My medal for completing the first stage of my Lord of the Rings challenge has arrived. I promise to try to keep the ring secret and safe until I can throw it into the fires of Mount Doom. I am making good progress on the next stage of my journey which takes me to the Doors of Durin.

In other news I have completed  my walking challenge of 100 miles for May’s National Walking month. My June challenge is step based and to achieve this challenge goal I will have to increase my average daily mileage by 0.75 miles.

Wish my luck

My afternoon walk in Attingham Park was cut short by a deluge of Biblical proportions. As I set off on my walk the pathways were slightly damp and pleasant to walk upon but when the heavens opened the pathways soon turned to rivers and there were large puddles to negotiate. I sheltered under a tree thinking that the rain would soon subside but that was not to be. My waterproof and umbrella kept me mostly dry but I had opted for footwear that was only shower proof!

By the time I got back to my car my feet were slightly soggy. As I exited the car park I unusually had to join a queue of cars all homeward bound. That was the first of several queues on my homeward journey…

Back home it was time for a restorative cup of tea

I wasn’t able to fit in one of the scheduled T50 trail walks that all converged in Telford Town Centre. Instead I had a solo (5 Mile)  afternoon walk along parts of the T50 trail to get to my favourite local nature reserve. I was rewarded with lush green lined pathways and fluffy delights.

I lingered a little too long enjoying the fluffy delights leaving me to walk at a pace to get home in time for our planned family visit at around 4pm.

In the morning I took my mum to visit her osteopath to see if he could sort out her back and ankle problems. Whilst I was waiting for her to finish her treatment Mr C texted me to say my recently ordered prescription sunglasses were ready and should he bring them home for me. Mr C was in the opticians picking up his own newly ordered spectacles but I declined his offer in case my sunglasses needed some adjustment.

After my mum’s appointment I collected my sunglasses which are perfect, I can see things in much more clarity than I have been able to for some time (still awaiting my non-sunglasses prescription to arrive). Unfortunately the same could not be said for Mr C’s new prescription, he had to take them back. He now awaits the return of his glasses with lenses more suited to his requirements.

The unexpected optician visits led to a late lunch leaving me unable to join one of the planned walk events for ‘Get Telford Walking’.

After lunch I wanted to walk and Mr C wanted cake. The two desires were combined in a trip to Bridgnorth where we shared a slice of blueberry and lemon cake on the outside terrace of Violets Tea Room before an enjoyable walk around the town.

In the morning I attended the funeral service for the mother of one of my friends. Before attending the subsequent wake I visited the crematorium memorial garden and spent a few moments next to the walnut tree under which my father’s ashes were sprinkled.

Later, in the afternoon, I walked one of my Leegomery circular routes. I would have liked Mr C to join me but he declined my offer. This allowed me to ‘Rest a While’ on one of my favourite benches where I lingered  a little too long… My brolly came in handy as I was chasing raindrops on my way home.

Today I joined the Ramblers ‘Walking for Wellbeing’ walk in Telford Town Park. There were only three of us but we had a lovely walk and natter. The pace was much more enjoyable for me than yesterday’s walking pace. The walk started off along pathways that I had not previously walked before  endeding up on my recently explored new pathway.

As we were completing our circular route we met two ladies who had just emerged from a pathway after finding the hidden waterfall. We had a chat about that and other walks in the area before we completed our circular route. Walking past Southwater pool I noticed that there were lots of new gosling additions. Hopefully I will have the opportunity to go back next week to take some photos of the little ones.

Before lunch I visited Wellington to pick up a copy of the ‘Walking With Giants’ walking trail booklet that has recently been published by Wellington LA 21 Group. I found it a bit of a challenge figuring out how to gain access to the Council Offices where I had been advised that I would be able to obtain the booklet. I reticently pressed the intercom button on what seemed to be the most likely place to gain access and explained why I was there. I was greeted with a warm welcome and almost immediately someone came to the door with booklet in hand.

I wasn’t able to read all of the booklet before it was time for me to join another Ramblers ‘Walking for Wellbeing’ walk, this time starting in Wellington. Three levels of walk were on offer and I opted for the walk that could split into a shorter version half way through if I thought the longer walk was too much.

The leader set off at a speedy pace towards Apley Woods leaving me to walk alongside another walk leader a few paces behind the rest of the group. We caught up with the main group when they paused to look at some goslings next to the lake. There was talk of taking photos for the FaceBook page and wondering if they would be good enough. I offered to take some on my camera and produced it from my bag to exclamations of ‘a real camera’ and ‘are you a professional?’.

Then we were back on our speedy way with no time to take in our surroundings, the potential splitting the walk into two walks had been forgotten along the way. I enjoyed the conversations with my walking companion, we walked past both our houses and found that we had many other common connections.

This walk saw me complete my first ‘Lord of the Rings’ challenge, walking from the Shire to Bree and also my 70 miles for ‘The Queens Platinum Jubilee’ challenge (both medals yet to be dispatched). Now I just need to complete my pledged 100 miles for May’s ‘National Walking Month’.