Willstone

Eight hills rise around this tiny Shropshire settlement like ancient sentinels. Willstone sits quietly in the shadow of the Long Mynd, where serious walkers come to tackle some of England's most dramatic ridge walks without the Pennine crowds.

The Lawley dominates the eastern horizon - a whale-backed ridge that's deceptively tough on tired legs. From its summit, the view stretches across to the Wrekin and beyond into Staffordshire. Caer Caradoc offers an even better scramble, with genuine rocky sections that'll get your heart pumping. The name hints at Iron Age fortifications, and you can still trace the old earthworks near the top.

Willstone Hill itself provides the gentlest introduction to this landscape of rounded peaks and deep valleys. Hope Bowdler Hill and Little Caradoc make for a decent morning's circuit, while The Wilderness lives up to its name - properly remote moorland where you might not see another soul for hours.

Cardington village, just down the valley, has a proper country pub and a war memorial that's worth the short detour. The whole area feels wonderfully untouched - no visitor centres or National Trust car parks, just honest-to-goodness hill country.

Getting here requires a car and some patience with narrow lanes. Church Stretton is the nearest proper town, about twenty minutes south, with a railway station and decent shops. The surrounding countryside is classic Shropshire - green valleys dotted with black-and-white farmhouses, ancient field boundaries, and those ever-present hills.

Staying at one of the nearby holiday parks makes perfect sense. You're right in the heart of walking country, with Shrewsbury an hour north and the Welsh borders tantalizingly close. Mountain Edge Shropshire and Mill Farm Holiday Park both offer good bases for exploring this quieter corner of the county.