Hopesay Common

Rolling grassland and heathland that feels properly wild - that's Hopesay Common, a sprawling open space just outside Craven Arms where you can walk for hours without seeing much more than sheep and sky. It's the sort of place where the horizon keeps stretching further than you'd expect, and the wind does exactly what it wants.

This isn't a manicured attraction with visitor facilities and carved-out paths. It's common land in the truest sense - open moorland where locals have grazed sheep for centuries and walkers still do much as they please. You get genuine rolling Shropshire Hills landscape here, proper countryside that doesn't need a café or an entrance fee to feel worthwhile. The views back towards Craven Arms and across the surrounding valleys are excellent if you pick a clear day.

Walkers will find this most rewarding. It's the kind of place where you can plot your own route and discover unexpected corners - dry stone walls, scattered trees, the odd old settlement. Allow an afternoon minimum if you want to do it justice. Families with older kids who can handle uneven terrain and longer distances will enjoy it; younger ones might tire of the open spaces after an hour or so.

Stay at Wayside Camping or Shropshire Hills Glamping just down the road and you're perfectly placed for exploring the common and the wider Shropshire Hills. It costs nothing, opens whenever you fancy visiting, and works brilliantly as a base for that particular type of holiday where you want genuine landscape rather than attractions.