Walk past the triangular green in Yorton, then turn left up a track alongside No. 1. Continue with a fence on your left and a hedge on your right. At the crest of the rise the fence ends. Cross a stile under an ash tree to enter the field on the right and follow its left edge to the B5476.
Turn left for 150yds (137m) to a stile on the right. Follow the footpath across a field to a footbridge. Follow the right edge of the next field then skirt left round trees enclosing a pond (barely visible in summer). Go through a gateway by a disused drinking-trough to join a track between hedges. Emerge to a lane. Turn right and walk through Newton on the Hill.
Immediately before the last two houses on the left, turn left over a stile with a Gough Walk waymark. Go half-left to another stile then follow a line of trees down the right edge of the field. Cross a stile into a large field and follow its right-hand edge. Pass a clump of pine trees to a gate in the corner.
Go forward to two trees by a pond then turn right to a stile on the skyline, which has good views of the plains to the Welsh hills. Go straight down the next field to a stile. Meet a road and go right a few paces then left on a lane signed ‘Houlston’.
After about 600yds (549m), as the lane bends gently to the left, a stony bridleway (The Witterage) forks right. The house in the fork is Grumpy. Follow the bridleway, which soon bends to the right. After passing a cottage at Witterage Green it becomes sandy and then enters a leafy tunnel, where it can be muddy.
As the track ends, a gate leads into a field. A notice refers to concessionary rights of way; in fact, an existing footpath has been upgraded to bridleway status. All you need to do is keep on in much the same direction, following the right-hand boundary through two fields. Go through a gate in the corner of the second field, pass a cottage, then turn right along a lovely old track, Bilmarsh Lane.
Pass a farm on the left and continue to a road in the hamlet of Alderton. The shortest route back to Yorton station now is to turn left then go straight over a crossroads on the B5476. However, to minimise road-walking, go straight ahead instead, with Broughton Cottages on your left. When you meet the B5476, continue for about 150yds (137m), then turn left, over a stile crossed on the outward route, and retrace your steps down the fields.
For much of the course of this walk you’ll be guided by ‘Gough Walk’ waymarks. The Gough Walks are a series of six walks created by local people to commemorate Richard Gough (1635–1723), a yeoman farmer who lived at Newton Farm, Newton on the Hill. In the years 1700–1702 he wrote two books,... Antiquities and Memories of the Parish of Myddle, and Observations concerning the seats in Myddle Church and the families to which they belong. Sometimes bound together as The History of Myddle, these provide one of the most complete accounts of rural life in England at the dawn of the 18th century. Although they are not currently in print, a Folio Society edition was produced in the 1980s, and digital versions can be found online. The tiny hamlet of Newton on the Hill clearly has a strong sense of identity and history. An unusual and impressive token of this is the slate plaque on the wall by the postbox, listing the householders here in ad 2000. As this shows, there were then eight households. Another house has been added more recently – almost a population explosion! Something you’ll often notice on this walk, especially at weekends, is a steady traffic of light aircraft passing overhead. These are going to or coming from Sleap Airfield (pronounced ‘Slape’), whose nearest runway extends to about 0.75 miles (1.2km) north of Witterage Green. The airfield was constructed during World War II and used mainly for training bomber crews, and later to train glider crews preparing to drop paratroopers in the D-Day landings and at Arnhem. It is still used as a relief field for nearby RAF Shawbury, and today it is also home to the very active Shropshire Aero Club.
Perhaps nowhere else in England will you find a county so deeply rural and with so much variety as Shropshire. Choose a clear day, climb to the top of The Wrekin, and look down on that ‘land of lost content’ so wistfully evoked by A E Housman.
Walk past the triangular green in Yorton, then turn left up a track alongside No. 1. Continue with a fence on your left and a hedge on your right. At the crest of the rise the fence ends. Cross a stile under an ash tree to enter the field on the right and follow its left edge to the B5476.
1 of 7
Turn left for 150yds (137m) to a stile on the right. Follow the footpath across a field to a footbridge. Follow the right edge of the next field then skirt left round trees enclosing a pond (barely visible in summer). Go through a gateway by a disused drinking-trough to join a track between hedges. Emerge to a lane. Turn right and walk through Newton on the Hill.
2 of 7
Immediately before the last two houses on the left, turn left over a stile with a Gough Walk waymark. Go half-left to another stile then follow a line of trees down the right edge of the field. Cross a stile into a large field and follow its right-hand edge. Pass a clump of pine trees to a gate in the corner.
3 of 7
Go forward to two trees by a pond then turn right to a stile on the skyline, which has good views of the plains to the Welsh hills. Go straight down the next field to a stile. Meet a road and go right a few paces then left on a lane signed ‘Houlston’.
4 of 7
After about 600yds (549m), as the lane bends gently to the left, a stony bridleway (The Witterage) forks right. The house in the fork is Grumpy. Follow the bridleway, which soon bends to the right. After passing a cottage at Witterage Green it becomes sandy and then enters a leafy tunnel, where it can be muddy.
5 of 7
As the track ends, a gate leads into a field. A notice refers to concessionary rights of way; in fact, an existing footpath has been upgraded to bridleway status. All you need to do is keep on in much the same direction, following the right-hand boundary through two fields. Go through a gate in the corner of the second field, pass a cottage, then turn right along a lovely old track, Bilmarsh Lane.
6 of 7
Pass a farm on the left and continue to a road in the hamlet of Alderton. The shortest route back to Yorton station now is to turn left then go straight over a crossroads on the B5476. However, to minimise road-walking, go straight ahead instead, with Broughton Cottages on your left. When you meet the B5476, continue for about 150yds (137m), then turn left, over a stile crossed on the outward route, and retrace your steps down the fields.
For much of the course of this walk you’ll be guided by ‘Gough Walk’ waymarks. The Gough Walks are a series of six walks created by local people to commemorate Richard Gough (1635–1723), a yeoman farmer who lived at Newton Farm, Newton on the Hill. In the years 1700–1702 he wrote two books,... Antiquities and Memories of the Parish of Myddle, and Observations concerning the seats in Myddle Church and the families to which they belong. Sometimes bound together as The History of Myddle, these provide one of the most complete accounts of rural life in England at the dawn of the 18th century. Although they are not currently in print, a Folio Society edition was produced in the 1980s, and digital versions can be found online. The tiny hamlet of Newton on the Hill clearly has a strong sense of identity and history. An unusual and impressive token of this is the slate plaque on the wall by the postbox, listing the householders here in ad 2000. As this shows, there were then eight households. Another house has been added more recently – almost a population explosion! Something you’ll often notice on this walk, especially at weekends, is a steady traffic of light aircraft passing overhead. These are going to or coming from Sleap Airfield (pronounced ‘Slape’), whose nearest runway extends to about 0.75 miles (1.2km) north of Witterage Green. The airfield was constructed during World War II and used mainly for training bomber crews, and later to train glider crews preparing to drop paratroopers in the D-Day landings and at Arnhem. It is still used as a relief field for nearby RAF Shawbury, and today it is also home to the very active Shropshire Aero Club.
Perhaps nowhere else in England will you find a county so deeply rural and with so much variety as Shropshire. Choose a clear day, climb to the top of The Wrekin, and look down on that ‘land of lost content’ so wistfully evoked by A E Housman.
