Enjoy superb panoramic views of the Long Mynd, Corndon Hill (over the border in Wales) and the rocky tors of the Stiperstones ridge. This is buzzard country; listen for its mewing call, at odds to the clonky-croak of the ravens also heard here.
Walk along an ancient route, sunk between high banks topped with hedges bearing a wide variety of trees, established over decades; look for hazel, field maple, blackthorn, ash, oak, holly and others.
Compare and contrast the different field enclosure systems in the landscape – the straight, rectangular fields of Prolley Moor, the result of the Enclosures Act 1858, and the pattern of narrow fields towards Wentnor, with their curved hedges, evidence of the medieval enclosure system of ‘strip’ fields.
Don’t miss Wentnor Church, with its origins in the Norman period. Look out for the “Hurricane Gravestone” tucked away under the tower, which marks the tragic events of 1772, when a hurricane destroyed a local house killing seven people.
Other walks in this series:
Flenny Bank Walk: The view from Flenny Bank is one of the finest in the land! Discover the story of this landscape, said to have been shaped by the devil himself!
Mucklewick Walk: Wander the hills and valley of this quiet borderland. If you want to get away from it all, this is the walk for you!
Darnford Walk: Ramble along the Shropshire Way to discover a hidden, golden valley. Then enjoy panoramic views whilst following a 3000 year old thoroughfare.
The Bridges Inn
Formerly known as The Horse Shoe Inn, the pub has now reverted to its original name – The Bridges Inn – named after the settlement that surrounds it. It originally served a major coaching route between Shrewsbury and Bishop’s Castle and boasted a smithy, which was working until 1940 and still survives on the corner of the road to the left of the pub. The purple sandstone used to build the smithy’s, quarried nearby, are obvious in many of the buildings locally.