The weather forecast looked reasonable so we thought we'd head out and see if it was possible to fill in this section before two of our company headed down under for two months! The gap on our map was annoying all of us!
As we were a bit pushed for time, and being wary of the weather, we decided to set it up as a 'hop' with a car at either end, but had also planned a circular route that we could complete to give us a bit more of a walk.
It was cold and a bit misty at Cranberry, but nothing like the last time, so off we went. The ridge path is pretty well defined, but as you near Manstone Rock the going underfoot is tough - lumpy, uneven rock - which slows you down and makes you watch where you're stepping!
Its worth stopping and looking up however, the views to both sides are amazing even on a grey day.
Any mist about was moving quickly so it was easy to pick out landmarks to check progress and location.
As you head past Scattered Rock towards Shepherd's Rock, the path becomes less rocky and as you turn to start to descend Perkins Beach the landscape changes dramatically. From windswept gorse and heather covered rock, it changes to grass and bracken between moss covered stone walls under ancient trees.
The path winds down around Green Hill, dropping into Stiperstones Village itself with the very welcoming Stiperstones Inn. With one car parked here, we had 'Elevenses' waiting for the pub to open for coffee!
Having filled the gap in our Cross Britain Route, Marie headed for home, whilst the rest of us decided to extend our outing by completing a circular route back to Cranberry Rock. Fortunately, map reading went better today and we arrived back without mishap and just before the rain!
There will now be a two month lay off in our project whilst Marie and Irene have their big adventure, but we're due back in Grantham on 10th April. We've got approximately 62 miles to complete between Woolsthorpe by Belvoir and Barton under Needwood, and then 68 miles from Welshpool to Barmouth.
So roughly 150 miles done, 130 to go! Over halfway.......
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