Walking with Offa 13

THE BOG | Stiperstones THE BOG | Stiperstones THE BOG | Stiperstones

Walking with Offa 13 GETTING THERE: You can find public transport options Walking Food, drink and throughout Shropshire at: 13 accommodation www.travelshropshire.co.uk. with Offa Imagine patrolling Or contact Traveline on 08712 002233. the border without a decent pub. How BY BUS: The Bog Visitor Centre is served by the Long would Offa’s Dyke Mynd & Stiperstones Shuttle Bus which runs at have been built weekends and Bank Holidays from April to September. www.shropshirehillsshuttles.co.uk The ‘Land of Dereliction’ without them? Over a thousand years BY CAR: Car parking is available at The Bog Car Park in the shadow of the later, keep up the SY5 0JN. tradition and stop Devil’s Chair for a drink and a To get the best from your walk we recommend bite to eat at the comfortable walking boots, waterproof jacket and overtrousers, warm clothing, gloves and warm hat or at The Bog Visitor A 5½ mile walk along the edge of the sun cream and sun hat (depending on the season!), a spectacular Stiperstones then easy Centre. mobile phone and something to eat and drink. Sheep Volunteers at The Bog Visitor Centre can provide you and cattle are often in the fields on these routes – dogs walking across a valley scattered with with hot and cold drinks with a sumptuous choice of must be kept under close control or on leads at all times. mining remains, taking 2 to 3 hours homemade cakes. You can glean information on all aspects of the area, the geology, wildlife and folklore. Walking with Offa Promoting the Welsh English border Craft and local gift items for sale. The centre is open as a great place to get your boots on, enjoy the beautiful every day from the end of March to end of October. countryside and indulge in some fabulous food and drink. w ith For more details contact the Shropshire Hills Area g 10.00am-5.00pm Tuesday to Sunday n O i f k f a of Outstanding Natural Beauty Partnership on l

12.00pm-5.00pm Monday W 01588 674080 There is a shop and pub at the nearby village of or see www.shropshirehillsaonb.co.uk Stiperstones: The Stiperstones Inn Many thanks to Paul Davis of Lower Farm Holidays Tel: 01743 791327 for developing this walk. There is a pub at Ratlinghope: There are 18 pub walks in this series and four ‘Days The Bridges Tel: 01588 650260 Out’. Download, including podcasts, from www. shropshirewalking.co.uk/walking-with-offa. Accommodation listings can be found on Turn your Smartphone into a complete outdoors GPS. Download an app: www.viewranger.com and www.visitshropshirehills.co.uk search for ‘Walking with Offa’. A guide featuring 12 walks is available. The Welsh English Border - where King Offa met his match! One of a series of walks with spectacular views and glimpses of This project has been supported by history, wildlife and archaeology. Advantage West Midlands’ Natural Shropshire Hills Assets Programme in partnership with Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty Natural England. in the Shropshire Hills Walking The Bog & Stiperstones A 5½ mile walk along the edge of the spectacular Stiperstones then easy walking with Offa 13 across a valley scattered with mining remains, taking two to three hours.

Start from The Bog Visitor Centre, SY5 From stile head straight for large oak tree 8 You have now joined the Flenny Bank 0JN. The walk crosses grassland and bearing slightly left to find a double stile short cut and the Mucklewick Walk. Cross SHREWSBURY follows tracks with eighteen stiles. before tree. Keep on the same bearing over a sleeper bridge and aim for a stile in a the brow of hill and head down to a stile PONTESBURY 1 From The Bog Car Park follow the road fence ahead into pasture field. Bear left leading onto road. uphill, using the permissive path which to another stile and continue in the same Minsterley runs parallel to the road. At the sharp bend 4 Turn right and follow road through direction to a gate then bear right to a Stiperstones right in the road go through field gate the village of Shelve, passing the holiday double stile in fence. Cross the field bearing THE BOG left to a stile in corner of field leading onto ahead which leads onto a fenced grassy cottages at Lower Farm on your left. Bridges track uphill. Follow this track, through gates Continue past the church and the farm on stoned track. Turn left and follow the track back to The Bog Visitor Centre. along the edge of the Stiperstones National your left. CHURCH STRETTON Nature Reserve. The wide view to your left 5 Turn left and follow farm looks into Wales across what was referred track which runs downhill. to during a period of mining activity as Follow this fenced lane until the ‘Land of Dereliction’. This is difficult to you reach an enclosed pen. imagine now looking at the lovely rural Take the gate on the left hand landscape. side. Bear slightly left uphill to 2 When you reach a cross roads in tracks reach the top of Flenny Bank. continue following track ahead. When 6 Pass a wood on your left you reach an information board turn left hand side and keep along through a gate onto bridleway and walk the ridge crossing stiles until straight across field to bridleway gate. After you reach a stile on your going through gate descend steep slope right where you can see the with care and continue down valley. Bear remains of Old Grit Mine slightly left when you reach a quarry face below you. Do not cross this on your left and continue downhill on track stile but turn left down the through gates, and past some houses to bank to a stile to the left of reach the road at Tankerville Pottery. Shelve Pool. 3 Turn left onto the road and go slightly 7 Follow the woodland uphill for about 50 metres then fork right boundary of the pool to a onto footpath. Here you can make a fingerpost then bear slightly diversion to investigate Tankerville Mine. left to a footbridge at top of Continue on footpath ahead past stile field. Go ahead to double stile then over a stile into an old hedged lane. then rise up to stoned track Keep ahead through gate into pasture field and follow to tall waymark. where the path follows the hedge on right Go ahead down to stiles by to a stile leading into a large field. Keep gateway. the fence on your left to fence corner and head for stile in fence slightly to your left.