Shropshire Hills and Ironbridge Gorge – Five days

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 Wrekin is a long steady climb with amazing views from the top which show a 360 degree vista of Shropshire and neighbouring counties. Then it’s all downhill to get to the world heritage site of Ironbridge Gorge. 

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!

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.

In the Shropshire Hills

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 – 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 Four – Into a magical revolution

From the hotel,  along Coalbrookdale. Into the Loamhole Dingle and to Coalbrookdale Iron Museum– the site of Abraham Darby’s first iron works that started the Industrial Revolution. On into the Severn Valley and to the the iconic Ironbridge itself. Along the old rail line to the Maws Tile area, to Coalport. Then into the woods of the east side of the Severn Valley, past the refurbished Bedlam furnace and back through Ironbridge town to the hotel.

Walk Five- From Stone to Iron

We walk from the stone quarries of the Ercall Hill, over Wrekin Hill and after lunch, on the Shropshire Way – onto the Ropework – a stretch of flat ridge where ropes where measured and cut to size -and into Coalbrookdale, before reaching the Ironbridge Gorge and the hotel. A linear walk.

Its all about meeting new friends. Each holiday is designed to be a friendly, relaxed and stress free occasion. Talking is as important as walking on Secrethills Walking Holidays. We don’t go in for discos, we may use an event that is taking place in the area we are in to boost the weekends activities – but its good, old fashioned chat that makes our short breaks successful.

“Make new friends that turn into old friends” – that’s our motto.

You might be surprised by what fun you’ll have with people who are older or younger than you during a holiday with us, and that’s exactly the sort of atmosphere we encourage; people find it very rewarding. It doesn’t matter what your reasons for traveling with us are, we’ve had people who are single, divorced or widowed, people who have partners that are unable to travel, and people who can’t holiday with their friends anymore as they’ve all got married themselves. There are people who want to make friends, see sights, and experience something completely new. Whatever your reason, we’ll welcome you with open arms and our friendly hosts will help you to get the most out of your holiday.

Don’t worry if this is the first time you have ventured to join a group holiday – its always a bit daunting – but we will look after you and ensure that you get used to being amongst friends again. Trust us to to get you back into the swing of things.

Oh – by the way – its not a dating agency – over the years we have had people meet and fall in love – but that’s just chance. Our aim is that you make like minded friends – just relax and enjoy.

Just arrive and enjoy.

To reserve a place on any of our holidays, please follow these simple instructions.

Reserve online  – once you have chosen your holiday, click on Proceed Booking and complete the online form. If you have difficulty reserving online, please  contact us (tel: 01694 723600, email: info@secrethillswalking.co.uk) and we will assist you to complete your booking.

Payment

Please note we cannot take credit/debit card details over the phone. You may pay by the following methods when you book online…

• Paypal – if you have a Paypal account, simply click on the link to the Paypal website.
• Credit / Debit card – we use Paypal to host our credit/debit cards facility because it is a very secure system. So if you want to pay with a card, simply click on this option which will take you to our page on the PayPal website. Check in there as a “Guest” to enable your card payment. You do not need to have a Paypal account for this transaction.
• We will also accept a Bank Transfer – you will find our account details on the booking form.
• Finally, we will also accept a cheque payable to Secret Hills Walking Holidays and sent to: Secret Hills Walking Holidays, 35 Sandford Avenue, Church Stretton, Shropshire, SY6 6BH

Please note than an initial deposit is required with each booking regardless of which payment method you choose. Your booking will be accepted when your payment (deposit or full balance) is received. Note – if you are reserving a holiday within a month of the start date then the full amount is due immediately and no deposit should be paid.

It is important that you read the terms and conditions before you sign the booking form.

Note – if you are reserving a holiday within a month of the start date then the full amount is due immediately and no deposit should be paid.