New Year Energizer: The Titterstone Clee

Energize the New Year. Put a spring in your step with a walk up the Titterstone Clee Hill. Join me for a fresh 8 mile circuit of the Clee, with a little over 400 metres of ascent, and work off around 1700 calories!

See from Snowdonia to the Cotswolds. The Titterstone Clee Hill has tremendous views. It is the most southerly of Shropshire's highest peaks, rising to 533 metres above sea level. The vistas are glorious in clear weather: all the way from Hay Bluff in the Brecon Beacons to Cadair Idris in Snowdonia, Wales; from the Cotswolds to the Peak District in England as well as the other Shropshire Hills and Malverns.

Explore boulder field and quarry. Layer after layer of different forms of rock created a rich mixture of geology on the Clee, which was glaciated 10 000 and more years ago. This left a huge boulder field to the west and a pile of periglacial boulders near the summit, known as the Giant's Chair, which we shall see on our walk. Several quarries over the centuries exploited the rock, and there are remains of older tramways and cut rock seams. The lower quarry is still in use for roadstone. The quarry near the summit is in process of being opened for rock climbing by negotiation between the BMC and site owners. We will explore the summit quarry on our way to the top.

Thousands of years of history. Near the summit are remains of a Bronze Age cairn, from around 4000 years ago. 2500 years back, the hill became an Iron Age hill fort with stone banks, instead of more common earthly ones. In medieval times the hill was recorded in Hereford Cathedral's Mappa Mundi. The Titterstone Clee was the setting for one of the Cadfael series of historical novels: 'The Virgin in the Ice'  by Ellis Peters.

Scientific fact and fiction. You will recognise the Clee from a more modern feature: a gold ball like antenna on the top. Originally a secret monitoring station in World War Two, this is now an important radar for air traffic control. If you've played video games you may recognise the hill from Assassin's Creed Valhalla. The Clee is Scriopescire, a whole region to explore in the game. 

I walked this circuit last winter and really enjoyed bounding over the boulders and taking in the fresh air. I recognised the furthest hills in the distance, so I can confirm you really can see that far! So, what better than to share this with you for the New Year.

Well behaved dogs are welcome on this walk.

Waitlist: If this event is fully booked and you really want to attend, add yourself to the waitlist, because places often become available closer to the date.  

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All images are taken by FrankieB and may be used by Outdoorlads.