We are back to cooler weather, and with Sunday morning being the best time to find the roads quiet, I hopped onto No.6 and set off to find a view to sketch. Being on the edge of the Shropshire Hills, it's only a matter of a couple of miles of pedalling, before the skies open up and the county is laid out in vast fields, with views disappearing into the distance towards Wales and Cheshire.
It's been an intense summer, and Shropshire, like the rest of the UK, is parched and bleached. The sky was faded denim blue, cloud ragged, and the Wrekin sulked low on the horizon.
I found a gateway with room to park up. I'd brought a sketchbook and a limited palette of pastel pencils; I had no intention of producing an intricate masterpiece, just a five minute study of sky and land.
No.6 came in handy for a temporary materials stand.
I'm very pleased with my new A5 Hahnemühle Cappuchinno sketchbook; although the paper is smooth, it holds pastel well, especially once fixed and the tinted pages make colours glow. I got the basics down and took some extra photos for reference.
Cycling home, and it seems as if autumn has arrived early, but without the delicious damp winds and mellow sunshine. We are forecast a little rain soon, and the baked earth needs it.
