 | | Exploring the Shropshire Hills |
It was a hot and sunny Saturday morning when I embarked on my journey around the Stiperstones. I boarded the Stiperstones Shuttle at Bridges and then, as I hopped on and off the bus, I chatted to whoever I encountered along the way. Across eight hours I met walkers, craftsmen, mining enthusiasts, landladies, the shuttle bus driver and his passengers. It was a lovely day, with many wonderful stories along the way and I ended where I started at Bridges in the South Shropshire hills. Shuttle launch The Shropshire Hills shuttle buses run from April to October, offering access to one of the most beautiful parts of the Midlands. It's also an area of Shropshire not serviced by traditional public transport. The Long Mynd, Stiperstones and Secret Hills shuttles cover much of the Shropshire Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB).
BBC Radio Shropshire's Kate Tebby left her car in the Bridges car park, near Church Stretton, and hopped onto the Stiperstones Shuttle. The bus takes a circular route up to Tankerville, Snailbeach and Minsterley, before returning via Habberley and Pulverbatch to Bridges. | "I just need to see something other than a computer today." | | Pauline, shuttle bus visitor |
Kate discovered that those on the shuttle included a mixture of locals who have adopted the service as public transport, as well as tourists who preferred to leave the car behind and explore one of the county's most inspiring landscapes on foot. While a few of the tourists were from Shropshire, enjoying a day out, others were from further afield, keen to discover the hidden county. The shuttle's circular route allows visitors to hop on and off the bus as often as they want. As Kate discovered there's plenty to explore and more than enough to fill the day. Some of the visitors left the shuttle to walk north over the Stiperstones and rejoined it in Habberley. Others opted for a less strenuous workout and, like Kate, took in a few of the pubs along the way!
 | | Down Snailbeach leadmine |
Kate's route took her to the highest point on the Stiperstones, which has inspired countless myths and legends. She then headed to Tankerville Potteries to meet a family of artists, before catching the bus to Snailbeach. While there Kate visited the Victorian Day and headed into one of the mines in the company of Steve Holding, Chair of the Shropshire Mines Trust. Snailbeach used to be one of the biggest producers of lead in the country and the SMT offers access to the mines most Sundays. From Snailbeach Kate travelled to the nearby village of Stiperstones and met Phil and Lara, landlord and landlady of the Stiperstones Inn, which has been in the same family for 35 years. After working in Birmingham for years, Lara brought Phil back to the Stiperstones, an area which the couple appreciate all the more after living away. However, it has its 'bizarre' moments as Phil explained: 'Our first Christmas... we had on our car park three Father Christmases burning a piano, ritually, while playing it.' It might be in the middle of nowhere, but the Stiperstones Inn is also well connected. With the help of a satellite dish the pub provides broadband access for the whole community and is one of Switch on Shropshire's rural Broadplace zones.
 | | Stiperstones view |
After a quick drink, Kate took the shuttle back to Bridges and the famous Horseshoe Inn, which not only featured in the Only Fools & Horses spin-off TV series The Green Green Grass, but has also served pints to Pete Postlethwaite and Steven Spielberg. Even when Hollywood isn't visiting, the pub boasts a few 'characters' of its own. Kate met landlady Mo McAulay who fell in love with the place after running a pub in Shrewsbury. Mo loves the friendly and busy life up on the edge of the Stiperstones, but dreams of a pub crawl and falling asleep on the Burway. | 
