Nearby Towns & Villages

Lydbury North, just three miles from Bishop’s Castle, was an important Saxon Manor pre dating Bishop’s Castle and has a fine Norman church and a community shop run entirely by volunteers. It has a pub, the Powis Arms, a camping & caravanning site, B&Bs and self catering accommodation, a primary school and village hall.  In the village  is Walcot Hall, a Georgian gem and a famous wedding venue with an arboretum and fishing lakes.  ( click here for  “Where to Stay”  and here for “Where to Eat and What to do”)www.lydburynorth.net

 The Stiperstones and the West Onny Valley, within the Shropshire Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

Shelve, a hamlet is situated two miles north east of the Welsh border and two miles west of the Stiperstones ridge was once a market town. Lead mines here were worked by the Romans; and a pig of lead, bearing a Roman inscription, has been discovered.

Snailbeach village was built for workers at the local lead mine - Snailbeach Mine. Underground mining ceased in Snailbeach in 1955. The Shropshire Council, using government grants, did extensive work in the early 1990s to make some of the shallow workings safe for the villagers. At the same time, they acquired many of the surface buildings and preserved these  or restored them from a semi-derelict condition.    The mine is open to the public – www.shropshiremines.org.uk .

Stiperstones village has a pub, the Stiperstones Inn which includes a shop and accommodation.  Not far away is the Bog Centre, Housed in a former Victorian school, part of a deserted mining village now a quiet haven at the foot of the Stiperstones National Nature Reserve. 
Stiperstones has a web site www.stiperstones.co.uk 

Wentnor lies on a ridge to the west of the Long Mynd, with good views in all directions, especially of the Stiperstones to the west. It is an attractive village on a site that dates back to Saxon times. The church of St. Michael and All Angels is at one end of the ridge, and the views towards the west from the churchyard are spectacular. The village has pubs, a shop, a caravan & camping site and \B&B and self catering accommodation

Norbury is a tiny hamlet with the ancient Sun Inn, which offers accommodation, at its centre and a 12 century church. Norbury has a school website http://shropshire.schooljotter.com/norburyprimary

Myndtown has a Parish Council website www.2shrop.net/myndtown
covering Myndtown, Norbury, Ratlinghope and Wentnor Parishes.

Craven Arms
A market town 10 miles to the east at a junction of the busy A49 Shrewsbury to Ludlow road, Craven Arms has the nearest railway station to Bishop’s Castle and the nearby Stokesay Castle is the best example of the fortified manor house in the country. Nearby is the new Shropshire Hills Discovery Centre and in the town in and Land of Lost Content, the national museum of popular culture.
www.visitshropshirehills.co.uk

Church Stretton
Historically a spa town set in the valley at the base of the Long Mynd. The main A49 runs close by and now there is a footpath linking the town with its sister villages of Little Stretton and All Stretton. From the town there is easy access to the rolling moorland of the Long Mynd, the southern most grousemoor in Britain with superb views and many footpaths. It is a “Walkers are Welcome” town. The town is served by a railway station on the Shrewsbury to Ludlow Line. www.churchstretton.co.uk

Chirbury
The seat of Lord Herbert of Chirbury, now the Earl of Powis, is a small, border village where many of the houses are timber framed with red brick facades. It is two miles from Offa’s Dyke on the Montgomery road and within easy reach of Mitchells’s Fold Stone Circle above Priest Weston (see Beauty Spots). The School House is a typical black and white timber framed building with a Victorian wing. It was founded by local vicar Edward Lewis in 1675 and is still in use. There was once an ancient priory and the church, which has two rows of leaning pillars inside, retains many of its building materials. The Herbert Arms serves good food and there is a local Post Office, shop and tourist information point which stocks a local leaflet.
T.I. Open Mon - Fri 9.00 a.m. - 5.30 p.m. Sat 9.00 a.m. - 1.00 p.m. and Sun 10.00 a.m. - 12.00 noon.

Montgomery
The county town of Montgomeryshire - now part of Powys. It is now a small country town with a very impressive ruined castle and a range of shops and services. It is not far from the Shropshire Way.
www.montgomery-powys.co.uk

Ludlow
A mediaeval market town on the River Teme lies 20 miles to the south east. It has an impressive Norman Castle and nearly 500 listed buildings. In past centuries it was a town of considerable importance and a fashionable social centre. www.ludlow.org.uk

Shrewsbury
The county town, 22 miles to the north, is almost surrounded by the River Severn and boasts both quaint shops and alleyways as well as modern shopping malls. It has a castle and museums, several fine churches and an 11th century Abbey. The ruins of the Roman city of Viriconium lie 5 miles away. www.visitshrewsbury.com

On the other side of the border, the old Welsh market towns of Welshpool and Newtown are just 16 miles away. The ancient Kerry Ridgeway provides the scenic route from Bishop’s Castle to Newtown, in the valley of the river Severn. It is the birthplace of the 19th century socialist reformer Robert Owen and, this century, has been considerably developed. It is also on the main route to the coast from the Bishop’s Castle area. Welshpool, on the Montgomery Canal, was an important centre for the wool trade and now has the biggest livestock market in mid-Wales and it is also the home of the Welshpool to Llanfair Light Railway and the Montgomery canal Museum. Powis Castle, a major National Trust property, with magnificent gardens, is near the town centre. Edinburgh Woollen Mills has taken over the Old Station and it is now open Mon - Sat 9.00 a.m. - 5.45 p.m. and Sun 11.00 a.m. - 5.00 p.m. www.welshpool.org & www.newtown.org.uk

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