8 Longville – Church Stretton

Longville in the Dale to Church Stretton 7 miles (11.2Km.)

A section of anticipation rather than merit as we leave Longville by a tedious section of straight road. I missed the turning for the path in East Wall but was compensated by an aviary of birds of prey by the roadside.

Battle Stones & Caer Caradoc

The outcrop of rock in the distance looks attractive so it’s inevitable that our guides take us close by Hill End which forms the introduction to the hills surrounding Church Stretton. Passing to the south of Willstone Hill it would be easy to miss the view of the The Battle Stones if our heads are down for the finish.

'Walkers Welcome' - Church Stretton

Like many popular walking areas there is an abundance of paths here, some Definitive, some Permissive, others just created by hundreds of boots over the same piece of ground. It can therefore be difficult to locate a path that has been forgotten and the bridleway taking the most direct line into Church Stretton down the valley between Caer Carodoc and Helmeth hills remains as lost as when Margaret and Brian passed this way in 1996. You may need to find an alternative path before meeting the old ‘road’.

Sunken road or bed of a stream?

When the old road emerges into open fields it appears to become the deep bed of a stream so it’s fortunate for the walker that a parallel footpath stays on the higher ground in the field before emerging onto the metalled road at Battle Field. It’s now only a short distance into the centre of Church Stretton a town that “Welcomes Walkers”.

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Great English Walk map of section 8

Great English Walk section 8 - the work