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Date: 05/12/2015
From: Church Stretton
Parking: Street parking in Church Stretton
Start Point: Church Stretton
Region: Shropshire Hills AONB
Route length: 6.0 miles (9.6 km)
Time taken: 02:51
Average speed: 2.1 mph
Ascent: 723m
Descent: 747m
Summits: Helmeth Hill (344m), Caer Caradoc (459m), The Lawley (377m)
As Storm Desmond wrought havoc across Cumbria, we fled south to the dramatic hills of Shropshire to escape the worst of the weather. I remember looking at the forecast for Keswick for the weekend and thinking it was among the worst I'd ever seen; who knew Desmond would bring eventually bring over 300mm of rainfall? Fortunately, all we had to contend with was a very strong, gusty wind but, after a crafty bit of planning, it would be on our backs for the majority of the day.
I've been visiting Shropshire for a couple of years now; it's a fascinating place full of places to explore. We've been up and over the Long Mynd, had a poke around Cardingmill and visited the tops of the hills of Ragleth and Hope Bowdler. This time, it was the turn of Caer Caradoc and The Lawley. These two hills, along with Ragleth, Hazler, Helmeth and Hope Bowdler form the Stretton Hills which surround the small town of Church Stretton.
Caer Caradoc and The Lawley form an obvious one-way route from Church Stretton, finishing at the foot of The Lawley in the hamlet of Lawley and after shuffling some cars around we were ready to set off. A path leaves Church Stretton through the fields behind the housing estate called Battle Field and climbs up along the lowers slopes of Helmeth Hill. Our intention, as a warm-up to the looming Caer Caradoc, was to make the climb up Helmeth Hill first.
Caer Caradoc |
Carding Mill Valley |
A close-up of Three Fingers Rock |
The entrance to Helmeth Hill |
Caer Caradoc through the trees |
Steps up the hillside |
The top of Helmeth Hill |
A tree arch on the way back down |
Looking up the first climb on Caer Caradoc |
Hope Bowdler Hill |
Helmeth Hill and Ragleth Hill |
More steep climbing |
The ridge of Caer Caradoc |
Three Fingers Rock |
Church Stretton from Caer Caradoc |
Starting the climb towards the top |
Looking back along the ridge - the hump in the centre of the photo is one of the ancient ramparts |
Rock formation near the summit |
Looking towards The Lawley |
The top of Caer Caradoc undulates along, past the mounds of ancient hill fort before rising once again to the flat top. The wind here was strong, to say the least though and didn't give us much of a chance to stop and have a look around. I can say, however, that the views from all of Caer Caradoc are superb in all directions; not one aspect looks the same and all are interesting. The Wrekin was even visible some 20 miles distant, despite the gloomy day.
The rampart of the ancient hillfort |
Caer Caradoc's summit |
The Lawley through the gloom |
Looking north |
Little Caradoc and The Lawley |
Looking back up Caer Caradoc |
The Lawley |
The Lawley and Comely Farm |
Starting up The Lawley |
Caer Caradoc from The Lawley |
A steep climb towards the top |
The long ridge along the top of The Lawley |
Church Stretton |
The weathervane on The Lawley |
Facing into the wind on the summit |
Looking along the ridge |
A view back towards the summit |
The sun threatens to make an appearance |
The view northwards once again |
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