Shropshire Hills and Church Stretton -Five days holiday

Accommodation is single en suite rooms – no sharing. We use the best guest houses in Church Stretton – Victoria House  and Yew Tree Inn-  for the May and September holidays.

https://victoriahouse-shropshire.co.uk  https://www.yewtree-allstretton.co.uk/

At Victoria House, using vintage and antique furniture, original art and luxurious soft furnishings, each room at Victoria House is individually designed with your comfort in mind.

If you need to stay connected with friends, family or work our Wi-Fi is free throughout the house.

Each EN SUITE room has a mini fridge, TV.

With its back garden overlooking the 11th Century church, this charming Victorian townhouse is centrally located yet within easy walking distance of the Shropshire Hills.

Mynd House, positioned underneath underneath the Long Mynd, in Little Stretton, is a historic Edwardian villa, brimming with character and located in an AONB (Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty).Seven of the spacious ensuite rooms offer views of the hills, and our single room has a garden view.

Breakfast

Everything is cooked fresh to order to the highest standards using quality ingredients which are sourced locally. We only ever use free range eggs and our bacon and sausages are made with meat from the outdoor-reared pigs. We cater for all dietary requirements – nothing is too much trouble if we have advance warning. Just ask and we will do our utmost to accommodate you!

Dinner

 We dine as a group in one of Church Stretton’s restaurants – so you can choose what you eat from the very varied menus. The cost of dinner is yours.

Lunch

We have lunch at one of Shropshire’s lovely country pubs.

Your walks leaders will make this holiday relaxing and the wonderful walking will stimulate your enthusiasm for the wide outdoors.

Flexibility

We offer you the opportunity  – to extend your holiday by booking additional nights.

Getting to Church Stretton

By train – Church Stretton is the nearest station, some  half a mile from the hotel..  Contact us for a transfer to hotel from the station to Victoria House-See http://www.nationalrial.co.uk

Victoria House is in the centre of the town of Church Stretton. close to restaurants and a supermarket, as well as individual shops often visited by tourists.

By car –  the post code for your Sat Nav is SY6 6BX .

Full detailed journey instruction will be sent with your Joining Details prior to the holiday

Your holiday programme

Join us for four and a half  days of  superb walking in the Shropshire Hills around Church Stretton and in the iconic World Heritage site of the Ironbridge Gorge-  a land of surprising contrasts – from the gently rolling plains in the north to the unexpectedly stunning hills in the south – there’s something for everyone. Our holiday base is Church Stretton, right in the centre of Shropshire’s most beautiful upland scenery. A town set in the Shropshire Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

 These hills are a genuine secret – unbelievably quiet and still relatively undiscovered compared to other popular walking areas. There are places here where you can completely get away from civilisation which really makes for a genuine relaxing experience. From the top of the Long Mynd, you can see right to the Welsh coast, far out over the Cheshire plains, the Peak District, the Malvern Hills and the Black Mountains – a true 360 degree experience.

You’ll see plenty of sheep quietly grazing the hills and even our own herd of wild ponies and their cute foals. Depending on the time of year, you will see glorious swathes of deep purple heather on the upland moors or the amazing golden shades of autumnal bracken on the hillsides but what you won’t see are hordes of people… this is a quiet land.

The Ironbridge Gorge – a wonder of our industrial history and heritage – had excellent walking- and we view at every corner the brilliance of our ancestors technical industrial knowledge.

So why not come and experience a true land “that time forgot”.

Your holiday is four and a half days of superb walking –  Sunday to Thursday- inclusive. We will finish walking at 3.30pm on the last day -Thursday.

On Sunday afternoon, we offer a half day walk – starting at 2.30pm, to meet other guests, meet our leaders and stretch your legs after your journey. The walk will be 2.5 hours duration.

Some of the walks we will choose from …

Walk One – The Long Mynd

A superb walk through Carding Mill Valley,  ascending to the top of the Long Mynd at Pole Bank. Walking along the heather-clad ridge before descending down one of the many delightful valleys for our lunch stop at a local hostelry. In the afternoon, we ascend Ragleth Hill and walk along it’s ridgeline with superb views in all directions. We finally return to Church Stretton in time for a cuppa.

 Walk Two – The Stretton Hills

Our walk takes us to the ancient and picturesque village of Cardington, over the Stretton Hills in the morning, passing ancient rock formations, steeped in local legend. Lunch is at the magnificent Royal Oak – a 16th Century hostel, offering a great menu selection. We return to Church Stretton via the Wilderness and moody Caer Caradoc, site of an ancient hill fort.

 Walk Three – The Stiperstones Ridge

We travel out over the Long Mynd to reach the rocky tors of the Stiperstones ridge. This is a magnificent drive in Shropshire’s best hill country. Our walk takes us under the legendary Devil’s Chair before descending to the old lead mining village of Snailbeach. Lunch is at the quaint Stiperstones Inn.  In the afternoon, we pass several old lead mines as we view the Stiperstones Ridge from a distance ending up at The Bog Visitor Centre for a cuppa and cake. Transport back to Church Stretton.

Walk Four – The South End of the Long Mynd

Through Rectory Wood, and ascend Town brook valley to the top of the Longmynd, We the walk along it’s spine with magnificent views, and round the south end of the hill to Hamperley, before arriving at Little Stretton. After lunch, either pub or packed, we ascend Ragleth Hill, walk along it’s magical ridge line before descending into Church Stretton for tea.

Walk Five – Ashes  and  Batch Valleys

We walk up Ashes Valley to Pole bank and along the Longmynd spine to it’s north end. We descend down the Gallups and the Batch Valley into All Stretton for lunch. We wander out towards Caer Caradoc in the afternoon, take in wooded Helmeth Hill, and back into the town for tea.

Walk Six – The Blacksmith’s Walk and Long Mynd Heights

A pastoral walk, out to Acton Scott and Wenlock Edge, and around Ragleth Hill. We follow the route of Blacksmiths’ who looked after the heavy horses on the Acton estate, eventually reaching Little Stretton for lunch. We ascend Ashes Hollow and descend the Burway in an undulating afternoon walk.

Walk Seven- The Ironbridge Gorge Explored

A short journey to the gorge – and we walk along both bans of the River Severn, with the iconic Ironbridge in the middle.We cover the Maws tile museum, the Coalport China factory area and the first Iron Foundry in Coalbrookdale, Walking between these heritage sites through woodland and valley is splendid.

Walk Eight- The Ironbridge Gorge – and Wenlock Edge

A short journey to the gorge- we follow the Shropshire Way to the market town of Much Wenlock- and walk a part of Wenlock Edge – a narrow limestone escarpment running 17 miles towards Craven Arms.

Excellent walking threw woodland initially then out into the open around Much Wenlock and the edge.

Just arrive and enjoy.

Grade of Walking

The paths in the Shropshire Hills are exceptionally good underfoot. There is an active Footpaths Group which regularly surveys paths and reports problems. This keeps the standard extremely high which makes walking in this area a real delight. You don’t have to worry about wading through waist high crops or stumbling over worn out stiles, you can simply relax and enjoy the views.

Our walks are usually between 8-11 miles. We don’t rush because we want you to have time to enjoy the amazing views and take those photos as mementos. Yes, you will be going up hills – the Long Mynd is 517 metres above sea level, but Church Stretton is already 200 metres high so the ascents are not great and are very gradual – we always take our time. Nor are there precarious descents , in fact the whole area is pretty safe so if you are an inexperienced walker, these are ideal hills to start on!

We love our hills – we’d like you to love them too. Church Stretton is full of people who fell in love with the hills on holiday and decided to retire here years later – that might even be you one day!
We regard the walking in the Shropshire Hills is moderate – some ascents and descents but not severe and with a good level of walking fitness most people will cope.

Exclusions

Although our leaders are well trained and experienced in dealing with different capabilities of our walking clients, if they have any concerns about any clients ability or suitability to undertake safely any walking activity we plan or they feel that participation of an individual may affect the groups safety and cohesion, then they have full permission to exclude that client from an activity.

They will try at all times to provide an alternative suggested activity, though this may involve the client in additional local cost.

We rarely have to enforce this above recommendation, but it is a sensible and necessary protection for the individual client, the group and the leaders.

The Local area

Church Stretton is an historic Market Town situated in the heart of the South Shropshire hills on the English/Welsh border known as The Marches. It is the only town in the Shropshire Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty

The area is renowned worldwide for its geology, with some of the oldest rock formations in existence.

Church Stretton and its picturesque surrounding villages forms an excellent base for the country lover and sportsman alike at all times of the year whether hikers, horse riders, mountain bikers, or naturalists . The Long Mynd rising above the west of the town is renowned for gliding, hang gliding and paragliding, and boasts the second highest golf course in England. The beautiful countryside, with its wild uplands and breathtaking views, features prominently in the books of Mary Webb, A E Housman, and Malcolm Saville.

Church Stretton is very well situated to act as a base for visits to many local attractions. At the heart of an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, there are market towns & villages, castles, hill forts and much much more nearby.  Whether you walk, go by train, car or bus…with great scenery along the way.

It’s not just the stunning scenery that will captivate you, but the people and places, its history and heritage, the walking and wildlife, its food and festivals.  Combined they offer magical experiences. Such magic is best summed up by the Independent newspaper review in 2009 which claimed Church Stretton to be “England’s ultimate retreat”.

Near Church Stretton

Within a short car or train journey, you have Ironbridge Gorge/Shrewsbury – its castle, gardens and medieval centre/Ludlow and its foodie centres/ the Mid Wales coast line/Powys Castle/Historic Chester and the Dee Valley/the Severn Valley, its railway and Bridgnorth town.