It had been a three party organized sqwalk consisting of DT, who produced the route map, Hecky, who organized Lacey's and was nominated to take notes, and Mark Stefano who took the bull by the horns and led us up a garden path alongside a church, only to return down again and take another route. It was a good start.
The walk eventually took us northwards to Gunstone and across a busy M54 before we stopped at the Upper Avenue leading to Chillington Hall, a Georgian country house, which is run by the Gifford family.
Some of you may recall seeing Chillington Hall in the recent drama series of Victoria, where she stopped whilst her hubby Albert went off to check out an early steam train at Burton if I correctly recall. It obviously has more history worth checking out, and you can walk parts of the estate and look around the house on certain times of the year.
A 'horse park' could be seen in the courtyard and a human park at the bar. UBU Purity was on tap and despite the price it was just what the doctor ordered. After a sandwich, chips and ale we set off.
Heading westwards passing Boscobel House where a very old Royal oak tree; or was it a descendant, could be seen at a distance, where Charles II hid, escaping the Battle of Worcester in the mid 17th century; even though it was miles away.
Not sure if he was a king or not at the time as a small debate ensued on the matter. Maybe he'd have been better off hiding in the local Wetherspoons or the Royal Oak pub, but what do I know!!!
The Oakley Arms where we had lunch was part of a Brunning and Price upmarket chain but to be fair it had a wonderful view from the patio area over a pretty turquoise coloured lake.
The final mile or so through the town seemed hard even though it was flat. A defribulater was almost put into use at one point. Albrighton station was ahead of us and we finally made it ready for a well-deserved pint. 'It's shut', came the wails of anguish from the front runners. 'It can't be, Stefano's done a reckie!!'
We sauntered through the village and passed a couple of cafes and the Co-op where the taxi driver was spotted again. 'Need a lift back to the station?' he asked. 'Room for 3'. The locals couldn't tell us the whereabouts of Lacey's café, where we were due to meet the remaining members of the party, but we fell upon it within a further 50 yards. Maybe it was because it's a Bistro with dangly light bulbs, and not a café.
We were shown upstairs and Hecky Thump subsequently arrived with Wendy to join us for Eggs Royale. Must look that one up! Hecky's part of the arrangements went successfully as several pots of tea and brekkys were provided in a comfortable setting. Hecky's Brekky's, now that could be a good name for a café.
CODSALL Friday 15th Sep 2017 The 98th Office Sqwalk
Up for it were
Yup, Anytime, 2 Pie, Hecky Thump and Wendy Thump, DT, Mark Stefano, Malc Jay, Granpop Bill, DC and Jaycee.
It was a 7am start for the Clayton lads who set off in a taxi to Stoke Station, with DC somehow managing to squeeze under the rear parcel shelf without dislocating himself.
All went to plan on the trains to Wolverhampton and then on to Codsall other than Bill's stick going awol on the first train. Will he ever get it back? At Codsall station we were offered a lift to the village center by a local taxi driver who seemed keen on taking us to the Co-op….. “The Co-Op's this way lads, I can fit one in!”
After stroking a few alpacas, we headed off passing some rather posh houses; even posher than those in posh Alsager; so we had to stop for a group photo.
The bar area was extremely busy so we sat towards the rear. Drinkers on the patio area adjacent to us were eating chips from the local chippie; I say local, but it was around 200 yards away and too far for us to walk. Except for Stefano of course who slipped away unnoticed and returned with a bag of chips for DT and himself. Ah well, looks like the pork pies might take a hammering then, thought the rest of us; and they did.
The kitty had still got around a £10 a head swilling around in it, and as it was just under a fiver for a pint and a pork pie it was easy maths, even for some of us suffering the early onset of Alzheimer's. However, as the threat of heartburn hit, the idea of 2 pies faded, in fact only one more was ordered which was shared between Yup and DC; and the rest had nuts. 2 Pie only having one pie was strange indeed!
We trundled on to inspect the remains of the White Ladies Priory and marveled at the remaining stone arches and lack of hiding places for Charlie, before continuing along Monarch's Way where views of the Wrekin opened up before us. Heading southwards we were forced to take a small diversion on the approach to the M54 where we continued south, passing the living quarters of the RAF Station Cosford and then a nature reserve.
There were only a couple of slight hiccups as DC's beans didn't contain any beans, just tomato sauce (but he held on to his complaint); and 2 Pie was an egg short of a full breaky, but within a couple of minutes his second egg appeared with a smile from the waitress and a grunt from 2 Pie.
A light shower apparently fell whilst we were in café but all was well as we set off at 9.45am to meet up with Mark Stefano and DT for a 10am start.
We moved on through farm yards, following the signs next to a huge barn. Jaycee's eye sight was deteriorating and couldn't even see the barn.
Alas it was, and it wouldn't be opening till 5pm. We waited around the platform for almost half an hour, finding a seat wherever we could. Jaycee propped himself up in the bike sheds and collapsed.
Thank goodness for mobile phones to keep us amused. Whatever did we do before they were invented.
Mark Stefano hadn't got a phone, so he demonstrated his yoga skills to Anytime Tone, who was too quick off the mark to avoid a calendar photo.
The train was due in at 5.21 so as the door finally opened we rushed in to order. The Goats Milk was the best pint of the day…..Shame we had less than 20 minutes before leaving.
The train was bang on time, so it was as well we'd allowed a few extra minutes to climb in agony over the bridge to the opposite platform. 5 minutes later we slipped off at Codsall where we had an hour before the next train when we would be homeward bound. Hecky and Wendy said their goodbyes as they returned to their car to drive home.
The delicious Doctor Morton's Desert Sands from the Abbeydale Brewery accompanied the pies and nuts and kept us happy for just under an hour.
The 12 mile walk had taken it's toll on most of the group Maybe 10-11 miles may have to be our future limit.
Still, a great day out in the rare sunshine of a summer's day.
Thanks to the trio of organisers for making it one to remember. Good job I made a few notes………..
Cheers
Yuppers
See DT's maps below for route:
