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INTRODUCTION

A dry Montgomery Canal near Pant

Shropshire has been blessed with some of England’s most serene rural beauty, from its colourful red earth, which adds a richness to the pastures and cliffs, to sleek escarpments, rocky outcrops and verdant pastured ridges in the south and its wide plains and charming sleepy villages in the north. In between, the River Severn slithers and meanders like a serpent on its long journey from mountain to sea.

Poets and artists over the centuries have eulogised about the county, including Wilfred Owen, Mary Webb and DH Lawrence. In A Shropshire Lad, AE Housman wrote:

In valleys of springs of rivers

By Ony and Teme and Clun,

The country for easy livers,

The quietest under the sun

And Shropshire as a whole is quiet and peaceful, with only two big towns: Shrewsbury and Telford. Others, such as Whitchurch, Ludlow, Bishop’s Castle and Bridgnorth, are small but very pleasant market towns, many with a violent and colourful past, for Shropshire borders Wales and has often fallen to the Celtic princes from the west. Ruined castles in all corners of the county and Offa’s Dyke on the western border are a testament to this past.

The Shropshire Way

The original Shropshire Way was conceived by local Ramblers Association groups in 1978 to link Cheshire’s Sandstone Trail with the Offa’s Dyke Path and was completed two years later. The route in the first guide by Robert Kirk had a northern extension from Wem to Grindley Brook near Whitchurch and routes through Shrewsbury to Bridges, onwards over the Long Mynd to Ludlow and back to Wem via the Clee Hills, Wenlock Edge, Ironbridge and the Wrekin. The circular was complemented by a Clun extension via Offa’s Dyke, taking in Stiperstones and a little section of Offa’s Dyke.

Between 1991 and 1995 the route was updated and became a 140-mile circular based on Shrewsbury, but still with the northern extension to Grinshill. Unfortunately, in the 2000s the route gained 32 different loops and followers were sometimes confronted by signposts with the Shropshire Way pointing in three or four different directions. There was no distinction between loops and the main route on the ‘buzzard’ waymarkers.

In 2015 at the Shrewsbury Ramblers AGM proposals were made to identify a single main route and to re-form the Shropshire Way Association. After consultation a new 180-mile circular route (200 miles including the Whitchurch leg) based on Shrewsbury was devised using the best of the loops in the north, visiting Llanymynech, Ellesmere, Whixall and Wem and retaining the Sandstone Trail link to Grindley Brook. The southern route used the Clun extension rather than the shorter Long Mynd route. A Shrewsbury link was added for those who wanted either a north or a south circular route.

The Shropshire Way visits much of the county’s best countryside, although, by its nature as a county circular way, it cannot go everywhere. The hills of Stretton, including the Long Mynd and Caer Caradoc, have been omitted in favour of the Wrekin, the Stiperstones, the Offa’s Dyke borderlands and Wenlock Edge.

Shrewsbury, with an impressive castle, over 650 listed buildings and the lovely River Severn, makes a fine start to the walk and the Shropshire Way finds an ingenious route through green sylvan corridors out into the countryside to the south. Little Lyth Hill serves as a taster for things to come as the Shropshire Way enters the Shropshire Hills Area of Outstanding National Beauty (AONB). At day’s end you come down through the lovely Golden Valley to Bridges, a tiny community with an inn and a hostel, sheltered in folds between the Long Mynd and Stiperstones. Stiperstones, a fine ridge of heather bilberry and jagged splintered tors, comes early the next day, with the fascinating offbeat little town of Bishop’s Castle coming at the end.

The view from Lyth Hill with the Lawley and Caer Caradoc on the horizon

On the following day the Way flirts with the Offa’s Dyke path for a while and descends a beautiful grassy ridge, the Cefns, to its conclusion at the medieval castle town of Clun. Two days of undulating hillside, woodland and riverside paths brings you to the south of the county at Ludlow, described by John Betjeman as ‘Probably the loveliest town in England’. Here, the once powerful castle town with fine Tudor and Georgian buildings overlooks the rivers Teme and Corve. In the background there’s an interesting rakish escarpment known as Titterstone Clee Hill, which will be the highlight of the next day. Although it’s been ravaged by quarrying and has masts and a couple of radomes sticking out from the summit, this is a fascinating place with a view of most of the Midland plains and the Welsh hills. The same can be said of Brown Clee Hill, the highest place in Shropshire.

Wenlock Edge provides easy limestone ridge-walking for half a day before the descent into Ironbridge, birthplace of the Industrial Revolution. This fascinating place deserves an extra day, so, if you’re thinking about having a rest day, make it here.

The iconic Wrekin provides the last real hill of the walk, although there will be a few small sandstone hills in the next couple of days. From Haughmond, where there’s a fine old abbey, you have the choice of curtailing the route and heading back on the 5-mile trek to Shrewsbury or doing the longer route around the plains of northern Shropshire. The northern route explores the market town of Wem and visits the mosses and meres around Whixall and Ellesmere. Canal towpaths aid progress and take you to Llanymynech, a little town straddling the Welsh–English border.

A grassy flood embankment known as the Argie, which runs parallel to the River Vyrnwy, leads the route back eastwards, always in the shadow of the distinctive peaks of the Breidden Hills. The very last small sandstone hill comes at Nesscliffe, where you can see a highwayman’s cave and huge red quarry cliffs. The last day is easy and highlighted by the pretty village of Shrawardine and a lovely walk back to Shrewsbury by the banks of the Severn.

For the readers who want to discover those missing hills, the Stretton Skyline Walk has been added: a challenging 19½-mile (31.4km) itinerary taking in the Long Mynd, Ragleth Hill, the Hope Bowdler Hills, Caer Caradoc and the Lawley. For those who prefer an easier schedule, this walk could be completed over two days with Church Stretton providing an ideal breaking point to stop overnight.

Shropshire’s history

The first known settlement in Shropshire is at the Roveries near Lydham, just north of Bishop’s Castle. Although the fort is Iron Age, evidence has been found of a Neolithic (Stone Age) settlement dating back to before 2000BC. Shropshire, like most of England at this time, was heavily afforested and the Stone Age people forged highways such as the Portway across the region, erected stone circles and standing stones and buried their dead in raised barrows (tumuli) on the ‘open’ ridges. Axes and other flint tools have been found all over the county. The first evidence of tree clearing comes from the people of the Bronze Age (2000BC to 800BC).

In the Iron Age period (800BC to AD43) the Celts put down roots and began to construct hilltop forts and settlements with roundhouses. Examples of these on the Shropshire Way include the forts topping the Wrekin, Bury Ditches and Nesscliffe. In Shropshire the Cornovii tribe ruled and probably had their capital on the Wrekin Hillfort. The tribe cleared large swaths of the valley woodland into fields where they grew cereals, peas, beans and cabbages.

The Cornovii were here when the Romans came to the area in AD47. They were led at this time by Virico. The Romans, under Governor Aulus Plautius, attacked the Wrekin fort and eventually overpowered it but Virico must have put up a good fight for the Romans named their city at nearby Wroxeter Viroconium (sometimes known as Uriconium) in honour of their enemy. The conquerors rapidly built forts of their own and roads such as Watling Street to link them. The Cornovii disappeared into history.

After the Romans abandoned Britain in the fourth century much of what we call Shropshire today became the Welsh Kingdom of Powys and later Pengwern. These border grounds were the scenes of many a battle. In 656 the region was overrun by Saxons and became part of Mercia. In 765 the Mercian King Offa built Watt’s Dyke to repel the Welsh. He then advanced with his troops to take Shrewsbury before driving them back into the hills. By 779 he had constructed the Offa’s Dyke earthwork border between Chepstow and Prestatyn.

King Edward the Elder merged Mercia into his kingdom of Wessex. The Danes made many forays into the region, mostly unsuccessful or short-lived. They succeeded in destroying the original Wenlock Priory but were eventually driven out by Edward. In 1006 England was divided into shires and Scrobbesbyrigscire (Shropshire) was born.

When the Normans conquered England in 1066 Wild Edric, a Saxon nobleman, owned much of Shropshire. He fought hard to repel the enemy but eventually had to surrender to William the Conqueror. Much of the land, including Shrewsbury, was ceded to Roger de Montgomerie. Over the next two centuries powerful castles were built at Shrewsbury, Ludlow, Clun, Bridgnorth and Bishop’s Castle. Many monasteries and abbeys were built at this time, including those at Shrewsbury, Haughmond, Much Wenlock and Buildwas. Scrobbesbyrigscire became Salopescira, which is the origin of Salop.

Ludlow Castle

There were frequent skirmishes between the Plantagenet kings and their Norman barons. At this time the Welsh were making inroads into the county again, with Prince Rhys flattening Clun Castle and Prince Llewelyn the Great taking Shrewsbury Castle. In 1216 King John took the castles of Clun and Oswestry only to have John Fitz-Alan, an ancestor to the Dukes of Norfolk, take them back. In revenge King John had Oswestry burned to the ground and took Clun once more.

The Percy Rebellion against Henry IV concluded at the Battle of Shrewsbury in 1403, when the Lancastrian king defeated Henry Percy (Harry Hotspur) of Northumberland. The battle was immortalised by William Shakespeare’s play Henry IV.

By the late 14th century Ludlow had over 1100 inhabitants and had become one of the more powerful towns in England. In 1472 Edward IV founded the Council of the Marches, whose power was centred at Ludlow Castle. The council presided over much of Wales and the counties of the English Marches.

In Tudor times Shropshire’s population doubled and it developed a vibrant economy. Shrewsbury became an important cattle market at this time, and the wool and cloth trade flourished, while the navigable River Severn became crucial to transportation of the goods.

The people of Shropshire were largely Royalists. At the beginning of the Civil War in 1642 King Charles I visited Shrewsbury and Wellington, where he made the Declaration of Wellington, promising to uphold Protestantism, the laws of the country and the liberty of Parliament. Shrewsbury was forced to surrender in 1644, and the Royalist strongholds of Ludlow and Bridgnorth were captured in 1646. In 1689 the Council of the Marches was suspended and Ludlow’s importance waned.

The 18th century brought the Industrial Revolution. Coalbrookdale in the Severn Valley is generally regarded as its birthplace. In 1708 Abraham Darby leased the Coalbrookdale furnace and started iron-smelting with coke. John Wilkinson, a precision engineer of Broseley, built cylinders for early steam engines and also produced the first iron boat.

Under instructions from Abraham Darby III, Thomas Pritchard designed the first cast iron bridge in 1779 to link the important industrial towns of Broseley and Madeley in a place now known as Ironbridge. The 30-metre bridge, which has recently been repaired, still spans the Severn to this day and the two towns became known throughout the world for the production of tiles, clay pipes and bricks. The Ironbridge Gorge Museums (www.ironbridge.org.uk) are a must-see if you’re in the area.

The Iron Bridge at night

The coming of the canals, then the railways accelerated the march of industry; quarrying and mining were now practised on a large scale in order to feed the new industries with raw materials for roads, factories and furnaces.

The New Towns Act of 1946 was passed to disperse population. It gave rise to a plan which would eventually create Shropshire’s largest town and one which would re-house people from the slums of Birmingham. The initial scheme of 1963 was to create a new town at Dawley, replacing a derelict area of closed mines and ironworks with houses, roads and schools. In 1968 an amendment order expanded the new town to encompass the Ironbridge Gorge, Oakengates, Shifnal and Wellington. It would be called Telford after the famous engineer, who was at one time Surveyor of Public Works in Shrewsbury. The scheme was supported by the construction of the M54 motorway linking with the M6 near Birmingham, the encouragement of new industries from home and abroad, a new railway station and a huge shopping centre.

Shropshire’s geology (by Ronald Turnbull)

Nowhere else as small as Shropshire has so much geology going on. Within the county, 11 of the 13 geological periods are exposed. The fourth of them, the Silurian Period, was first uncovered along the England–Wales border by Roderick Impey Murchison in the 1830s; it takes its name from the Silures tribe who under Caractacus may (or may not) have fought the Romans at Caer Caradoc. Of the Silurian’s four constituent epochs, two (Ludlow and Wenlock) have Shropshire names.

For comparison, the Lake District is made of three basic rock types, of two geological periods. A single Shropshire hill, the Wrekin, has no fewer than eight different rock types, from six separate periods.

Squashed-up Shropshire

The UK (provided you don’t look too closely) has a simplish rock structure. North and west takes you deeper and more ancient: from the clays of London down through the Chalk, the Coal Measures, all the way to the ancient continental crust of the Scottish Highlands. Shropshire compresses most of this sequence into the width of a single county. We will survey the county from its eastern edge, where the most recent rocks form fairly intelligible layers.

The top (youngest) rocks here are from the Triassic and Permian periods. This ‘New Red Sandstone’ forms no notable hills, but Shropshire’s northeastern lowlands. It is seen as the pale brown Grinshill Stone used in the handsome buildings of Bridgnorth, Shrewsbury and Wellington.

Next down in the sequence, and next west in the county, the Carboniferous Period formed the Coal Measures at Ironbridge; and also the tops of all three Clee Hills, with old bellpit workings on top of Abdon Burf.

Old Red Sandstone at Grinshill (Stage 11)

Below the Carboniferous lies the Old Red Sandstone. It forms the lower slopes of the Clee hills, and down into Corve Dale; the reddish stone was quarried at the beautifully named Devil’s Mouthpiece.

Below the old red sandstone

These Devonian-Age sandstones form a thick, featureless and almost fossil-free layer across the kingdom. For the early geologists, ‘below the ORS’ meant rocks that were deep, twisted, ancient and mystifying. It was in the Wye Valley and in Shropshire that Roderick Impey Murchison started to make sense of what he would name as the Silurian Period.

Wenlock Edge and Hoar Edge show knobbly reef structures and layered sea-floor limestone; some beds are made up of small tubular crinoid (sea-lily) fragments. Patches such as nylon dish-scrubber are ancient coral. Shells are also common.

For casual fossil hunters, best places to look are fresh scree and stream pebbles around Wenlock Edge. But also keep eyes open in villages, especially old drystone walls, for shells and for the wiggly lines that were worm burrows.

Church Stretton crumple zone

Down to the west from Wenlock, there’s just space to squeeze in the Ordovician Period, around Cardington at the base of Caer Caradoc. And then we arrive into the Church Stretton crumple zone. Here rocks of the earliest geological periods, Ordovician and Cambrian, are embedded within crumpled and mashed ancient crust stretching back into the Precambrian.

Ordovician rocks pop back up as the tottering towers of Stiperstones. The ancient earth movements have tilted it almost upright; after 500 million years of hard times, the stones have just been broken up a bit more by freeze-thaw of the Ice Age.

Even older stones, from the Precambrian, make the Long Mynd’s grey-to-black sandstone. It is folded and tilted almost vertical in the rocky stream hollows running down to Church Stretton.

The great Church Stretton fault, running southwest towards Ludlow and northeast to Newport, has not only moved rockforms sideways past one another but it has also moved them up and down. To the west of the valley and its railway line, ancient rocks have been moved downwards; east of the line, everything has moved up. And so the very old grey sandstones of the Long Mynd look across Church Stretton towards even older, and quite different, volcanic rocks of Hope Bowdler Hill and the Lawley.

Volcanoes of Uriconia

Uriconium Cornoviorum was the Roman town on the site now occupied by Wroxeter. The Uriconian Volcanics started off as a chain of volcanic islands, which were then crushed and mangled up in a continental collision. So Wrekin and Earl’s Hill, Caer Caradoc, Lawley and Hope Bowdler Hill have the same origin as Lakeland or Snowdonia, albeit 100 million years earlier. And these rugged hills east of the Stretton valley show the same mix of black basalt, grey andesite and pale grey to pink rhyolite; the same sort of lava flows and volcanic ash that make Snowdon or Scafell.

Scrambled Shropshire is difficult indeed when it comes to puzzling out how the various rock types fit together. But, by the same token, these small hills are a superb sampler of a dozen sorts of stone, from sea-floor coral and limestone of Wenlock Edge through the white quartzite Stiperstones, to the volcanic ash of Caer Caradoc and the ancient mangled crust that makes the Long Mynd.

Wildlife and plants

Common heather or ling grows prolifically over the acidic soils of the Stiperstones, while bell heather thrives on the drier, sunnier hillsides. The heathers are often interspersed with bilberry, known as whinberry throughout the county. The Stiperstones has cowberry and crowberry too. Red grouse are common on the heather moors, as are ravens and buzzards and the blackbird-like ring ouzel can be found here too, along with skylarks, meadow pipits and redstarts. Red kites have been thriving here too after their re-introduction to the area. Well-camouflaged grayling butterflies can be found on the heath, along with green hairstreaks and emperor moths.

Mat grass, which is so unpalatable to sheep, is found on poor acidic grounds of the Clee Hills. Wenlock Edge and the hills around Oswestry are of limestone, often ravaged by quarrying and mining. Here, herbs such as wild thyme, wild basil and marjoram flourish. On or near the coppiced woodlands of Wenlock Edge you will see not only bluebells and garlic but herb Paris, violets, the yellow bird’s-nest, primroses and orchids, including quite rare bee orchids.

In the north, the raised peat bogs of Whixall and Bettisfield are a haven for the rare Waved and Fork-mosses. You will also be able to see insect-eating sundew, adders, if you’re ever so quiet, and water voles, if you’re lucky and even quieter.

When to go

You can walk in Shropshire at any time. Winter, when the snow has fallen on the higher ground, gives the hills a new dimension and most sogginess in the ground will be replaced by a crunch underfoot. When the sun is out, the atmosphere is often crystal clear and you can see for 50 miles in every direction. Some of the vegetation will have died back making progress along the paths easier. Woodland paths may however be slippery at this time.

Nipstone Rock from Linley Hill (Stage 2)

Spring is a delightful time when nature is vibrant with new life and colour. The bracken is still red. In the woods the vivid chrome green of the new leaves contrasts with the abundant spring flowers that have poked their heads up above last year’s leaves. If it has been wet over winter, the paths across farmland and in the woods may still be muddy.

In summer, when the days have lengthened, the ground will have dried out, although some low-level paths may be overgrown with nettles and occasionally common hogweed. Make sure you take your waterproof leggings at this time for dew-drenched vegetation can soak you quite quickly as can farmers’ crops, which might well be tall at this time. Mid to late August is the best time to see the heather blooming on the Stiperstones.

In autumn the nights draw in again but the flame-colours of the bracken and the woods add great beauty to the landscape. Bilberry leaves have turned red and the heather to dark russet. Together they mix with the grasses to create a tapestry of colour any tweed designer would be proud of.

Getting there

Bus

National Express (www.nationalexpress.com) has a service (410) which runs from London to Shrewsbury via Birmingham and Telford.

Trains

Shrewsbury has a mainline station mostly served by KeolisAmey Trains, which run direct services from South Wales, Manchester, Holyhead, Birmingham and Chester. The Transport for Wales website (https://tfwrail.wales) provides times of trains, prices and a booking facility.

Getting around

Regular rail services link Whitchurch, Wem and Shrewsbury; Wellington and Shrewsbury, also Ludlow, Craven Arms and Shrewsbury. Buses between stages can be difficult in the more rural areas, although a useful bus links Whitchurch, Wem, Grinshill, Hadnall and Shrewsbury, which is very useful if you’re doing the northern section in stages. Regular buses also link Shrewsbury with Craven Arms and Ludlow. For more transport information for getting around the county, see Appendix C.

Accommodation and planning

Bridges Youth Hostel (Stage 1)

Appendix B contains a fairly comprehensive list of stage-by-stage accommodations but this will go out of date so it’s always best to check websites such as www.booking.com or www.trivago.co.uk when planning your overnight stays. The Shropshire Way Association intends to provide an up-to-date accommodation list too: https://shropshireway.org.uk.

Shrewsbury and Ludlow have accommodation of all types, so finding something suitable will usually be relatively easy unless a major event is taking place. The same cannot be said of rural Shropshire and you should book well in advance. While campers have more flexibility, if you intend to spend the night in a hotel or B&B it is advisable to book well ahead and book the accommodation in chronological (ie stage) order. The stages between Ludlow and Wilderhope are particularly difficult and may involve a taxi ride to and from your stage ending. I have provided a selective list of taxis in Appendix C.

The 15 stages in the book (see the route summary table in Appendix A) make a relatively easy itinerary for anything outside the winter months but the fittest walkers could probably manage to do Ludlow to Wilderhope in one day. Clun to Ludlow would also be a possibility. This would reduce the route to 12 days, which would mean fitting the walk within a two-week holiday.

Being a circular route, walkers could start anywhere but transport links favour Shrewsbury, the book’s main starting point. That said, Ludlow, Wellington and Whitchurch have railway stations and reasonable bus routes. The last-mentioned would make a good choice for those who want to undertake the complete circular route plus the Whitchurch leg. The Whitchurch leg has been written in both directions to facilitate this.

If holidays are limited the route can be done stage by stage using public transport – check Appendix C for more information. If you’re parking a car at one end it is better to take the bus, train or taxi ride at the beginning and walk back to the car. Shropshire has a good network of footpaths and bridleways so it does lend itself to circular walks. It would be feasible to walk half a section of the Shropshire Way and return using an alternative route: for instance, you could walk north on the Shropshire Way over Brown Clee Hill and return on the Jack Mytton Way. In the north, you could discover more of those meres and mosses around Ellesmere.

Safety

Although nowhere in Shropshire is really remote it is extremely important that all walkers are fully equipped and practised in the use of map and compass. If bad weather such as a blizzard comes in quickly then trouble can occur in a matter of minutes.

Make sure to take enough food and water and keep additional emergency rations in the corner of the rucksack. Not taking enough food is the quickest way of becoming tired; being tired is the quickest way of sustaining an injury. Good breathable waterproofs are essential, as getting cold and wet will render the walker vulnerable to hypothermia.

It is important to wear good walking boots, for shoes have insufficient grip and ankle support on difficult terrain. Even the lower-level sections can become slippery after rainfall. It is a good idea to pack some emergency medical supplies (plasters, bandages, etc): there are plenty of good kits available.

What to take

What you take depends on how you’re going to tackle the Shropshire Way. If you’re camping you’ll need additional gear: a tent, sleeping bags, a carry mat, cooking stove and utensils; if you’re hostelling you may need a sleeping bag.

The basics

 a quality rucksack: 35 litre or more if staying in B&Bs, and 55 litre or more for backpacking

 liner or plastic carrier bags to keep your gear dry inside the rucksack

 breathable waterproofs, both jackets and trousers

 good proven waterproof boots

 walking socks

 fleece jacket or warm sweater

 changes of clothes for evening wear

 sun hat and sun cream (outside winter months)

 first-aid kit (including plasters for blisters)

 whistle and torch in case of emergencies

 mobile phone (but be aware that there are many ‘no reception’ areas in rural Shropshire)

 food and plenty of fluids for the day

 maps and guidebook.

Optional

 a GPS unit or GPS app and maps for your smartphone.

Using GPS

In recent years GPS units such as Garmin, Memory Map and Satmap have become quite sophisticated and now they usually include OS mapping for the UK. They are a very useful addition to your equipment, especially if you’re caught out in hill fog on the mountains.

In addition to the dedicated GPS units there are apps for iPhones, Android and Blackberry smartphones and tablets too. Viewranger and Memory Map are the best known and their maps are stored on your phone rather than being ‘in the cloud’ (like Trailzilla maps). The obvious drawback being that if the maps are in the cloud and you don’t have a phone signal, then you don’t have a map.

Most dedicated GPS units come with map packages. Some come with complete OS Landranger 1:50,000 maps for the UK, while others just include national parks. OS Explorer maps are better and you can buy DVDs or USB sticks with the complete UK, although they are more expensive. The other way of doing this is by going online and downloading and paying for the exact area you want (Memory Map and Viewranger both enable this). You can always add to the area you bought later.

All units will need charging at the end of the day. Dedicated GPS units can usually last at least eight hours and most have facilities to attach battery cases to keep them topped up.

The batteries in smartphones are smaller and most won’t last all day when used as a GPS – you’ll need at least a 5000mAh battery for all-day use. Otherwise, you may need at least one spare battery or you’ll have to use the one you have sparingly, ie, when you’re unsure of where to go next. Tablets such as the iPad Mini and Android 7-inch ones usually have larger batteries and can be kept in waterproof cases that can hang around your neck, in the same way as map cases do. Aquapac do a fine range of such cases. The tablets have the advantage of showing you large areas of the map at once.

If you cannot get to a power source to recharge your unit you can buy portable chargers. A 12000mAh EasyAcc, for example, will recharge an iPhone three or four times or an iPad Mini twice before it needs recharging itself. To clarify things mAh stands for milli-Ampere hour, a measure of a battery’s energy storage capacity – the higher the mAh figure the better. A word of caution here: these units should be used as a supplement to the maps – the battery may lose power unexpectedly.

Waymarking

The Shropshire Way is well-signed throughout, with orange waymarkers featuring a buzzard and small black arrowhead pointing in the direction of travel. More historical black and white waymarkers can still be seen in places, including the ones marking old alternative loops. In a very few places these appear to contradict the new waymarkers. In such cases always follow the line marked by the orange waymarkers.

Shropshire Way waymarker

Using this guide

The Shropshire Way can be completed in one large circular route but by using the Haughmond to Shrewsbury link route described in Section 10A it can be split into both southern and northern circulars. To these ends, the link route has been described in both directions.

All places mentioned in the text are shown in bold if they appear on the maps. The box at the start of each walk lists information such as: the distance of the stage, the height gain, the approximate time to allow, the terrain and places for refreshment, and map used (Appendix A summarises some of this information in table form). While the guide uses OS Landranger maps (1:50,000), which are fine for the mountain sections, they are not as detailed as the OS 1:25,000 Explorer maps, so I would recommend that you take the following OS Explorer maps:

 201 Knighton and Presteigne

 203 Ludlow Tenbury Wells and Cleobury Mortimer

 216 Welshpool and Montgomery

 217 The Long Mynd and Wenlock Edge

 218 The Wyre Forest and Kidderminster

 240 Oswestry

 241 Shrewsbury

 242 Telford and Ironbridge

 257 Crewe and Nantwich (if including the Whitchurch leg)

Also bear in mind the following:

The sections north of Shrewsbury are all relatively new. If you are using printed maps make sure they have data post 2018. If the copies of the maps you buy are older they may have either the wrong routes or, in the case of the north, no route at all.

The current 2018 Harvey Map of the Shropshire Way shows only the old southern sections of the route but they may well update it in the future so it’s worth checking.

GPX tracks

GPX tracks for the routes in this guidebook are available to download free at www.cicerone.co.uk/1008/GPX. A GPS device is an excellent aid to navigation, but you should also carry a map and compass and know how to use them. GPX files are provided in good faith, but neither the author nor the publisher accepts responsibility for their accuracy.