Walking the Shropshire Way. John Gillham

Walking the Shropshire Way

About the Author

John Gillham was born in Bournemouth, Dorset but now lives with his wife Nicola in Hoddlesden, a small village in the West Pennine Moors.

John has been a full-time professional writer, illustrator and photographer since 1989. His first book, Snowdonia to the Gower: A Coast to Coast Walk Across Highest Wales, has been described as one of the classic books on Wales. He also pioneered three other long-distance routes: Lakeland to Lindisfarne, Pennine Ways (an alternative Pennine Way) and the Bowland–Dales Traverse, all of which were published in book form. John’s recent books include The Pictorial Guides to the Mountains of Snowdonia Volumes 1–4, Best Day Walks in Snowdonia, the AA’s Leisure Guide Wales, and Cicerone’s The Cumbria Way and Hillwalking in Shropshire.

John writes regularly for The Great Outdoors (TGO) and has written occasionally for Dalesman, Cumbria Magazine and Lakeland Walker. He has written and contributed to many AA publications. He has twice won Outdoor Writers & Photographers Guild Award for Excellence, firstly for his guidebook Best Day Walks in Snowdonia and secondly for the outdoor book Coast-to-Coasting (with Ronald Turnbull).

Other Cicerone guides by the author

Hillwalking in Shropshire

The Cumbria Way

WALKING THE SHROPSHIRE WAY

A TWO-WEEK CIRCULAR TRAIL INCLUDING THE WREKIN, STIPERSTONES AND WENLOCK EDGE

JUNIPER HOUSE, MURLEY MOSS,

OXENHOLME ROAD, KENDAL, CUMBRIA LA9 7RL

www.cicerone.co.uk

First edition 2019

ISBN 9781783626687

Printed by KHL Printing, Singapore

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

All photographs are by the author unless otherwise stated.

Acknowledgements

I would like to thank my wife Nicola for being a lovely companion on the hills and for proofreading the book before publication; my good friend Ronald for sharing his knowledge of Shropshire’s geology; the wonderful hospitality shown to us by the good people of the county, including campsite wardens, innkeepers and the many cheerful bus drivers who took us to some of the remote corners. Many thanks must go to the Shropshire Way Association including their chairman, Audrey Menhinick, with whom I have been collaborating and sharing information from the start, and the route champions’ co-ordinators Gill Pursey and Trevor Allison and their teams, who have worked so hard to make sure the routes are all waymarked and free from obstructions. They’ve also proofread my text and suggested the necessary changes. Last but not least, Helen Beresford with Shropshire Council Outdoor Partnerships Team and their volunteers, who have helped resolve route anomalies.

Updates to this guide

While every effort is made by our authors to ensure the accuracy of guidebooks as they go to print, changes can occur during the lifetime of an edition. Any updates that we know of for this guide will be on the Cicerone website (www.cicerone.co.uk/1008/updates), so please check before planning your trip. We also advise that you check information about such things as transport, accommodation and shops locally. Even rights of way can be altered over time. We are always grateful for information about any discrepancies between a guidebook and the facts on the ground, sent by email to [email protected] or by post to Cicerone, Juniper House, Murley Moss, Oxenholme Road, Kendal, LA9 7RL.

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Front cover: Passing the Devil’s Chair on the Stiperstones ridge

CONTENTS

Shropshire’s geology (by Ronald Turnbull)