A week in Shropshire

During the school Easter holiday we spent a week as a family in Shropshire. I won’t talk too much about the accommodation, as the owners are moving house soon and the place we stayed in won’t be available to rent, but it was an annexe building on a couple’s small holding. This meant the kids went out every morning to help feed the hens and ducks, they collected eggs, and stroked the sheep. They splashed through the stream that ran past the property, played in the fields, and generally spent a lot of time outdoors. The property was in the absolute middle of nowhere, but the children just really enjoyed playing out there. 

Despite the slightly damp weather at the start of our week away we managed go out and do something every day, and as we were on the Wales border managed to do things in both countries. Here’s a selection of things we packed into the week. 

Stiperstones

On our first day the weather was a bit hit and miss, but we decided on at walk at Stiperstones.  The car park was reasonably easy to find with the help of a sat nav, and parking is free once you get there. There is a very short accessible pathway, and would be fine for wheelchairs, pushchairs, scooters, or bikes but, as I said, it isn’t a very long stretch of pathway. Once we hit the end of the accessible path (finding a geocache on our way) we went off-piste a little and clambered up some steep hills and very uneven ground. The children coped admirably, but they are pretty good walkers. If you have very little ones, or if anyone in the group has mobility issues, you may struggle with this one.

Montgomery Castle

Located just outside the small town of Montgomery, as the name might suggest, Montgomery Castle was built in the early 1200’s and, bearing in mind its age, the ruins are still in pretty good shape. It’s free to park and to explore the site, and we spent a good couple of hour there. It was very drizzly during our visit, which meant we had the castle to ourselves, but also meant we chose to have our picnic in the car rather than outside. There were a few information boards dotted about, but the children were a little too young to appreciate these. They were extremely happy clambering around the ruins, and making up stories as they ran around though.

Clun Castle

Another day, another castle. This time Clun Castle. Although it is looked after by English Heritage, this ruined castle is free to visit and to park up near. It’s a little bit of a climb up to this one, but not too far. I felt like I had to keep a much closer eye on the children at Clun Castle than Montgomery due to steep pathways, and the scaffolding walkway into the middle of the castle, but it was a nice way to kill a little bit of time.

Bury Ditches

After an hour or so at Clun Castle, we decided to head to Bury Ditches for the afternoon. Bury Ditches is the site of on Iron Age hill fort. There is a car park, but then it is a fairly steep walk up to the site - I’m not sure I’d fancy attempting it with a pushchair! There were a couple of benches located along the pathway, which we saw an older couple taking advantage of on their way up as they were struggling a little, but if you struggle with mobility this might not be one for you. The views from the top were worth the hike up though. It wasn’t the clearest of days, but we could still see for miles.

Gilfach Nature Reserve

Our visit to Gilfach Nature Reserve was one of my favourite days out of the holiday. The reserve is a lovely mix of river (River Marteg), woodland, fields and hillside - something for everyone! If you visit at the right time of year you might be lucky enough to spot salmon or otters, but we were happy to have seen a frog, butterflies and insects, sheep and plenty of lichen. Although we didn’t spot huge amounts of wildlife, the scenery was incredibly beautiful. There are a few options for walking routes around the reserve, and we went for a mid-length and medium difficulty one (the purple “Walk Through Time” route if that’s any help). Again, not one for pushchairs or anyone who struggles with mobility. 

Powis Castle and Garden

Powis Castle was the one place I really wanted to visit during our week away, so we saved it until the 2nd half of our holiday when we knew the weather was due to be better. Powis is an absolutely beautiful National Trust property in Welshpool, Powys. Wandering through the grounds we saw a number of peacocks and a peahen, which my little boy was fascinated with.

Often, when we visit a National Trust property, we don’t go into the house. I know that’s the main reason many people visit, but the children aren’t all that interested and, to be perfectly honest, neither are my husband or I. We’d much rather be outside exploring the gardens, woodlands, and the playgrounds, if they have them (Powis doesn’t). On this occasion, we weren’t in a rush to get back, and we’d been told that there were a couple of children’s trails to do around the house, so we thought we’d give it a try. The house had an exhibition about a girl’s school who were evacuated to, and spent 7 years at, the property during the Second World War. The second floor was open (it isn’t usually) and was mocked up to look like a dormitory, and one of the lower levels was mocked up to look like a classroom.

I would say it probably would have been better to visit Powis Castle in the summer when the gardens would be in full bloom, as I imagine they’ll be stunning, but even for a spring time visit we saw tulips, there are some lovely trees in the grounds, and some gorgeous early flowering rhododendrons. 

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I hope it’s ok that I crammed a whole week of days out into one blog post. I know my reviews of each location are fairly brief, but if you have any questions, or if you’d like me to talk about any of them in more depth, let me know in the comments below and I’ll do a specific post for that location. 

Have you spent any time in Shropshire? What are your favourite, family friendly, recommendations?