An interesting read in your blog, good the find you had such an enjoyable day. I hope you do not make the mistake many, who come to Shropshire make, which is to climb a hill and then think they know all about it. Having lived in the county all my life and had the privilege to talk with many countrymen, I find that there are many discoveries still to be made.
It was Caer Caradoc that finally made me lose patience with the published walks in Country Walking magazine
, a route that incorporated Cardingmill Valley with Caradoc. If the author wanted to make it into a longer walk the country to the east of the hill is absolutely fascinating but he throws in a crossing of the A49, further up from where you made your more sensible crossing.
The magazine left the its audience thinking (or so it hoped) that they had seen the best of Shropshire. This feature got a special mention in the Shropshire County Councils Local Access Forum, when I was a member, and this august body thought that it was 'good publicity'. To encourage walkers to get themselves spattered on the alter of the countries transport system just to grab a couple of extra peaks, rather than truly explore the hills you are visiting is akin to a hedgehog getting mesmerized by the glare of 40 tons of Toilet Tissue on tour from Tipton to Taunton, courtesy of Eddie Stobbart.
Will anyone reading this post and tempted by Adalard's lovely photos, look at a map, they will see an obvious figure of eight route, which incorporates the bases and the ridges of the Caradoc and the Lawley, all on rights of way. It does not matter, which direction it is walked, because if you do it one way you may want to come back and do it the other way around. The walker will not then go away and think that some occasional visitor to this county is an expert and knows the best way to walk here as described by experts in walking magazines.
Thanks Adalard for your entertaining TR and the opportunity to compose this piece of prose
As a P.S. I spent a nights camping on the top of Caradoc, as a prelude to a walk into Shrewsbury, I would recommend it. Sadly I did not commune with the spirits of Caradoc and his merry warriors or see ghostly figures standing on Battle Rock but the views that dawn were breathtaking. An early start allowed a few illicit tweaks to my route that put me on the right track for Shrewsbury.