An easy 3 miles walk circular walk from Hodnet to Marchamley and back using footpaths, country roads and permissive paths with a number of different viewpoints along the way to enjoy the scenery of North Shropshire.
Hodnet
The Civil Parish of Hodnet, in North East Shropshire, is made up from four areas each containing once independent villages and hamlets. To the north-west of Hodnet is Marchamley, to the north-east Wollerton and to the south the settlement of Peplow. The name Hodnet is derived from ‘old’ Welsh hawdd ‘pleasant/peaceful’ + nant ‘valley/stream,’ and is usually interpreted as meaning pleasant valley. The village itself has many interesting builings, it’s oldest dating back to 1546, including Hodnet Hall, the Bear Inn and St Luke’s Church and there are also a Norman castle mound. Once a busy thoroughfare to Staffordshire along the A53 the building of the Hodnet bypass has afforded the village a quieter atmosphere and is well worth a visit.
See the village website for a guide to some of the historic buildings and sites around Hodnet Hodnet Village website
Marchamley
Marchamley has been described as a small village, pleasantly situated on elevated ground. The name Marchamley is from the Anglo-Saxon Merchelm’s -leah. Merchelm is a personal name derived from Merce, meaning Mercian. Leah means wood or clearing in the wood. The name Marchamley can therefore be interpreted as meaning Merchelm’s clearing in the wood.