CHURCH STRETTON, SHROPSHIRE
DISTANCE 13KM (8 MILES), CLIMBING 430M (1,410FT) TIME 1HR TO 2HRS
THE ROUTE: There’s a big hill to climb, but also good tracks and a fun descent
START: Carding Mill Valley car park (postcode SY6 6JG, grid ref 448/943)
1 Head up Carding Mill Valley on the main track (which is popular with walkers), keeping right at the fork. Follow this bridleway (marker post no.10) up a tricky climb to a good track at the top of the hill. Turn left on this.
2 Keep right at a fork, crossing a road, to (and past) Pole Bank viewpoint. Continue down to the tarmac and go right on it, past a small car park on the right. Shortly after this, turn left on a permissive bridleway.
3 Follow this undulating track along the top of the hill, keeping left at a fork and eventually dropping into the village of Little Stretton. Turn left at the junction then left at a crossroads, onto the B5477 by The Ragleth Inn (a good gastropub).
4 Take this road back to Church Stretton and a crossroads where the Van Doesburgs deli is on your right and Heather & Batch Coffee House is set a little way back on the right. From here, you could follow the road ahead for a flatter route back along Carding Mill Valley Road, but our route turns left at the crossroads, on Burway Road.
5 Keep ahead at the crossroads, following this road (signed ‘The Burway’) and bearing right (but not turning right on the dead-end Longhills Road). Continue for a steady, steep climb along this narrow road, then turn off right just after crossing a cattle grid. Past the house, the route becomes off-road, with good views and a steep descent back down into Carding Mill Valley to finish.
THE LOCATION Shropshire’s Long Mynd has lush green hills that drain well and are easy to navigate, especially with all the markers dotted around. It gets busy at weekends, though.
GETTING THERE From the M54, go south on the A49. Turn right on the B4371, then right at a crossroads and left on Carding Mill Valley to the car park.
FACILITIES Heather & Batch Coffee House and Van Doesburgs deli in Church Stretton are great. On the route there’s a good gastropub in Little Stretton or The Green Dragon pub. For accommodation, Mountain Edge resort has a campsite, pods and lodges, pub, cafe and bike shop. (www.mountainedgeresort.co.uk).
MAPS & BOOKS Ordnance Survey Landranger 137: Church Stretton & Ludlow. The Long Mynd MTB Map has all the rights of way and recommended trails and is available from the area’s bike shops for £1.