Memories on the Mynd

We found a route, by rail or road, into the Shropshire Hills where nature's colours painted pictures with the views.

Take the train from Craven Arms to Church Stretton. The Long Mynd Shuttle Bus will take you into the Shropshire Hills between Easter and September on weekends and Bank Holidays.

You can also take this route by car, following the B4370 through Hopesay, Edgton and Little Stretton and returning on the A49.

The train ride from Craven Arms was a scenic route through the hills. The Long Mynd streched beside us, a purple whaleback in its heather cover, rising above Church Stretton. Like the Victorians before us we alighted at the spa town's station, ready to explore this 'Little Switzerland' of hills and valleys.

We were soon deep in the Shropshire Hills, transported on the shuttle bus from Church Stretton station to miles of moorland trails. Fresh air filled our lungs and our eyes were widened by the views from the Long Mynd.

The next time we visited Church Stretton we explored by car. The road ran out of Craven Arms through Aston-on-Clun where the villagers still dress a tree on Arbor Day (29th May), remembering Charles II's Restoration.

Through Hopesay and Edgton (where we found a pottery) into Minton, where the hamlet's houses gather round its green, and then on to Church Stretton.

There we took a woodland walk through Old Recory Wood. This time we hopped aboard the shuttle bus at Carding Mill Valley to take us into the hills. The homeward journey took us back a century in farming life at Acton Scott Historic Working Farm.