Easy hikes and walks around Churchstoke

Go up the lane past the steep access-path, go past a spring which crosses the stoney lane, arrive at a gate that gives easier access to the summit !! (Only discovered after having hauled my 78years up the previous path!!) Definitely going again! Offa*s Dyke path clearly visible over Long Mountain !! Peter P. from N/C u Lyme.

Bring layers! Can be breezy

You will encounter sheep almost everywhere on this walk but especially as you pass the entrance to Upper Stapeley Farm. The sheep you will most likely encounter here, and on the other commons of the Shropshire Hills, are of the Welsh Mountain variety. Males are horned, but they do not often roam the commons, and this does become apparent on the ram lambs later in the summer. If you spot a young lamb, you may also notice the typical light brown ‘scarf’ markings they have around the neck which becomes less obvious as they get older and their fleece grows. Welsh Mountain sheep are a tough and hardy breed, able to roam the hills throughout all seasons, owing to their thick creamy white fleeces with an outer layer of long ‘hair’ which helps the rain drain off quickly without penetrating through to the skin. The two flocks on Stapeley (and other commons in the Shropshire hills) are ‘hefted’. This means that they instinctively know which area of the common to graze and where to find the sweetest vegetation, watering holes, and the best shelters for bad weather. This knowledge is passed from mother to lamb through many generations. Sheep from two different hefts don’t usually mix, but at gathering time (collecting the sheep off the common), commoners work together and return each other’s sheep. Besides their physical location, sheep belonging to different commoners can be identified by ear ‘notch’ marks and colour markings on their fleeces.

Now on the common, as you climb the gentle slope up the ridge towards Stapeley hill, notice the ridge and furrow pattern of the ground underfoot. It is thought this is relatively modern. In the war years, to support the food effort, even the gentle slopes of some commons were ploughed to maximise agricultural output. Just beyond the first cairn lies the first of the features which is far older, a great example of a ring cairn. Common land, with its traditionally unploughed soils of permanent pasture, managed through long term commoning, have provided ideal conditions for the safeguarding of thousands of archaeological monuments. Some 11% of all scheduled monuments in England can be found on commons. These include Mesolithic flint workings, henges, stone circles, standing stones and stone rows, barrows, hillforts, dykes, settlements, roman camps and industrial and military relics. Stapeley can boast features across several of these categories.

During a time of famine, a fairy gave a magic cow that provided an endless supply of milk. One night an evil witch milked her into a sieve. When the cow realised the trick, she disappeared. The witch was turned to stone and a circle of stones was erected around her, to ensure that she could not escape.

A great little hike to do. Lovely trig pointed/cairned summit and a great viewpoint out over the surrounding area to boot.

There’s a bench at the top alongside the trig and cairn.

Interestingly, the summit trig point stands on the remains of one of several Bronze Age burial cairns you can see on Corndon. The views from the summit are breathtaking; stretching for miles over Berwyn Ridge, the Breidden, Middletown Hil, the Stiperstones, Long Mynd, Roundton Hill and Lan Fawr.