Discover Shropshire Walking www.shropshirewalking.co.uk
Grindley Brook Whitchurch Waterways Country Park WHITCHURCH Brown Moss Chirk World Fenn’s HeritageCHIRK Site Moss Tilstock St Martin’s Whixall Prees The Mere Moss Heath Route 25 Country Park Bettiseld Weston Route 26 Welshampton Prees Higher Heath Rhyn ELLESMERE Whixall GOBOWEN Welsh Route 23 Selattyn Route 22 Prees Hindford Frankton Colemere Edstaston Whittington Lower Country Park The Old Frankton Racecourse Route 27 OSWESTRY WEM Route 24 Morda Tilley Lee Brockhurst Queen’s Trefonen Maesbury Head Corbet Wood Clive Lynclys Country Park Grinshill Pant Nesscliffe Sansaw Heath Country Park LLANYMYNECH Route 21 Shawbury Kinnerley Llanymynech Hadnall Wilcott Heritage Site Nessclie Route 18 Astley Route 20 High Ercall Felton Butler Melverley Route 19 Shrawardine Montford Bridge
Bicton Route 17 Ford Shelton Haughmond WELLINGTON SHREWSBURY Hill Wrockwardine Route 16 Bayston Hill Wroxeter THE Lyth Hill WREKIN Little TELFORD Country Park Wenlock Longden PONTESBURY Horsehay
Minsterley COALBROOKDALE Ironbridge World Route 15 Heritage Site Route 14 Pulverbatch Snailbeach Route 13 Heritage Site Snailbeach Farley Stiperstones Picklescott MUCH WENLOCK The Bog Visitor Centre Route 8 Shropshire Hills Route 12 Ratlinghope Bridges AONB THE STIPERSTONES CHURCH STRETTON Churchstoke Route 1 Wentnor Wilderhope BRIDGNORTH Route 9 Hope Bowdler Route 7 BISHOP’S Acton Scott CASTLE LONG WMYNDorking Farm Route 6
Colebatch Munslow Aston Munslow Alveley Lydbury WENLOCK EDGE Severn Valley North Route 10 Route 2 Sibdon Country Park Route 3 Carwood Highley Newcastle BROWN Hopesay CLEE HILL Clunton CRAVEN ARMS Stokesay Coldgreen Castle Secret Hills Shropshire Hills Discovery Centre CLUN Kinlet AONB Onibury TITTERSTONE CLEE HILL Route 11 Route 4 Bromeld Hoptonbank Route 5 CLEOBURY LUDLOW Cleehill MORTIMER
The European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development: Europe investing in rural areas Hills, woods, rivers, waterways, history, wildlife, meres & mosses
Originally devised in 1980, the Shropshire Way was a 136-mile trail running mainly through the county’s Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, the Shropshire Hills featuring the great hog’s back of the Long Mynd, the mysterious outcrops of the Stiperstones and the unique Wenlock Edge. Links from the south of the county then took it to Wem and on to Whitchurch where it met the Sandstone Trail. In 2007 a major two year programme upgraded the southern sections and “tweaked” the route to take it to places that were not possible to access in 1980. A new guidebook was written, the Shropshire Walking website expanded and a Harvey map created.
Haughmond Hill Oswestry Racecourse
Silver-studded blue butterfly, Prees Heath
Canal locks at Lower Frankton
View of Selattyn and beyond Llanymynech Heritage Area and Nature Reserve But the “Shroppy” Way still did not take you to some of the wonderful places in the north of the county so another programme of work started in 2010 using European LEADER funding. This time new routes were created in partnership with the Ramblers, local walking groups, the Canal and Rivers Trust, Shropshire Wildlife Trust, Pughs and Natural England taking the walker to the mystical Oswestry uplands and the Meres and mosses landscape that makes this area so special. The Way now includes: • Llanymynech with its fascinating Hoffmann lime kiln The Roving Bridge • Old Oswestry racecourse with its figure of eight track so loved by Mad Jack Mytton • Chirk world heritage site • Ellesmere • Fenns and Whixall mosses that are internationally important RAMSAR nature reserves • Brown Moss nature reserve There is something other-worldly about the north of Shropshire – a watery landscape of green and blue which seems to be lit up from Chirk World Heritage Site within. Glacial lakes and canals weave through a countryside with some amazing heritage and attractions. By Offa’s Dyke in the west is Llanymynech where the wildlife is as interesting as the remains of the 19th century limeworks. At Chirk, the World Heritage Site of Pontcysyllte Aqueduct and Canal begins as Thomas Telford’s aqueduct carries the waterway high over the Ceiriog valley before plunging into the four hundred metres of The Darkie tunnel. The second aqueduct at Pontcysyllte four miles on is even more hair-raising. There’s Hawkstone Park, near Wem, an 18th century fantasy of grottos and follies which made just the right location for the TV adaptation of The Chronicles of Narnia. And Ellesmere, where in spring you can watch herons hatch their Whixall Moss young and enjoy the lakeside views anytime of year. The market towns have character. And decent beer. Stonehouse of Oswestry, and Joules of Market Drayton are two of the local breweries. Artists and musicians seem to like it here so there’s plenty going on. The walks along canal towpaths and around the Meres and Mosses are not strenuous, but allow plenty of time, look closely and you’ll spot wildlife and heritage that you’ll probably see nowhere else. When you visit Fenn’s and Whixall Moss then make sure to have look at The Starfish site the new history trail, created with Natural England as part of the Meres on Whixall and Mosses Landscape Partnership Project, where a WW2 top secret Starfish site is being recreated. This was a bombing decoy where basket fires were lit every time there was a bomber raid on Merseyside in the hope that the Luftwaffe would bomb it and not the cities. For more details visit: www.shropshirewalking.co.uk where you can download the guides and maps as well as the podcasts sponsored by a local company Pughs.
Find out more at www.shropshirewalking.co.uk