Dawn Chorus in Benthall Woods Shropshire

Here we are up bright and early to enjoy a dawn walk through the woodland surrounding Benthall and Ironbridge in Shropshire, the walk will cover about one and a half to two miles and last roughly about two hours, walking over bridleways and woodlands paths. Most of the walk will be over old ground which we have cover before as we listen to the sounds of the Dawn Chorus as this old woodland comes alive to the sounds of the local Birds that inhabit theses woods at this time of the year. This walk will start on the Broseley side of the River Steven at Ironbridge in the Station Hotel Car park( this is a pay and display car park so please remember to buy your ticket from the machine nearby) taking in some of the views from this beautiful area Shaped by the Industrial Revolution many years ago.
Starting out by following the track on our left from the car park we start walking along and old railway line, this line used to run from Bridgenorth in the south alongside the river towards Shrewsbury carrying all the coal, limestone and other goods to the bigger city's, passing under the old brick bridge and the Steven picnic area on the right hand side. The side of the track here is home for numerous ferns and wildflowers ranging from the delightful Wood Anemone and Traveller's Joy to the more common Garlic Mustard, Violet, and Red and White Campion's, while you'll also find Early purple Orchids and Yellow Pimpernel hiding amongst the Ferns growing on the left hand bank one of which is the Hart's-Tongue and the Maidenhair spleenwort both beautiful ferns will worth discovering.

But its not only the flowers and the views that's makes this area what it is, its also the wildlife, the old wild fox and Badgers and the Roe Deer that roam this Ancient woodland that's makes it so magical today, not forgetting the birds from the common Wood pigeons, Rooks, Crows to the Robins, Wrens and Blackbirds that live in theses woods all year round, along with the summer visiting birds like Wood Warbler's, Chiffchaff's, Blackcap's and even the Cuckoo indeed this morning we should hear all of theses and more. As we carry on along the rail track we will pass on our left the old ruins of limekiln workings, one of the many that dotted this area years ago at the height of the industrial age was in full swing, here we can hear wood warbler's and chiffchaff's along with another summer visitor that being the WhiteThroat which nest in the Bracken and other vegetation that grow around theses Kilns Ruins, while in the dark corners and the cracks and holes in the brickwork of the kilns are Bats awaiting the downing of the sun so the once again they can leave their home and go out hunting the fly and moths along the nearby river banks.

At the end of the rail track we come to a small path on our left with a little incline, with the cooling towers of the Buildwas Power station in front of use we turn left onto this woodland track and climb up this incline about 30 feet before coming to a small clearing with a gate in front of us. Here there is a bench where we will rest up as we listen to the magical sounds from the woodland Orchestra which is is fine tune before once again setting off on our walk. In front of us here there is a sign post/ way marker pointing the way upwards to patten's Rock, this is the way we are going to take this morning, so passing though the Sile at the side of the gate we now start to climb the many steps towards Patten's Rock.
While climbing theses step's we will often stop to rest and will have a chance to look over our shoulder to enjoy the views of the river up stream from Buildwas and the Steven flood plains, while under foot we can see many difference woodland plants and fungi growing among the dead and rotting wood, home to numerous tiny bugs in all shapes and sizes which in turn become food for the many baby birds that depend on then in this busy time of the year. The climb is hard and i would take a few rests before we top out where we can look over the old limestone quarry that is Patten's Rock on the edge of the gorge with beautiful views overlooking Ironbridge and the Steven Gorge all the way as far as Coalport in the distance, while the rocks themselves are home to Rooks, Crows, Jackdaws and the odd family of Peregrine Falcon's while high above can always be seen and heard the cry of the old Buzzard who live nearby. In the bottom of the quarry we can find marsh Orchids and sometimes Bee Orchids where Roe Deer graze and the young Rabbits hop.
Here at the top overlooking the quarry there is a bench where one can sit and enjoy a well earned rest while taking in the beauty of the surroundings.. This bench was put there in memory of a childhood friend of mine a MR JOHN JONE'S who was also a well known Rose grower in his day, John Sadly died while enjoying life and was only in his 40s when he passed away and on this bench you'll be able to read theses words...

'In memory of John Jone's He Loved This Place'
Moving on we how follow a woodland path away from the quarry, with limestone workings on our left hand side passing under old beech trees that are 100s of years old until we meet up with another path from left to right, this is the Shropshire Way and is the main pathway though theses woods, here we could turn right and follow the path up until we pass the gamekeeper cottage and Benthall Hall before passing though a gate and walking through two Fields until we again meet the Shropshire way a little way along from here but today we are turning left here passing the gate and heading towards Broseley, after about 20 yards the woodland path comes out of the woods and continue between farmland with overgrown hedges on both sides. Here Robins, wrens, wood warbler's and Yellow Hammers can all be seen or heard while overhead you'll hear and see Skylarks as they fly on warm summer days 100s of feet into the blue sky singing their heart's out in a magical moment of pure delight.
On both sides of this pathway lie fields of golden buttercups, Daisy's and other summer meadow flowers untouched by modern insecticides where butterflies such as the Adonis Blue, Copper and the Dryad along with others fly safely and spotted flycatchers, Swallows and House Martins hunt the many insects needed to feed growing family's on.
Walking on we soon come to a tarmacked road known as Spout Lane walking pass a number of cottages that as been build over the years we should soon see the water spout on our left.... This water spout near runs dry and comes from a underground spring with the source in the Shropshire Hills some miles away, the water is very clean and ice cold so is therefore safe to drink, indeed many walkers have in fact stopped here to enjoy a nice cold one before carrying on their walk. Walking pass the spout we come to the main road ( Ironbridge Road) turning left here cross the road and join the roadside footpath on the right hand side downhill towards Ironbridge, Please walk with care here as the road is narrow and walking two or three abreast would be very dangerous.After about 300 yards downhill on the right hand side we will pass the ruins of one of the largish water wheels in this country ( knocked down in the 1960's) this water wheel was around 70 feet high and was working right up until 1958 ( my father help to knock it down ) the wheel ended up being sold for scrap to local man named Oakley who is still in the scrap business today.Passing on we find ourselves back on the car park by the Ironbridge from where we started an hour or so ago....
I hope you have enjoyed taking part in this walk and that you'll join me again next time for another Shropshire Walk...