Cormorants, cliffs and Autumn colours - along the Severn way

It would cost more than £2000 to travel to New England to see the Fall colours.
However, this year's weather has meant wonderful colours here in actual England. Try this Severn Way walk near Bridgnorth to see some. (And save yourself £2000!)
Sandstone cliffs near the start, with netting to stop rockfalls onto the road below.

A great place to do some fishing.

Some buildings squeezed between river and road , with more towering sandstone cliffs behind.

Great colours all the way along this walk along a small part of the 223-mile Severn Way.

The route is easy to follow - just keep to the river

Bridgnorth Golf Club runs along side of the Severn.

The river moves away from the cliffs, but the woodland colours continue.

The sunshine added to the colours

The route ahead

Looking back to the golf course and its huge variety of trees - almost an arboretum!

You can do this walk as an out and back walk...

...turning round whenever you wish,

I carried on, even when the sunshine disappeared

I spotted the cave in the wooded cliffs opposite,

I wondered what some strange shaped birds were, flying overhead. When I got to this tree, I realised: they are cormorants

There were more than a dozen - making their strange call - sounded a bit like grunting!

On the other bank, Apley Hall - one inspiration for P G Wodehouse's Blandings

 Unusually, a rocky beach in the river

Many people had walked round this footbridge - not surprising really.

Apley Bridge ahead. 

The wooden surface rattled as an estate vehicle drove overhead

Interesting to walk over - but it's private, so I didn't.

The Severn Way stretched invitingly on, but it was time to turn back...

...only to find this, the former Linley station,

...now a private home, but very sensitively preserved

My route back wass along the former Great Western Railway branch from Bridgnorth to Ironbridge, part of a line which connected Shrewsbury and Worcester (some of which is now preserved as the Severn Valley Railway)

The walking was easy along the metalled track, with plenty of glimpses back to the river.

Every 800 metres or so, there are permissive paths back over to the river, mostly for fishing, but walkers could use them to make a circular route of whatever length suits.

Near the end, Severn Hall farm

This was a fantastic walk. 9.5 out of 10 (muddy sections near Apley Bridge). But just to do the first 2 miles and then return along the same route would have been great too, especially for the Autumn colours
Today's walk: 8.5 Miles Easy routefinding. Muddy in parts
Details: Park outside Bridgnorth Endowed School, and walk to the river, turn left and follow it for just over 4 miles to Apley Bridge (you can leave the path if it's too muddy and walk along the railway track, then return when you're out of the trees) At the bridge go past the houses for about 100 metres, then turn left onto the track. for the return. Before the end, the track finishes, but you just follow the Mercian Way signs along a very narrow, little used road back to your car. You pass the golf club, which offers refreshments to non-members. I haven't tried it though.
You could walk from Bridgnorth centre to Apley, but that would make the route something over 10 miles.
When you've finished the walk, drive to Low Town car park, walk over the Severn Bridge,and take the funicular cliff railway into Bridgnorth, where there are good pubs and tearooms - an often a good market.

Misty Mountain Hop - Pen y Fan, the easy route

Peny Fan in the Brecon Beacons has long been on my to-do list, especially because of the nice, easy route to the summit and its spectacular views...

Starting on a sunny day, by the time I arrived at the car park, the mist had rolled in.

Even so, there were three (yes, three!) snack vans in the car park and many parking spaces already taken (on a misty October morning)

The route was easy to follow, even with the low cloud.

This route is often known as "the motorway" and the clear path shows why.

There were plenty of people on the way...

...plus  wild ponies grazing the heathland.

A short detour took me to the top of Corn Du.  Quite steep, but only about 10 minutes extra walking.

The view on Corn Du summit was somewhat limited

If you peer closely, you can just see the fields far below, honest!

From Corn Du, I descended by the fencing...

...and reached the top of Pen y Fan, my main objective. 
There were plenty of people around to take my picture

The views were hazy, but the mist began to lift

And what I could see was stunning...

...in every direction.

The  view to Cribyn - I was intending to walk there too, but the poor weather meant I left for another day

Looking back to Corn Du, momentarily cloud-free.

Llyn Cwm Llwych (The boggy lake)

On descending, I saw the Saddle, which I'd passed earlier in the mist:the path ahead ascends Corn Du; the right-hand path goes below it straight to Pen y Fan. 

I wondered if I'd witnessed a proposal!

The descent back to the car park (left of the trees)

What a great walk - I left wanting to return very soon, to explore more. Cribyn of course and the unusually named Fan y Big

TODAY'S ROUTE: 5 miles easy. This is a great way to climb a spectacular mountain, even if you have never done one before.  The path was clear, and the ascent not too steep. It would be difficult to get lost, as there are always lots of people on the path. It would be a great first mountain for children, as it is not too far. It took me 1.5 hours to climb up, and 1 hour to descend. This included hanging about on the summit for ages waiting for the mist to clear! What are you waiting for?
Park at the car park just past the Storey Arms, (marked on maps, just outside Brecon) and follow the clear path to the summit and back. Couldn't be more straightforward.
PS I took wet weather gear, dry socks, spare jumper, food, water and a flask of coffee, plus a first aid kit and a whistle. It is the mountains after all.