St Ives

I was in St Ives recently. The view from my hotel, the Pedn Olva

This is the Pedn Olva from the car park.

Walking into St Ives

The sea was quite rough

I walked out past Tate St Ives 

The sea was very blue considering it was November

As you walk further from St Ives, the coast quickly becomes bleak moorland (which I do actually like!)

Rough sea

I walked till the headland was out of sight, then I returned: I only had a short time

There were a few dog walkers, but no surfers (though I later saw some windsurfers at Marazion!)

Walking back to my hotel the tide was going out

 ...but I saw these lovely little birds. I think they were ringed plovers: let me know if I'm wrong!!!

Live For The Outdoors - a review of a mapping service

This is a website I use a lot
Live for the outdoors

It's run by Country Walking, Trail and Trail Running magazines, but most of the content is accessible to everyone. 
  
 
There are gear views and latest news, plus videos ranging from instructional, through funny, to downright scary.

For instance,this picture is from a video to walks connected to Winnie the Pooh (click here to see it)

A cosy video, or this one (click here)

...jumping between Adam and Eve (rocks on Welsh mountain Tryfan!)


But the main reason I buy it is because it leads to a separate site called Trailzilla (click to view), a weirdly-named but useful mapping/routes service. Readers of the above magazines get free access to much of this, but it's available to others for a very small amount

What's on it?
Various routes from the magazines, plus others written by Joe Public
I've found it very useful for suggestions, particularly when going to different parts of the country. You can download the routes, plus all the mapping points if you want, to make a routecard. I just use the maps.

How easy is it to use?
Fairly easy. Plus if you email a question, you will usually get a reply within a day.
I also use it to browse areas of the country even where there are few trails, because you have easy access to Ordnance Survey 1:25000 scale maps (old 2.5 inches to the mile). I know you can access this elsewhere, but this one will fill your screen and you can quickly jump all over the country.

What else is good?
You can print what you want instantly.
You get access to maps from all over the country without having to buy them  - and without having to go out shopping, or order and wait for delivery

What are the disadvantages?
From time to time, I have printed out routes which come out at a very small scale ( I think this could be improved) and they are then difficult to read.
You have to have a fairly decent colour printer and use your own ink! But that's not a significant amount. Having had a map disintegrate in rainy conditions recently I could be biased about this, but Trailzilla gives fresh maps each time - if that's what you want.

How much?

I asked Trailzilla for their latest charges. This was part of their reply

We currently offer the following yearly subscriptions on TrailZilla:

Product	Standard Price	Special Price
365 day access, Ordnance Survey Landranger premium maps	£10	£8
365 day access, Ordnance Survey Explorer premium maps	£25	£20
365 day access to the AA Best Walks in Britain (1750+ walks)	£17.50	£14
365 day access to Cycling Weekly's Best Rides in Britain (50 rides)	£5	£4
365 day access to Country Walking Magazine walks (500+ walks)	£10	£8
365 day access to Trail Magazine walks (500+ walks)	£10	£8
365 day access to Trail Running Magazine routes	£5	£4

If I have read this right, and you wanted access to 1:25000 maps, it would cost £25 per year, assuming you also subscribe to Country Walking or Trail. Landranger Maps (1:25000) are £7.99 each in most places. So for the price of just over three maps, you can have access to them all.

Or just consider subscribing. Country Walking, for instance, has some great walk ideas if you prefer other people to help you decide!

Around Clent

Walking through Clent on my way back to the start of the walk.

This used to be the old school

St Leonard's Church

The new Clent sign, erected in 2012

A very old tractor passed by.

Too old to need a roll bar.

This house was also once a school - a charity school. Two schools in one small village must be quite unusual

The car park at the Fountain pub was fairly full (round the back as well) given it was a Monday lunchtime!

Back on the the N Worcs Path

The weather was gorgeous for late November

Still misty over in Shropshire!

The sunny path home

Walk details: Park on the quiet roads round Hagley Hall, and follow the N. Worcs Path (well signposted in the main) to climb Clent Hill. From the Four Stones the path is less clear, but keep going, and all the paths lead to the road. Continue past St Kenelm's car park onto Walton Hill, still following the  N Worcs Path to Calcothill Farm, and follow an easy track to Walton Farm, and then the quiet road back to Clent. Or you can branch off and take a path that contours the hill and takes you practically to Clent. From Clent, re-take the N Worcs Path back to your car. Total distance 6.5 miles, with at least 500' of ascent!

Wonderful walking on Walton Hill, Worcs

Leaving Clent Hill behind, I walked across the road to Walton Hill, passing St Kenelm's car park, which has always amused me. (What did a ninth century boy king want with a car park?)

From here the misty views continued. The Black Country: Brierley Hill (left) and Turners Hill (right)

Towards Birmingham

The Malverns above the trig point

The isolated Walton Hill Farm is right on the top. Fantastic location

Coming down from the hill, heading south on the North Worcs Path, the country is very hilly

I met this shepherd. "Don't you have a dog for that?" I asked. 

"No, I'm the dog" he said!

Very wild

You would be able to see Birmingham from here on a less misty day

The path is on the top of the hill. Down in the valley, the shepherd continues with his sheep

Coming down from the hill, and turning back for home, the Malverns poke out from the mist (left), while you can just make out the Abberley HIlls (right)

The Clee Hills

The path back to Clent is easy to follow

More tomorrow

Walk details: Park on the quiet roads round Hagley Hall, and follow the N. Worcs Path (well signposted in the main) to climb Clent Hill. From the Four Stones the path is less clear, but keep going, and all the paths lead to the road. Continue past St Kenelm's car park onto Walton Hill, still following the  N Worcs Path to Calcothill Farm, and follow an easy track to Walton Farm, and then the quiet road back to Clent. Or you can branch off and take a path that contours the hill and takes you practically to Clent. From Clent, re-take the N Worcs Path back to your car. Total distance 6.5 miles, with at least 500' of ascent!

Clent Hills - along the North Worcestershire path

The first frosts of the winter, and a fabulous sunrise. I left the ironing I had planned and headed out.

 Parking by Hagley Hall, I followed the North Worcs path

 The Hall in the sunlight

Passing Sunfield school, the path climbs steeply through woodland, mostly oak

 I definitely couldn't run up this!

 From the top, the views were glorious. The tower blocks of Brierley Hill shine in the sunlight!

 All the valleys were full of mist. This is looking over towards the Clee Hills - only the tops are visible

Stourbridge below, and mist behind it

The information boards are useful (if not exactly angled correctly!) The high point in the distance is Turners Hill: the highest point in the whole of the West Midlands

The Four Stones with misty Shropshire (and Wales) beyond

 

Coming down, here's the pine cone symbol of the North Worcs Path

There were lots of cyclists out

 Looking back to Clent Hill

The two walkers heading away from me, are from Fusion Rock, the choir which I play keyboard for. Nice to meet friends on such a glorious day

 More from this lovely walk tomorrow

Walk details: Park on the quiet roads round Hagley Hall, and follow the N. Worcs Path (well signposted in the main) to climb Clent Hill. from the Four Stones the path is less clear, but keep going, and all the paths lead to the road. You could head back to your car at this point, which would be just about 4 miles. Or you could continue (see tomorrow) to make it a 6.5 mile walk