Leaflet design and photography by MA Creative design and photography by MA Creative Leaflet Cowlton house, Abandoned enhance and celebrate local history and wildlife. wildlife. and history local celebrate and enhance A programme of work to raise awareness of, of, awareness raise to work of programme A Landscape Partnership Scheme Partnership Landscape The Stiperstones & Corndon Hill Country Country Hill Corndon & Stiperstones The records.stiperstonesandcorndon.co.uk www.macreative.co.uk Stiperstones and Corndon area, please visit: visit: please area, Corndon and Stiperstones For more information on the archaeology of the the of archaeology the on information more For www.minsterleymotors.co.uk Bus timetables are available at: available are timetables Bus via the bus stop near White Grit along the A488 the along Grit White near stop bus the via Otherwise you can reach the medium loop walk walk loop medium the reach can you Otherwise the way... the but you’ll need to change buses at Montgomery. Montgomery. at buses change to need you’ll but start from Shrewsbury will get you there too, too, there you get will Shrewsbury from start many wonderful views and wildlife along along wildlife and views wonderful many Welshpool, Montgomery and Newtown. An early early An Newtown. and Montgomery Welshpool, and a National Nature Reserve. There are are There Reserve. Nature National a and There is access to Churchstoke by bus from from bus by Churchstoke to access is There an Iron-Age Hill Fort, Bronze-Age cairns cairns Bronze-Age Fort, Hill Iron-Age an Public transport Public Explore this ancient landscape to discover discover to landscape ancient this Explore you up and over all three of the hills. hills. the of three all over and up you challenging Three Hills Hike, which takes takes which Hike, Hills Three challenging to the top of Roundton Hill, and the more more the and Hill, Roundton of top the to which gives you the option of climbing climbing of option the you gives which loop, as far as Todleth, a medium loop, loop, medium a Todleth, as far as loop, of loops. You can choose between a short short a between choose can You loops. of and medium route variations. variations. route medium and The walks explore the three hills in a series series a in hills three the explore walks The short with Churchstoke, above hills historic the over walk 11km challenging A Corndon. Corndon. Hike Hills by the hills of Todleth, Roundton and and Roundton Todleth, of hills the by Churchstoke, or Yr Ystog, is overlooked overlooked is Ystog, Yr or Churchstoke, Three The The Three Hills Hike Hills Three The overgrown lane through the hedge as you 6 From the ruined building at Cowlton, follow walk further up. Look for a stile in the hedge the track for another 1.5km until you reach a which takes you onto the lane and follow this, point where there are several field gates on uphill, to Old Church Stoke. either side. 4 Cross the road junction to a track opposite up to a gate that has a stile beside it. Climb up a little further to a stile into a field on the left Medium loop and diagonally up the slope to cross two more Churchstoke – Roundton – Todleth stiles. Turn right and cross a house driveway Approx 8km, allow 3½ hours onto the lane. Follow the lane uphill until reaching a junction next to a cottage called To follow the medium loop, take the bridle The summit rest stop, Corndon Hill Castle Ring House. gate on the right. Follow the track ahead, keep right and descend along a fenceline beneath the old spoil heaps This is another Route description Short Loop ancient trackway which eventually reaches The Three Hills Hike – Churchstoke, Corndon Cottage. Re-join the path at Churchstoke – Todleth Point 12. Corndon, Roundton and Todleth Approx 5km, allow 2½ hours From the entrance to the Churchstoke 1 From here you can take a detour on to the To climb up and over Corndon Hill, continue Shopping Centre’s lower car park, cross the 7 short loop back towards Churchstoke. Follow along the track ahead for a further 300m or main road with care to reach a wooden gate the lane ahead downhill, ignore the junction so until you see a small gate and stile up on immediately opposite. Through this, take the right signed to Roundton Hill Nature Reserve. the right. You face a steep climb straight up short residential road ahead and then follow Carry on to find a stile on the right and a tiny to the top of the hill! the road sign right towards Crosslikey Close. footbridge into the nature reserve where The upland mass of Corndon Hill was formed Turn right between two rows of garages to there’s an information panel. Follow the by a volcanic intrusion of hard dolerite rock. The find a stile behind into a field. footpath alongside a small stream. The path area around has been a focus for human activity Follow the left hand edge of the field, over a curls round the foot of Roundton Hill, past a 2 from prehistoric times to the present day. stile to reach another at the end of the field. couple of houses and through a small gate, Follow the line of a hedge to reach a gate in down to a track. From here, rejoin the Three the corner of the field. After the next, smaller Hills Hike at Point 15, below. field cross a ditch in the direction of the house ahead. Turn immediately right following the 5 Take the small lane on the left signed as a dead ditch to find a small footbridge back across end, passing a house called The Pant. This is into another field. From here you get a good an ancient route which climbs up towards view up to Todleth and Roundton Hills. Corndon Hill. Follow this lane enjoying the 3 Keep left round the edge of the field and then wonderful views which open up around along the long line of trees which mark the you. Eventually you reach a ruined house at route of an old green way up to the hamlet Cowlton. of Old Church Stoke. You follow the line of this ancient track onwards, though a gate in a The landscape feels much wilder as you see Lan hedge and then slightly left up to a field gate Fawr ahead and Corndon Hill away on the right. in a fence. There are glimpses down into the Pass through a gate on the now grassy track. Path near Corndon Cottage Cairn Priest Weston Corndon Hill 8 Cairn Tumulus 7 Cairn 9 Cairn Three Hills Hike on/o roads View south-east from Corndon Hill Cwmdulla Short Loop Farm The cluster of burial cairns on Corndon Hill were Medium Loop Cairn built during the Bronze Age (2,300 – 1,200 BC). Footpath Car park Cairn Each probably covers a single burial or cremation. 6 10 The cairn stones have been later disturbed to form Bridleway Public phone 12 shelters or shooting butts. These monuments may 11 Open Access Viewpoint Corndon be contemporary with the stone circle at Mitchell’s 13 Cottage Public House Fold on Stapeley Hill just to the north. Information board Picrite, a hard igneous rock ideal for tools, was Church Corndon quarried somewhere between Hyssington and Farm 0 500m 1km Cowlton Corndon. Corndon may therefore have been the site of a Neolithic – Bronze Age axe Brithdir factory and several axe hammers and battle 14 axes have been found. At the top there is a bench beside 8 Old the trig point with fine panoramic Church 5 Hillfort views. From here, head on the Stoke A490 Roundton same line East to the next cairn, 4 Hill with Brown Clee in the far 15 distance. 3 Chaseleyfield From the second, larger cairn 16 9 2 bear south on a faint path. Follow STILE 17 scattered boulders until reaching Todleth Todleth a long fenceline. Keep the fence Hill on your right as this marks the 2 STILE boundary of the Open Access 18 Land. Follow this around until Hurdley you come to a sharp right hand GARAGES STILE corner. Continue along the fence Churchstoke line, South West,on a faint path. 1 INSET MAP CROSSLIKEY 10 At the next fence corner keep on ahead to GATE reach the final cairn. To descend, there are A489 just sheep tracks down the hill – take the A489 1START Churchstoke gentlest gradient down, eventually winding Shopping Centre through gorse bushes, towards Corndon Crown Copyright. All rights reserved. Cottage. Shropshire Council 100049049. 2018 From here, there are views across on to the opposite side of a broad valley to the remains of There are remains of small-scale 19th-century the old quarry on Corndon. Near the bottom is an barytes mining activity on the SW slopes of 18 At the fence corner carry on ahead along a ancient Rowan tree which is covered in berries in Roundton Hill, including waste heaps and adits. At very old hedgeline to a waymark post from late summer. dusk you may also see bats flying in and out of the where you can see Churchstoke. Follow 11 Go through the gate, across a small stream old mine adits. the line of the old wall and hedge downhill, and through a second gate with Corndon and to the left. This leads to a cattle grid at Cross the ford and go through the gate at Cottage on your left. 15 the foot of a farm track, emerging onto a the entrance to the reserve.