Monday June 17th

 The Shropshire Way- Craven Arms to Clun

It all began with a Guardian article in November 2023 which recommended a 2-day hike in Shropshire, with the added attraction of a station at each end. It took a bit of planning and decision making and having scrutinised the route, a plan was formulated to do a dry run in June in preparation for a return in September.

We set out from Stockport to Craven Arms, stopping for breakfast at the Station café. The first section of our route along the Shropshire Way, with its distinctive buzzard way markers, was reasonably straightforward.

Easy walking from Craven Arms

Route-finding was a little more tricky just beyond Sibdon Carwood as there was no obvious path nor any waymarker indicating that we had to go up the hill beside a small plantation. However, the following section to Hopesay was magnificent, with lovely walking along green paths.

Lush path towards Hopesay
Lounging lizard on the way

There followed another couple of bits of route-finding to get us on the right path to Kempton, passing Hopesay's St. Mary's Church and taking in a bit of its history.

St Mary's History

We made good time to the tiny village of Kempton, skirting the village under the close supervision of a large herd of Friesian Cows and made for a lovely bridge which was a perfect spot for lunch.

A lovely, shady lunch spot

There followed a long, uphill section to Withins Wood and eventually up to the dramatic Iron Age hill fort of Bury Ditches.

Toiling up to the Bury Ditches hill fort

The views from the top were stunning and the effort involved in reaching the viewpoint was really worthwhile. 

Taking in the views

We went down through the woods and eventually reached Guilden Down, a tiny collection of houses, perched in the middle of lovely countryside. Our final section to Clun was enjoyable, although it would have been nice not to have to walk along the road for quite so long. As Clun appeared in the distance, we began to look forward to a cold drink and possibly an ice cream. The White Horse Inn was located and provided us with a welcoming and friendly spot for our stopover for the night. 

Overall, Day 1 was an interesting and varied day with some delightful countryside and a fair amount of elevation. 13.3 miles with 640m ascent.



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