Up on the roof

Today's the day ........................ for the Lion's tale

I could have told you all about the geology of the Stiperstones - an iconic upland landscape with craggy quartzite outcrops - but I have a feeling that you might not find it as interesting as I did today. So instead, I'll say a bit about the hotel we're staying in, because that's definitely got a tale or two to tell.

It dates back to the early 1600s and was well known as a resplendent coaching inn. Mail coaches went directly to London from The Lion and one of these was the first ever coach to cover over 100 miles in a day.

A few of the famous people that have stayed here are:
De Quincy, the English author and intellectual
Prince William of Gloucester, later King William IV
Madam Tussaud
Paganini, Italian violinist and composer
Jenny Lind, the Swedish Nightingale
Benjamin Disraeli, Prime Minister
Charles Dickens
Charles Darwin - the night before he left for his five-year voyage and survey on HMS Beagle which would form the basis of his theory and works On the Origin of Species by means of Natural Selection.

And now us of course ...................