trail

Culture – Shelby murals and Sabbath shrines

The runaway success of the TV crime drama Peaky Blinders has been credited with boosting tourism to Birmingham and the West Midlands since it first aired in 2013, even though much of the series was actually shot farther north, in Merseyside, Yorkshire and Manchester. The release this week of the Peaky Blinders movie The Immortal Man (much of which was filmed in and around Birmingham this time) will undoubtedly generate a new wave of interest, particularly in the Black Country Living Museum in nearby Dudley, whose authentic recreations of streets, houses and industrial workshops appear in key scenes in the TV show and the film – most notably as the location for Charlie Strong’s yard (pictured below).

At the Digbeth Loc. Studios, where much of the new movie was shot, fans can also see Peaky Blinders murals created by artist Mr Murals. A walking tour of the city with a guide dressed as “Edward Shelby” (from £20pp, viator.com) is well worth a couple of hours, while historic mugshots, artefacts and the original cells in which members of the real-life Peaky Blinders gang were once held are now on show at West Midlands Police Museum.

The city has also become something of a pilgrimage site for heavy metal fans, especially since the final Black Sabbath concert at Villa Park last summer and Ozzy Osbourne’s passing just over two weeks later. There are Ozzy and Sabbath landmarks all around the city, including another of Mr Murals’ artworks on Navigation Street, near New Street station, which all four members of the band visited and signed ahead of the concert. A couple of minutes’ walk away is The Crown pub (now sadly closed) where Sabbath played their first gig and heavy metal was born out of Brum’s industrial clank. Sabbath also feature on murals outside Scruffy Murphy’s rock pub and beside Birmingham coach station in Digbeth – and no pilgrimage would be complete without a visit to Black Sabbath Bridge on Broad Street, where Ozzy’s widow, Sharon, and children Aimee, Kelly and Jack laid flowers during his funeral procession.

Birmingham’s metal connection doesn’t end there – the Jewellery Quarter is a pilgrimage site of a different type, mainly for couples looking for wedding bands. It’s said to house Europe’s largest concentration of jewellers and produce 40% of the UK’s jewellery; the FA Cup was even produced there. The quarter also boasts quirky attractions such as the Pen Museum (Birmingham once produced 75% of the world’s pen nibs) and the UK’s last coffin furniture factory, The Coffin Works, now a museum, whose long history includes decorative coffin fittings for the funerals of Diana, Princess of Wales, and the queen mother, among many others.

Where to eat – from fried chicken to fine dining

In the city centre, John Bright Street is a great place to start – brunch at kitsch indie cafe-bar Cherry Reds is a good shout, while cider and speciality sourdough pizza spot The Stable remains underrated. Save some room for grungy, rock-themed fried chicken joint Bonehead, on the adjacent Lower Severn Street – a hangout for the Osbournes, Slipknot, Jason Momoa and Mogwai in recent times. In the Jewellery Quarter, the Saint Paul’s Market food hall has seven indie kitchens, including Persian, Indian, Thai and more.

Birmingham is also a city of fine dining – in 2019, Opheem became the first Indian restaurant outside London to be awarded a Michelin star; it now has two. Meanwhile, the Jewellery Quarter’s inherently alternative, goth-black restaurant (housed within a former factory, of course) The Wilderness has just won its first Michelin star, taking the city’s total to five. Chef-owner Alex Claridge cooks modern British fare using seasonal ingredients, such as rhubarb and rocket, that probably shouldn’t sit on the same plate, but pair surprisingly well. His menus are designed to surprise and provoke the senses – as is the heavy rock playlist.

Where to drink – from a pint of mild to craft beers

It feels like every family in Birmingham once had someone working at one of its famous breweries, Mitchells & Butlers or Ansells. It’s therefore no surprise that pub culture remains very much alive in a city that birthed one of the region’s classic pints: M&B mild. Traditional pubs serving similar ales from around Birmingham and the West Midlands pepper the city – try Black Country Ales’ pubs The Craven Arms, The Jewellers Arms and The Wellington for starters. And don’t forget to order a cheese and onion cob to go with your pint for the full West Midlands experience.

The modern craft beer revolution is also very much alive in the city, with Attic Brew Co.’s Intuition most definitely the most poured craft pint in Brum (cans are also stocked on CrossCountry trains). Sample their wares at their central taproom, The Barrel Store.

Nightlife – from Irish boozers to experimental music

Much of Birmingham’s best nightlife can be found in Digbeth, the city’s original Irish quarter (where the Peaky Blinders also once roamed). Pubs such as Nortons, The Old Crown, Cleary’s and The Anchor offer some of the best Guinness, trad music sessions and craic this side of the Irish Sea. Digbeth is also the city’s creative quarter, and home to experimental concert promoter Capsule, which brings equal parts peculiar and brilliant musicians to Brum, who might otherwise skip the region completely. Keep an eye out for Capsule’s Supersonic festival, an award-winning event running since 2003 and scheduled for 25-26 April this year, that takes over venues in Digbeth. One such is Centrala, an experimental arts centre and exhibition space that supports central and eastern European migrant communities.

After hours, dance to northern soul at The Night Owl, or head to venues such as Dead Wax, Suki10c, Lab11 and Mama Roux’s for parties ranging in genre from house to jungle.

Stirchley – the hispter hotspot for cocktails and breweries

A 10-minute train ride south of New Street station is Stirchley, a neighbourhood of award-winning indies that continues to thrive. Take Couch, for example, just named the UK’s number one at the 2026 Top 50 Cocktail Bars awards, and South African-British fusion restaurant Riverine Rabbit, which was recently awarded a Bib Gourmand by Michelin.

Stirchley is also known locally as the beer hub of the city, with three major brewers (Attic, Birmingham Brewing Company and GlassHouse) within a half-mile radius; all three have taprooms. In keeping with Birmingham’s liking for a pint or few, the Stirchley Beer Mile takes in those three plus two award-winning bottle shops and at least 10 pubs and bars on an easy walk between Stirchley and Cotteridge. Don’t miss Bonehead’s dive bar Deadbeat, a similarly grungy rock bar that sells Pabst Blue Ribbon on tap and often hosts NYC-style pizza slice pop-ups.

Where to stay – Georgian hotels and modern townhouses

Boutique hotel Saint Pauls House in the Jewellery Quarter (doubles from £99) sits on the city’s last remaining Georgian square and offers comfortable rooms, waterfall showers and plush beds. Or stay around the corner at the modern Frederick Street Townhouse (doubles from £99), which is connected to the popular Button Factory pub.

Editor’s note: Although there will be references to the Eaton fire in this newsletter, there won’t be any images of active fire or burned buildings.

The Mt. Wilson Trail in Sierra Madre recently reopened after being damaged last January by the Eaton fire and subsequent flooding.

When the city of Sierra Madre announced the trail was fully open again, I was initially eager to return to this stunning trek in the San Gabriel Mountains.

But part of me felt anxious. What if the fire had killed everything I remembered so fondly from time spent on the trail?

Shortly after the Eaton fire, I scoured maps to discern which trails likely burned in the blaze. I remember my heart sinking when I saw the fire had scorched the entire Mt. Wilson Trail. It’s an area of Angeles National Forest with a significant amount of local history.

The first known trail to Mt. Wilson was established by Indigenous people, a trail they used to carry wood down the mountains when Spanish missionaries forced them to build the San Gabriel Mission in 1771, according to the Mt. Wilson Trail Race.

Then, in 1864, Benjamin D. Wilson built the first version of the current Mt. Wilson Trail. He was “following an ancient Tongva footpath,” according to a sign near the trailhead. It is the oldest trail in the San Gabriel Mountains, according to former Times hiking columnist John McKinney.

Water rushes through Little Santa Anita Canyon near the Mt. Wilson Trail north of Sierra Madre.

(Jaclyn Cosgrove / Los Angeles Times)

The hike from Sierra Madre to Mt. Wilson is a suffer fest: It is a 14½-mile out-and-back journey where you climb just over 4,800 feet in elevation. It’s thrilling, though, once you’ve completed it, because you can look up at the towers at Mt. Wilson from L.A. and know you climbed that whole mountain.

It’s a hike that every L.A. hiker interested in upping their game should try at least once. Pro tip: I don’t consider it cheating if you hike from the trailhead in Sierra Madre to the top — and then get your nonhiker friend to pick you up where the trail ends in the Mt. Wilson Observatory parking lot. If it’s open, you could even treat them to a meal at the Cosmic Cafe!

On Saturday, I had planned to hike to Orchard Camp, a 7.2(ish)-mile journey that gains about 2,200 feet. It is one of my favorite places in the San Gabriel Mountains, and I was eager and anxious to see how it was doing.

Plants with blooms along the Mt. Wilson Trail, including, from clockwise, Menzies’ baby blue eyes, a poppy, longleaf bush lupine, streambank spring beauty and western wallflower.

(Jaclyn Cosgrove / Los Angeles Times)

The site has a lengthy history. It was first home to Half-Way House, a repair station and rest stop built by the trail’s builder Don Benito Wilson in 1864. He named his establishment as such because Orchard Camp was the halfway point between Sierra Madre and Mt. Wilson.

The site was converted in the 1890s to Orchard Camp, “a resort named after the groves of apples, plums, cherries and chestnuts whose harvest was sold to travelers using the camp and trail,” according to a sign at the site.

In an advertisement published in The Times in 1908, Orchard Camp Resort told prospective guests it offered furnished tents and a “fine stream of water runs through camp.” By 1920, the accommodations had improved mightily, with the camp advertising “tennis, dancing, croquet and hiking,” and groceries, baked goods and meats at the camp store. (I can confirm the stream, hiking and, should you choose, dancing are all still available.)

To begin your hike, you’ll drive north through Sierra Madre. You’ll find the trailhead near the aptly named Mt. Wilson Trail Park, a small stretch of grass with a playground and, a rare luxury for hikers, a flush toilet. You will park on the street, close to the park if you arrive with the early birds.

Next to the park, you’ll find Lizzie’s Trail Inn and Richardson House, which the Sierra Madre Historical Preservation Society operates as living museums. Inside, you can learn more about the trail and other local history. They’re open most Saturdays from 10 a.m. to noon.

Two hikers head up the first mile of the Mt. Wilson Trail near Sierra Madre.

(Jaclyn Cosgrove / Los Angeles Times)

Head north onto Mt. Wilson Trail, a paved road, which will take you behind homes before reaching the large Mt. Wilson Trail entrance sign. It’s only up from here!

The first part of the trail is in direct sunlight until late afternoon and has minimal to no shade. The upside is that it offers incredible views of the San Gabriel Valley and beyond. I quickly spotted Santiago Peak, the highest point in Orange County, which was about 43 miles southeast from where I stood. The snow-covered Mt. San Jacinto, which was 82 miles away, came into clearer view as I gained elevation.

In the first two miles of the trail, I was delighted to discover several blue, purple and pink wildflowers blooming, including wild Canterbury bells, stinging lupine (don’t touch it!) and chia. These plants are known as “fire followers,” as they quickly sprout after an area burns. Later in my hike, I also noticed baby blue eyes, cardinal catchfly, lots of coast morning glory and exactly two poppies.

Two hikers consider the best path across a water crossing along the Mt. Wilson Trail.

(Jaclyn Cosgrove / Los Angeles Times)

I was also surprised by just how many waterfalls I could see from the trail, including one just under a mile in that was gushing down the rocky canyon.

My first stop was First Water, which you’ll reach at just over 1½ miles in. You’ll find a short path at First Water that will take you off the main trail and next to the Little Santa Anita Creek.

If you’ve hiked this trail before, you will notice substantial differences in the trail to reach First Water. It is steeper and a bit more technical, but still an easy enough jaunt down to the creek.

The Little Santa Anita Creek at First Water.

(Jaclyn Cosgrove / Los Angeles Times)

One of the starkest differences, though, comes about half a mile north when Mt. Harvard comes into view. I was expecting more healthy green slopes, and instead, I spotted rows and rows of burnt, dried-out trees. As I neared Orchard Camp, I passed burned manzanita and other trees with blackened bark, but the majority of what I observed was nature in recovery.

One hiker had told me there wasn’t any shade at Orchard Camp, and while I was skeptical, I was prepared for the worst. Instead, I arrived just before 2 p.m. and found several oaks and other trees, still healthy and growing, and thick green grass and other plants. I laid down on a boulder near a wooden bench and basked in the sun like the happiest fence lizard in all of the forest — although there were plenty of shady spots where I could have laid down.

Orchard Camp, a shady stop along the Mt. Wilson Trail.

(Jaclyn Cosgrove / Los Angeles Times)

I didn’t go past Orchard Camp because I knew I’d hit snow. I don’t own crampons, which are needed to hike safely in the snow on any sort of incline. (That said, Luis De La Cruz, the Vamos Hiking Crew leader, whose group hiked to the top Saturday, told me that the trail is in good condition from Orchard Camp although there is some erosion.)

Leaving the trail just before 5 p.m., I felt immense gratitude for the hundreds of hours that volunteers with the Mt. Wilson Trail Race put into restoring the Mt. Wilson Trail to its current glory. I spoke to several folks along the path who felt similarly.

A trail recovering.

(Jaclyn Cosgrove / Los Angeles Times)

It’s a feeling this trail elicits. As a Times story noted in 1915 about this hike, “Once this trip is taken, a desire for a repetition clings to the lover of the outdoor life.” May we all be so lucky!

3 things to do

Attendees of a full moon hike at Elysian Park hosted by We Explore Earth.

(Chiara Alexa / For The Times)

1. Marvel at the moon in Elysian Park
Outdoors nonprofit We Explore Earth will host a free sunset hike Tuesday from 5:30 to 8 p.m. in Elysian Park. After the hike, guests are invited to participate in yoga, a sound bath and music, all as the full moon rises over L.A. Register at eventbrite.com.

2. Connect with fellow humans in Ascot Hills Park
Intermission, a community-focused wellness company, will host a free sound bath at 11 a.m. Sunday in Ascot Hills Park. Guests will need to take a short hike to reach the hilltop where the sound bath will be offered. Learn more at Intermission’s Instagram page.

3. Crunch along the trail in Orange
Save Orange Hills, a local advocacy group, will host a bilingual 3-mile hike from 10 a.m. to noon Sunday through Irvine Regional Park in Orange. Barefoot Joel and Scott Keltic Knot will guide hikers along the Horseshoe Loop Trail, observing wildflowers and wildlife along the way. Guests might spot the locally rare Catalina mariposa lily. Tickets for participants 12 and older are $12.51 while children younger than 12 are free. Park entry is $5. Register at eventbrite.com.

The must-read

Ed LaRue, a longtime desert tortoise advocate and surveyor, looks for tortoise burrows in Johnson Valley.

(Ethan Swope / For The Times)

Desert tortoises are what scientists categorize as a “keystone species,” meaning other animals depend on them for their survival. In this case, it’s for the burrows that tortoises dig. Times staff writer Alex Wigglesworth wrote that that’s a key reason why U.S. District Judge Susan Illston recently ordered the federal Bureau of Land Management to shut down 2,000 miles of off-roading trails, saying the vehicles are “a significant ongoing cause of harm” to the tortoise population. And although climate change-supercharged droughts and large-scale solar development across the Mojave also threatened the tortoises and their habitat, off-roading trail use is different, biologist Ed LaRue said, because it’s “one of the threats that we could ostensibly control.”

I am not an off-roader, but I do want to acknowledge the outcome of this ruling: It is heartbreaking whenever you lose access to an outdoors space you love. “The vastness and the quiet and the peace you get here is unlike anywhere else you can find in California,” said Lorene Frankel, an off-roader who’d planned to launch an off-roading business with her husband. “It is devastating to realize a massive amount of land will be completely inaccessible.”

Even if you agree with the closure order’s purpose — protecting precious habitat for a critical species — it is important that we remain sympathetic to each other’s reasons for loving the outdoors.

Happy adventuring,

P.S.

Have you ever tried to reach Griffith Park without driving there? You probably discovered it wasn’t a straight-forward journey. Metro, our local transportation agency, is developing a plan to make it safer and easier to reach Griffith Park and the L.A. Zoo by transit, on foot and by bike. And you can give feedback on how to make that happen. Streets Are For Everyone will lead a workshop from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday at the Autry Museum of the American West where the organization will gather feedback on these proposed improvements for reaching Griffith Park. Participants will discuss a proposed transit route to Griffith Park as well as pedestrian and biking connections between the Hollywood Bowl and the Ford. As a bonus, attendees will get free museum admission after the workshop. Register using this Google Form.

For more insider tips on Southern California’s beaches, trails and parks, check out past editions of The Wild. And to view this newsletter in your browser, click here.

Why go now

On a hill that rises up between Belleville’s Chinatown and Père-Lachaise cemetery, Ménilmontant was once a rural hamlet with vines and farms, before becoming more industrial in the 19th century. The quartier boasts a united, colourful community whose working-class Parisian roots have long been integrated with a strong north African diaspora. Bohemian, arty and socially committed, it remains off the tourist trail with no notable museums or monuments; it’s just a genuinely Parisian neighbourhood. The locals were bemused to learn that Time Out made Ménilmontant one of its World’s Coolest Neighbourhoods for 2025, though tourists who do venture here to discover a glimpse of a fast-disappearing Paris are sure of a warm welcome.

Where to eat and drink

Eating out in Ménilmontant is inexpensive, hearty, multi-ethnic and vegetarian-friendly. My favourite discovery is La Cantine des Hommes Libres, a retro bistrot where the dish of the day costs €11.50 for blanquette de veau, boeuf bourguignon or Algerian specialities such as tikourbabine, while the couscous is the best I have ever tasted. A happy hour glass of organic wine costs just €2. The owner, Monsieur Abdelkrim, created the Cantine 20 years ago, “to bring the culture of Algeria to Paris, initially through our cuisine, serving traditional dishes from our bleds (rural villages) that were unknown to French people. Over the years, the bistrot has became an unofficial cultural centre to discover the music, art and poetry of our Berbère people.”

Crates of colourful vegetables are stacked outside the popular diner Chez les Deux Amis Brocante, where the ever-smiling chef, Beyaz Balta, oversees a cosmopolitan kitchen brigade who create a raft of vegetarian meze, crispy dürum, spicy köfte and sticky-sweet baklava. She arrived in 2007 as a Kurdish refugee. “I could not have been made more welcome when I came to Ménilmontant, and am proud today that nearly all our customers are locals,” she says. Further up the hill, Rue Sorbier opens up into a semi-square lined with cafes, wine stores, bakeries and épiceries. On the corner, L’Entrepot’s serves classic brasserie fare – steak frites, confit de canard – and oozes Parisian charm with its flea-market decor, marble-topped bar and quirky chandeliers, unchanged from the days when Ménilmontant was home to Maurice Chevalier and Edith Piaf.

For a slice of local life, the best bars to check out include the historic La Pétanque, with its sunny terrace that looks out over the church, and, on the corner of bustling Boulevard de Ménilmontant, L’Express de Paris, which is packed from early morning coffee and croissants until after-midnight cocktails and artisan brews. The graffiti-covered Demain c’est Loin is a funky hangout for tapas, a lethal rum punch and a free jukebox; while, to catch a match during the World Cup, head for Chez Hubert, a lively sports and music bar.

Cultural experiences

Head straight to the neighbourhood’s cultural hub, Rue Boyer, beginning with Galerie Ménil’8, an extensive exhibition space run by and for the Artistes de Ménilmontant association, which also organises an annual Open Door festival of more than 60 venues in the last week of September. When I pass by, the gallery is showcasing an art collective, Cul-de-Sac, with an avant garde mix of experimental photography, sculpture and video. La Maroquinerie is housed in an old leather goods factory, hosting concerts and club nights, while the historic La Bellevilloise symbolises Ménilmontant’s commitment to transform its heritage industrial sites into socially engaged artistic venues. Once an immense self-help workers’ co-operative, founded in 1877, this cultural fortress today bears the provocative slogan: “Liberté, Équité, Utopie”. A glance at a typical month’s programming spans film screenings, queer disco, a French swing party, a jazz brunch, wine tasting and cabaret, and a night of pulsating Colombian cumbia. The roof terrace of its Halle aux Oliviers restaurant is ideal for a sunset cocktail looking out over Paris.

This is just the tip of the iceberg for the live music scene, as musician Thomas Ménard says: “Things have certainly changed since I came to live here 38 years ago, with bars like Scenobar, Les Apaches and Lou Pascalou providing a stage for local indie bands, slam poets and DJs. Hipsters will never take over here as there is too much social housing, such as the tower block where I live, which ensures the popular, multi-ethnic roots of Ménilmontant’s culture and community will never disappear.”

Where to shop

Foodies will love the chaotic street market on Boulevard de Belleville every Tuesday and Friday morning, perfect to pick up cheese and charcuterie, while the boutiques Rue des Narcisses and Vintage 77 are packed with retro fashion and decor bargains. DJs and fans of vinyl should check out the record shop Cracki, which also runs its own independent music label, while just next door, Dilia La Cave specialises in natural wines.

Don’t miss

The monumental Église Notre-Dame de la Croix de Ménilmontant is one of the largest churches in Paris and is a proud point of reference for the local community. Its forecourt is transformed into an open-air venue for concerts and movie screenings during the Festival des Canotiers in June, and then the Festival Septembre Indien. Take a neighbourhood stroll from the church by heading up steep Rue de Ménilmontant to a staircase on the left that plunges down to a walkway along La Petite Ceinture, an abandoned railway line that has been left for rewilding and vegetable allotments. Further up Rue de Ménilmontant, turn into Rue de l’Ermitage for a flashback to life in the 19th century – the labyrinth of shady cobbled lanes and lush gardens forming Villa de l’Ermitage and Cité Leroy are still lined with utopian worker’s cottages.

Stay

Ménilmontant is so far off the tourist radar that accommodation options remain limited. Your best bet is a spacious apartment in the self check-in Le Bellevue (from €100), located on the corner of the vibrant Rue Boyer.

In the UK, there is a proud tradition of naming long-distance walking paths after talented reprobates. I mean the various opium fiends, international terrorists and child murderers who make up our colourful national tapestry (see the Coleridge Way, Drake’s Trail and the Richard III Trail). So perhaps a 30-mile weekend walk dedicated to the Mortimers, and their most notorious scion, Sir Roger, is an appropriate addition to the weave.

After all, this is the man who allegedly slept with a reigning queen (Isabella), probably killed her husband (Edward II), and certainly became de facto tyrant of the realm for three turbulent years in the 1320s, feathering his own nest relentlessly during that time. They don’t make world leaders like that any longer, do they?

Roger’s stomping ground, however, was not where you might expect: he was a marcher lord on the Welsh border, and his family trail wends its way through tranquil countryside from Ludlow in Shropshire to the quiet Herefordshire border town of Kington, the perfect distance for a weekend hike. But can such a location, so peaceful and orderly today, live up to the outrageous standards of Sir Roger? The Mortimer Trail itself has existed for some years, but now a new guidebook and app have brought this magnificently horrid hero back into the limelight.

I start then in Ludlow, a town now famous for its foodie traditions, but also a place that oozes history throughout its crooked lanes. Walking down Broad Street, I admire the bay window of The Angel, from which Horatio Nelson waved to the crowd in 1802, with his left hand, of course. Local legend has it that the hero of the Battle of the Nile leaned out the window and shouted, “Thank you for the oak,” to the adoring crowd below. Behind him stood Emma Hamilton, his mistress, and her husband, Sir William, the trailing third in a menage that would thrill the British public until Nelson died at Trafalgar in 1805. (The Angel restaurant is currently closed but will reopen soon.)

I get my lunch under the walls of the castle at CSONS, one of Ludlow’s celebrated cafes. There is a lot of good food in this town, plus an excellent farmer’s market and at least three “parlour pubs” – front room pubs marked only by a lamp outside and often serving only one type of beer from a cask.

The castle in Ludlow is really the start of the trail, being the seat of English borderland power in medieval times and worth a detour. Look out for the solar wing, built for Queen Isabella who stayed here in 1328. Sir Roger’s wife, Joan, was also in attendance, apparently, but slept in a different wing. History has not recorded where Sir Roger spent the night; no doubt Netflix will, when they get hold of the story.

The trail sets off across Dinham Bridge, climbing up into Mortimer Forest with great views back to the castle. Watch out for the deer and goshawks that are resident in this ancient woodland. My first night is in Salwey Lodge whose farming owners, Arabella and Hugo, not only organise walks along the trail, but have devised their own handy guiding app. They also shuttle visitors around, so no car is needed (Ludlow is on the main railway line between Shrewsbury and Hereford).

The lodge proves to be the perfect place to get into the ambience of a regicide like Sir Roger. An ancestor of the Salweys was sent to the Tower for anti-monarchial tendencies and was implicated in the Farnley Wood Plot of 1663. Richard’s Castle, close to the lodge, is where he is thought to have lived, but little remains, although there is a lovely decommissioned 12th-century church worth visiting. The lodge is atmospheric, lined with the type of ancient ancestral oil portraits that most families, including my own, inadvertently forgot to commission. The superlative food comes from the house’s vegetable garden, the farm and local suppliers.

Day two of the walk takes me up through more woodland to fabulous views of the Shropshire countryside, notably from an iron age hill fort at Croft Ambrey, abandoned after six centuries of occupation at around the time of Emperor Claudius’s invasion in AD 43.

I pass only a handful of people on the path during the entire weekend, but see plenty of reminders that this area was once a highly militarised and dangerous borderland. All through the middle ages, the Welsh kept up a sturdy resistance to the Norman conquerors, who responded with unwavering brutality. Sir Roger, of course, was right there in thick of it until the newly crowned Edward III had the insufferable upstart hanged at Tyburn. (The ruins of Roger’s main residence, Wigmore Castle, can be seen from Croft Ambrey, but rather inexplicably the trail does not go there. The closest diversion would add five miles.)

The path rolls along pleasantly, unveiling magnificent panoramas of the Welsh mountains, before dropping down to the River Lugg and an overnight stop at the Riverside Inn. The food here is excellent, serving the kind of breakfast that, without some self-restraint, could nail you to an early siesta rather than set up a big day of hiking.

This starts with a long ramble by the river, then up into quiet woodlands and high heaths, with plenty of historical military madness. The serene church at Byton was sacked several times by angry Welsh nobles, including the last Welsh king, Llywelyn ap Gruffudd, and later Owain Glyndŵr. The Mortimers, of course, were always in the mix. Llywelyn was killed in 1282 by the forces of Edmund Mortimer, Roger’s father, and then another Edmund, Roger’s great-grandson, cocked a snook at Henry IV by marrying Glyndŵr’s daughter, Catrin, in 1402.

It is possible to shorten this third day at a 12-mile limit, finishing at the church in Titley, but for me it’s much better to press on, rising up towards the Welsh border and a meeting with the ultimate symbol of militarisation and tribal anxiety, Offa’s Dyke. The path curls up across a featureless mountain pasture, and there it is – the formidable security wall of its day, designed to keep two irredeemably hostile peoples apart, now a little ripple in the earth which sheep use to see if there’s more grass in the next field. Sit down and ruminate on human folly before striding into Kington where there’s a decent cafe, the Border Bean, and wait for Arabella to collect you.

The trip was supported by Visit Shropshire. Download the new Mortimer Trail guidebook or buy it in Castle Bookshop, Ludlow. Salwey Lodge offers a four-night Mortimer Trail package that includes accommodation at the lodge and Riverside Inn, walking information, breakfasts, packed lunches, one dinner and local transfers for £560 per person