Meet Report: Shropshire Meet, August 13 - 15th 2004.

Shropshire Meet, August 13 - 15th 2004.

"Seeing as you will be there before me, why don't you just take the tent and put it up when you get there." Famous last words Nigel, but with a lot of help from Gareth, Annie managed to figure out the cross poles and put up a rather splendid tent. Despite remarks about its size, we were all rather grateful when the heavens opened on Friday night. Tom of course adamant that it wasn't actually raining, until half of the water accumulating on the front porch went down the back of his neck.

Having been told by Ian the previous week that the campsite had only one shower and one toilet, Mim, Annie and I were not quite sure whether a bed and breakfast may be the sensible way out. However, as we arrived and had a scout around, we were pleasantly surprised. The campsite was situated in a beautiful part of Offa's Dyke with the valley rising above our collection of tents. The amenities were basic, but were kept very clean and apart from the fact that the grass was a foot long, it was a wonderful place to be.

After an early morning wake up call from the local train driver, the day dawned and the sun decided to shine. With glorious blue sky's we split into two groups. The first group was going to walk a circular route from the campsite, up and along Offa's Dyke, maybe taking in a pub at lunchtime. The other would try a different route, as some of STMC had visited the campsite the previous year. After a barrage of jokes about Offa, we set off. The walking wasn't difficult, but the views were spectacular. At lunch we stopped for a quick refreshment in a local hostelry, and in the space of fifteen minutes, we saw a man wrangle a ram into the back of a car and drive off at speed, another local drive by in a horse and trap and finally another drove by in a car with a series of loud speakers on its roof. All quite bizarre. Anyway, a few more miles and we headed back for a "bring a chair" party. The evening turned out to be fine, with incredible clear skies, of which made many of us realise that we actually didn't know the names of a huge number or star constellations. Anyway, with plenty of food, beer and an unusual guest in the form of a backpacker with some outlandish views, fun was had by all.

Sunday, and with many in the slow lane, some eventually arrived for a walk on the "Long Mynd". Here, Shropshire was at its best and as you walked up into the valleys, views of purple heather and bilberry's greeted you. After an hour we split into two groups, one going slightly further than those who had to get back to London early. The walking was again easy, but the views were stunning and as we headed back to the cars we managed a quick paddle in a babbling brook. Rather refreshing on the toes after a weekend in the hills.

And as we all drove off with that Monday morning feeling looming, I was rather envious of two - Ian and Marianne, who are heading off to foreign lands. We hope you have a fantastic time and come back with lots of stories to tell.

Tania Wortman.