Shropshire Hills and Ironbridge Gorge – Five days

We offer four and a half days walking.

We start on arrival day afternoon from the hotel reception at 2.30pm, for a two and half hour introductory walk in the surrounding countryside. If you can’t make the first afternoon walk, then you will get to meet everyone before dinner. We then walk all day for the following four days, finishing around 3pm on the last day.

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.

In the Ironbridge Gorge

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.

Grades and Difficulty

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.

A geological master piece – an area of Outstanding Natural beauty – an AONB- these hills are a walkers delight.

Rolling hills, but some interestingly magical summits, and lovely stream valleys that delve deep into the hills to provide excellent walking for the discerning walker. You will be enchanted by the magic of the Longmynd, the majesty of the Stiperstones ridge and the volcanic Stretton Hills with Caer Caradoc the flagship hill.

Added to this – the Severn Valley gorge, and Ironbridge – a world heritage site with plenty of walking and historical reminders of bygone industrial might.