Shropshire

 Last Saturday, a friend and I visited the Shropshire Hills National Landscape near Church Stretton (Carding Mill Valley). The scenery was amazing! And, unusual for England, we did not get wet. In fact, we even got a little sunburnt. It's probably the only ramble I've been on where my feet did not get wet, although I was wearing the wrong shoes. Poppies, lilacs, skylark and blackbird song, long days—May is the best month!

Carding Mill Valley

Stream

Climb up to the top

Waterfall

Hearing skylarks

Peaceful farm

Shy sheep

England's green and pleasant land

Climbing down again

St Laurence Church, Church Stretton
(there's a sweet little library, too)

We've also been to visit a few places near Birmingham including Lichfield and Hereford. More on that soon! Thanks for reading.

Formby

 Over the bank holiday weekend, I took a trip to Formby near Liverpool. It was refreshing to be by the coast again, and reminded me of Waxham in Norfolk. But it was very windy! I'm still getting the sand out of my shoes. The nature reserve also has wooded areas where you can sometimes spot red squirrels. Since I stayed in Liverpool, I was able to visit the Central Library once again. Did you know it's open late on Fridays? And the place I stayed wasn't too far from the original Casbah Club. I didn't pay to go inside, but took a photo from the street.

Sands at Formby

Coast at Formby

Waves from the Irish Sea

Sand dunes at Formby

Sea shell

Beach at Formby

Dune climbing

Red squirrel spotting

Knitting holiday

Blackbird singing

Central Library, Liverpool

Casbah Club, Liverpool

Thanks for reading!