Sunday 19th July 2015 - Church Stretton, Shropshire

Church Stretton  The coach will leave school as usual at 8.00 am prompt.  Boots are essential on all walks. There will be no stop enroute as there are toilets at or near the start of all walks.
We plan to leave at 5.30 pm to be back in Formby about 8.00 pm

The cost of travel will be £10.00 for members, £13.00 for non-members and £5.00 for Leaders, children and students in full time education. Please make your cheque payable to Range Walking Club and ensure it is signed as it is inconvenient for the Treasurer to chase up such omissions.

Please send in your return to the Treasurer before 9th July; places will be booked on the coach by the treasurer on a first come first served basis.

Cancellations: if you need to cancel or make a late booking, please contact the Treasurer on 01704 809287 or by email monicatuk@yahoo.co.uk before 9th July and she will endeavour to substitute your booking from the waiting list.  If you cancel after 9th July and it is not possible to fill your place on the coach, regrettably, we will not be able to give you a refund as coaches will have been booked on initial returns.

Club AGM Monday 13th July
The Club AGM will be held on Monday 13th July at Range High School.  Membership cards will be issued from 7pm onwards and the meeting will commence at 7.30pm.  The AGM papers will be circulated nearer the time.

‘A’ Walk Distance: 11 miles Ascent: 2,500 ft Leaders: Gordon Spence John Hughes	This is a figure of 8 walk .Heading east on Jack Mytton Way then south to ascend Ragleth Hill and along the ridge  to The Hough. Turning northeast we have a short but quiet road walk back to JMWay. Going on north to the day’s highlight we pass the massiveThree Fingers Rock  and steeply ascend  Caer Caradoc with panoramic views of The Wrekin and Wenlock Edge. The summit is the site of Caradog’s hill fort, an ancient monument. Continuing on the whaleback ridge we soon reach Comley. Then contouring around the base Of Caer Caradoc we return to Church Stretton.
‘B+’ Walk Distance: 11 miles Ascent:1900ft Leaders: Lynn Smith Claire Lyons	We walk from Church Stretton to the top of Ragleth Hill, from where we get spectacular views of the Long Mynd. Then, our route takes us down into the valley and we begin our climb up Minton Hill, from where we reach the Long Mynd itself.  We walk along for a mile or so, taking in the views on both sides and eventually reach the highest point on the Long Mynd, Pole Bank (516m). From here, there are spectacular 360° views of the distant Brecon Beacons and Berywyns and Snowdonia (on a clear day). We drop back down into Church Stretton via the beautiful and picturesque Carding Mill Valley, with its waterfall and lush flora.
‘B’ Walk Distance: 9 miles Ascent: 1,300 ft Leaders: David Willis	This is a pleasant, typical ‘B’-standard walk, which reaches the highest part of the Long Mynd, with beautiful views (usual proviso) of the rolling hills of Shropshire.  We leave Church Stretton up the Carding Mill valley, which is in the care of the National Trust.  At the summit we follow the ridge southwards to the viewpoint at Pole Bank and shortly afterwards descend gently to the village of Little Stretton (where there should be time for refreshment).  After a short stretch of road walking a wooded path takes us back to the facilities at Church Stretton.
‘C’ Walk Distance: 7 miles Ascent: 800 ft Leaders: Trevor ludlow Barry Whitby	We leave Church Stretton in a north easterly direction heading towards Caer Caradoc Hill.  On our way we enter a deep, old cart track cutting, somewhat muddy, damp and dark under the trees. Fortunately the rest of the walk provides us with good views of this typically English landscape.  Our first gentle climb of the day takes us to the slopes of Caer Caradoc for an excellent viewpoint camera shot. We contour round the hill through open bracken and woodland to its end. After our lunch stop we turn south for our final climb of the day, taken at a steady pace, to the unpopulated valley behind the hill (apart from the sheep!). Good paths through the bracken take us back to the woods above Church Stretton, to start our descent into the town.