21/06/20 - Clee St Margeret and Stoke St Milborough

Distance - 7 Miles
Walk Inspiration - Country Walking Magazine - June 2014 - Walk 7
Geocaches - 0



As much as a I like walking in the Shropshire wilds of the Clee Hills, its a real pain getting to.  Probably an over reliance on Sat Nav but at least half of the 20 mile journey is along single lane tracks, with blind bends and grass glowing along the middle.  Throw in kamikaze farm traffic and I am a mightily relieved man to have both made it there and back with the car in one piece.

Parking for this one is in a small area above Stoke St Millborough labelled Stoke Gorse on the map.  Having driven up the bank, I am pleased that I am walking down it to the quiet hamlet.   Not much to report from there - a well and a fable of the Abbess of Wenlock Priory falling off her horse and blessing the spring.

Of course, I hadn't read the walk instructions well enough to actually find the mythical spout.  I content myself with a walk around the remote church.

Stoke St Milborough Church

Unusually for a Country Walking Magazine route - the directions to and off Weston Hill are not great and the footpaths, when not completely overgrown, were bearing little resemblance to the OS Map.  It was a bit of battle that I was glad I had undertaken alone - without a wife to bend my ear and a dog to hoike over tied gates and wobbly stiles.

Arrow shows I am bang on where I need to be.  6ft ferns say otherwise

Still, the views from Weston Hill Trig Point were impressive, even if shared with interlopers amongst the sheep.

Crips vs the Bloods, Shropshire Style

Views from Weston Hill

The walking does improve from Cold Weston, where the chapel has been converted into a private residence and a mile of uninterrupted lane walking leads to a glorious sunken track at a property labelled as "The Boot".  Its suitably old and distinctive but Google research into whether it was ever a pub has been met with its the 7th most expensive property sold in Clee St Margaret.

Delightful sunken lane

This green path leads to Clee Brook - I fail to find the footbridge marked on the map, so some paddling is required before it reveals itself.

Plenty of time to dry off on the superbly wild section around Nordy Bank fort.  Exactly my type of walking - good tracks, extensive views and a little bit of sunshine.

Final section of the walk - looking back to Brown Clee Hill