Hi, me and some of my friends are looking to go for a walk sometime soon and we have no knowledge on where we can go and such. Could anyone give us any idea's? We have looked at haughmond hill but were not sure how to get there. :P

The tourist information office in The Square, in town has loads of leaflets giving local walks in Shrewsbury and further afield.

from Belle Vue head to Coleham,over the Greyfriars Bridge, built 1879 opened 1st January 1880 this 150ft bridge replaced a ferry and was sometimes called the free bridge.

walk towards the town centre,on your right you will see the remains of the friary now incorporated into a house.

turn left into Victorian Avenue,on your left is Dr Clement's memorial obelisk,restored a couple of years ago,this was originally a drinking fountain that stood in the railway station forecourt and then the Dingle before being moved to it's present position.In 2002 the council discussed moving it again.

turn left again and follow the tow-path under Greyfriars bridge,a popular spot for feeding the ducks,swans and gulls etc

as you continue your walk look across to your right and next to Carline Fields(named after John Carline) you will see the confluence of the Rea Brook(pronounced Ray or Ree).

Continue past Marine Terrace(where a murdered body is found in Priscilla Master's River Deep) and then under the English Bridge re-built in 1927 to widen it and lower the gradient,the 18th century bridges stones were numbered and re-used.
The bridge was opened by a deceased member of the royal family passing over it in a coffin!

a set of steps lead up the side of the bridge,use these and cross the bridge at the end of which turn left into Abbey Gardens.This tranquil garden is planted with spring shrubs,Rhododenrons,Azaleas etc and various pieces of stone work including a prototype Lion for the Column,part of the Old Shirehall that was in the Square and a statue of Viscount Hill presented to the town in 1907,this Matthew Noble work probably dates from 1876.

in the far corner a rusty gate leads to a footpath that leads behind the Gay Meadow football ground,home of Shrewsbury Town F.C. since 1910.(please take care on this little used path) once you have passed the ground head for the railway bridge(actually three bridges side by side) walk under these,there is a footpath and some scenes of a Christmas Carol were filmed under here in 1984.

Follow the worn track(can be muddy when wet) to the Castle Walk bridge.Cross the bridge -
Castle Footbridge
First on an A-Z list is the Castle Walk footbridge, which opened on 7th November 1910. It cost £1300 and replaced a ferry that had run on the site from 1882. Sad that it replaced a ferry, which would be attractive to many of us today. Indeed, there used to be two other ferries in town (more about them later), as well as one downstream, that linked Monkmoor with Uffington. As well as a way for people to cross the ferries also enabled horses, that pulled barges along the Severn between 1810-70, to cross when the towpath changed from one side to the other.

The Castlefields bridge was opened by the mayor, Benjamin Blower, and as part of the same ceremony his wife then ‘flicked the switch’ which led to introduction of electric lights along Castle Walk. In his speech Mr Blower described the bridge as ‘picturesque’, ‘an ornament as well as a public utility’, and said it would ‘serve the moral and social objective of bringing people together from Castlefields and Underdale.’ You can think about that the next time you are crossing it!

But in 1951 what had been a suspension bridge was replaced by what stands there today – a ‘pre-stressed and tensioned reinforced concrete structure’ (as the experts apparently describe it!), which was the first of its kind in the UK.


turn left into Victoria Street and left again where a slope leads down to the Severn,left again and follow the tow-path to the weir.the weir was built in 1911 to help maintain the river level round Shrewsbury.the Environment Agency have recently been refurbishing the fish pass.

head down stream along Sydney Avenue and you will pass Goff's Island(Holywell Island) where the Beatles partied after a concert in the town.

follow the road and turn right into Darville, a foot path on your left will bring you out opposite the Coach pub,the Comet Bridge used to pass over the canal here.

Follow the old canal path from here,behind the shops and it will eventually bring you out at Uffington.Carefully cross over the road and a lane opposite will eventually take you to the bottom of Haughmond Hill where you can continue upwards or turn left for a flatter walk that ends opposite Haughmond Abbey.

good luck

s.g.d.

hey, Mega thanks for the directions! was a great day today. Me and my best mate starved of breakfast made the great journey and was a great mini adventure, we got to the top and saw the damage done by a fire from during the summer. Was sun from leaving the house to returning home. :D
Has anyone seen much wildlife up on Haughmond Hill? I managed to spot 2 pigeons, 2 squirrels and a pheasant. I really recomend everyone to take a day off sometime and take a walk up there, Great day out!

glad to hear that you had a good day.

sometimes you can also see deer up there.

s.g.d.