Additional information
Terrain
- Mostly excellent, short stretch eroded and uneven, byway from Aldon to Stoke Wood occasionally floods, many stiles
Landscape
- Woods and pasture in unspoiled hills above River Onny
Dog friendliness
- Under control on Brandhill, Aldon and livestock
Parking
- Lay-by on A49 immediately north of Stokesay turn-off
Toilets en route
- At Stokesay Castle (English Heritage, check times)
About the walk
This is an exquisite walk, with wonderful views from the aptly named View Edge, mostly west to Clun Forest, but also east and south to the Clee Hills, Wenlock Edge, Mortimer Forest and Ludlow. Brandhill Gutter and Aldon Gutter are highlights of the walk, and considerably more salubrious than they... sound – a gutter is a local name for the sort of narrow, steep-sided valley more commonly known in Shropshire as a dingle. But, however gorgeous the landscape, it has a rival for once, in the shape of the picturesque Stokesay Castle, which isn’t really a castle at all. It’s a fortified manor house, which might sound like a pedantic distinction, but isn’t. A true castle was defensive in purpose, and therefore strictly practical. Stokesay Castle, however, could not have resisted prolonged assault. It was part fashion statement, part status symbol, and is today the best preserved and probably the oldest example of its kind in England. In the mid-10th century, the manor of Stoke was held by Wild Edric, a Saxon nobleman, but after the Norman Conquest it was given by William I to Picot de Say – hence the name Stokesay. (‘Stoke’, a common English placename, means enclosure.) Picot built a house and a church some time after 1068, but in 1280 Stokesay was sold to Laurence of Ludlow, a wool merchant, who set about rebuilding and fortifying the house. Ten generations of Laurence’s descendants lived at Stokesay, but in the reign of Charles I it came into the ownership of the Craven family and was used as a supply base for the King’s forces when they were based at Ludlow in the early stages of the Civil War. It was surrendered to the Roundheads, without a siege, when it came under attack. By the 19th century it had fallen into decay, and was being used as a barn. Happily, in 1869 it was sold to John Darby Allcroft, a Worcester glove manufacturer and MP, who set about restoring it. Today, Stokesay Castle is in the care of English Heritage. Stokesay’s great hall is a particularly rare survival, almost untouched since medieval times and containing its original staircase, open octagonal hearth and innovative timber roof. There is also a fine solar (an upper living room), containing Elizabethan panelling and a sumptuous fireplace, accessible only by an exterior stair. Across the courtyard is a timber-framed gatehouse decorated with wonderful carvings.
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