Oswestry Hill fort

Up and down the county you’ll find about 25 hill forts – clear evidence of the Iron Age civilization which lived here around 600BC. These hill forts were built within deep ditches and sported high ramparts to keep out the riff-raff.

The Old Oswestry Hill Fort, known as Caer Ogyrfan after King Arthur’s father in law, is said to be the birthplace of Queen Ganhumara, or Guinevere. It is also believed to have been the site for the final battle of the Powys king Cynddylan, the last descendant of King Arthur to rule in Shropshire.

The hill fort can be found on the northern outskirts of Oswestry, a constant reminder of the beginnings of the town and it is without a doubt the most spectacular of Shropshire’s hill forts, and one of the best to be found in any part of Britain.

From the summit, on a clear day, you can see as far as Nesscliffe to the South East and Wrexham to the North.

There are four ditches that provide the defence for the perimeter, increasing to seven along its western side. These would have been used to slow any invaders from attacking and gaining control of the settlement.

The elaborate defences that surround the fort can still be seen today, may have been a necessity because the hill on which the fort sits is unusually low for an Iron Age defensive site.

There seems to be two entrances through which Iron Age soldiers would have accessed the interior, one on the western side and one on the eastern side. The western entrance is the most obvious because of the series of deep rectangular hollows on either side. This feature cannot be found at any of the other hill forts around Shropshire, or indeed anywhere else. They also help to make the hill fort entrance one of the most elaborate in Britain. There have been many suggestions as to what these hollows would originally have been used for, including: stock-pens, storage areas, quarries, water reservoirs or simply an additional level of defences.

The area that Iron Age settlers would have inhabited on the top of the hill occupies an area of approximately six hectares. Excavations at the hill fort in the late 1930’s and early 1940’s showed the hilltop was inhabited before the earthworks were built, possibly by a late bronze age community.

The defences were built up in stages from 600BC up to the late Iron Age. It is likely that the hill fort remained in use until the Roman conquest; however there are no signs that the hill fort was taken using force by the invading Roman army.

Some hill forts were re-occupied after the Romans left Britain; however, it is unknown whether the Old Oswestry hill fort was occupied again.

Wild flowers and grazing sheep now cover the ancient earthworks, just one of innumerable places to enjoy walks, picnics, stunning views and perfect peace.