inn for a small libation, or a cup of tea.

Sue and Dave again provided us with an excellent evening meal, whilst some women retired early, others played a very competitive game of Articulate.

After an excellent breakfast on Sunday morning, including a choice of 4 different types of muesli as well as a cooked breakfast, we left for Church Stretton in order to tackle Caer Caradoc.

Some of the group opted to walk into Church Stretton whilst the rest of us decided against a walk along the road and went by car.

Caradoc is reputedly the site of the last stand of Caractacus against the Romans and it soon rose in front of us as we walked down the lane.

As we walked thru the woods and up the track it became obvious that our first view had been of 'three fingers rock' at the south end of the ridge.

Caradoc is a little higher, and we soon turned off the track and started our ascent which we took slowly and evenly!

Caradoc has a fort on the summit with earthworks clearly visible and the 360 degree view makes it obvious why an ancient warrior would chose it as a site to defend.

A chilly wind encouraged us to descend the ridge looking at The Lawley in the foreground and then The Wrekin in the distance.

The path is steep in places. so some of us used poles, one of us was let down by "pole failure " and had a slightly undignified but painless descent to the ground.

We reached the lane and followed it round to where we took a path across the fields and found a place in the sun for lunch - accompanied by frogs and more fungi.

With a little encouragement I was able to persuade women to abandon sun worship and we made our way via a brief ascent to Hope Bowdler Hill and then across a lovely gentle grassy area and down into the village of Hope Bowdler.

When we got back to Church Stretton some of us decided to return to the guest house whilst others were enticed by the National Trust Tea Shop in the Carding Mill Valley.

Sunday evening we ate at The Ragleth Inn who provided a good meal in pleasant surroundings then for some of us more Articulate

Monday was clear and sunny and after we'd said our farewells to a group member who had to leave early, we drove over The Long Mynd to The Stipperstones - my "home hills".

We parked at The Bog, once a thriving mining community, but now abandoned and little more than a car park and a tea shop with home made cake.

We made our way to The Rock at the south end of the ridge where we could look south to the lower Herefordshire and Worcestershire hills.

This south end of the ridge was forrested until recently but Natural England's Back to Purple initiative has meant that whinberries and cowberries are found here now as well as further north.

We walked north taking in some good views of the welsh hills that I'd described on the first day, and then stopping for a photo opportunity!

The path then took us thru the woods where we first smelt and then saw a stinkhorn fungus.

As we crossed the road the path became rocky and a little indistinct as we made our way to first Cranberry then Manstone rock - the 2nd highest hill in Shropshire.

We found a sheltered spot to have a break and looked towards the hills we'd climbed the previous 2 days. However the Bog Visitor's coffee cake called us - freshly made even on a Monday!