Much Wenlock

The rain stopped raining and the sun started shining so I grabbed the camera bag and headed out.

Had to drop Maisie off in Shrewsbury for a bit of shopping so had 4 hours to kill. Thought it would be nice to go somewhere new so headed to Much Wenlock. 

This is a beautiful little town about 11 miles from Shrewsbury and is what I believe the Americans would call quaint! It is. It has charm and character and is a joy to photograph. You can do the Wenlock Edge which is a National Trust maintained countryside walk and that is certainly pencilled in for the next visit. Today, concentrating on the town.

This pic was a bit tricky to take. On the right hand side of the road a car was parked which spoiled the picture so I had to keep moving round and down until the wall hid it. I am getting better at looking at everything in the viewfinder. Many times I have taken what I thought to be a great photo only to find a wheelie bin left of centre! My autofocus is in the centre and so that was where I was tending to look. Doesn't always work, but certainly getting a bit more aware now.

 I have also found that I am definitely looking more at detail and I feel more aware of my surroundings. The above pic has got to be the poshest post box I have ever seen!

The bakery pictured below was so gorgeous. It was like it was stuck in a time warp and all the bread in the window looked and smelled gorgeous. The slices in the bagged bread to the right of the window were an inch thick! But just to give an indication of how completely sad I am getting, I was concentrating so much on getting a good photo I never even thought about going in and sampling its delights. How crazy and yes, lets face it, sad is that!

I have really discovered a liking for black and white photography and some pictures just work with it. It gives a timeless feel to an image I think which I am really starting to enjoy. This building is the Guildhall and was really impressive.

I liked the following picture, not because it has any particular artistic merit, but because I would love to know the story of it. Taken behind the church in the graveyard, there is one lonely solitary gravestone. Was he the most hated man in the village, or is there another, more mundane reason. Will have to Google!

The only difficulty I had was avoiding people in my shots. As the sun was out and Much Wenlock is a bit of a tourist mecca, there were a lot of them around. I will definitely have to go back later in the year when the season is over. 

Just loved this little street. Cobble stones and flowers. So beautiful, so charming. This one didn't work so well black and white, needed to see the colours of the flowers. Managed to avoid most of the wheelie bins, but one just crept in at the top!

Apart from its beauty, Much Wenlock is also famed for being the birthplace and home of William Penny Brookes, who is credited with being the inspiration behind the modern Olympic Games. He was a keen advocate of having physical education as part of the school curriculum and arranged competitions between schools and groups based on the original Greek Olympics. This was picked up by French aristocrat Pierre de Coubertin who formed the International Olympic Committee and the rest is history!

The streets are very narrow and it can be difficult to get a good angle on the buildings, but you get a rough idea of just how lovely it is there. Worth a visit!

Lessons Learned: I am not a tourist. I am a visiting serious photographer. Tourists are other people!

Diet Diary: I am finding it impossible during the holidays because of all the trips we are doing. So am having a bit of a break and will be back full tilt in September.