Location | Caradoc Retreats

Welcome to Shropshire

Englands most beautiful best kept secret.

Beloved for its dramatic, rolling hills and charming market towns.

South Shropshire is quite literally take your breath away stunning.

The Caradoc Hills, the Long Mynd, the heather and limestone of the Shropshire Hills AONB, this is a landscape that still rewards the people who seek it out. Eight minutes from Church Stretton. Easy reach of Ludlow, one of England's finest food towns.

Then on to exploring the rest of this glorious county. Walking straight from the door. And when the evening light drops across the hills, you'll understand exactly why this site was chosen.

Church Stretton

Eight minutes from the lodge. A Victorian spa town that never lost its character, with independent shops, good cafes and the Long Mynd rising straight from the edge of town. The Burway road over the top is one of the great drives in England. Walk it, drive it or cycle it. It's all right here.

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Ludlow

Twenty minutes south and worth every minute. Ludlow punches well above its size with a thriving food scene, a farmers' market, a celebrated autumn food festival and restaurants that would hold their own in any city. If you only do one thing beyond the hills, make it a night in Ludlow.

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Shrewsbury

Shropshire's county town, forty minutes north, is a proper medieval market town built on a loop of the River Severn. Timber-framed buildings, independent shops, good restaurants and a market that's been running for centuries. Worth a day of anyone's time.

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Ironbridge

The birthplace of the Industrial Revolution and one of England's most atmospheric small towns. The iron bridge itself, the Gorge museums and the steep wooded valley of the Severn make this an hour from the lodge well spent.

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Much Wenlock

A small town with a big history. Much Wenlock inspired the founder of the modern Olympic Games. Today it's a beautiful, quiet market town with a ruined priory, good walking on Wenlock Edge and an unhurried pace that suits the landscape perfectly.

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Bridgnorth

One of Shropshire's most dramatic towns, split between High Town and Low Town by a sandstone cliff with a cliff railway connecting the two. The River Severn runs through the bottom, the views from the top are excellent and the whole place has a character all of its own.

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Bishops Castle

One of England's smallest towns and one of its most quietly individual. Two working breweries, a handful of excellent independent shops and a relaxed, creative community that has made this corner of south-west Shropshire its own. The walking from here into the hills is superb.

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Ellesmere

North Shropshire's lake district, a series of glacial meres surrounded by quiet countryside and wildlife. Ellesmere itself is a pleasant market town but the meres are the real draw. Good birdwatching, peaceful walks and a completely different landscape from the hills to the south.

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Oswestry

A border town with centuries of history and a lively independent food and drink scene. The hillfort above the town is one of the finest Iron Age sites in Wales and the Marches, and a good starting point for exploring the northern reaches of Shropshire and the Welsh hills beyond.

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