National Cycle Route 44
Encyclopedia
National Cycle Network, Route 44, part of the National Cycle Network
, connects Shrewsbury
, Shropshire
with Cinderford
, Gloucestershire
. The part of the route from Shrewsbury to Bromfield
is signed - the remainder of the route is currently unsigned.
The section from Shrewsbury to Leominster is advertised as the Six Castles Cycleway. The six castles on or near the route are (in geographical order from north to south): Shrewsbury Castle
, Bishop's Castle
, Stokesay Castle
, Ludlow Castle
, Richard's Castle
and Croft Castle
.
. After passing through Hook-a-Gate and the neighbouring hamlet of Annscroft, the route turns off along country lanes to Arscott
and then Shorthill, where it meets the A488. The route crosses over the main road and along country lanes again to the large village of Pontesbury
, where again it meets the A488.
After Pontesbury the route again follows country lanes and heads south to Habberley
and then after this village, west to Minsterley
, where the route again meets the A488. The route then heads along the B4499 to Priest Weston, on the Shropshire-Wales border, passing to the west of the Stiperstones
hills. It briefly enters Powys
, including the village of Churchstoke (or Church Stoke), where it meets the A489. After Church Stoke, the route is on country lanes again and heads roughly southeast to the small (English) town of Bishop's Castle.
After passing through Bishop's Castle and crossing the A488, the route then roughly runs southeast to Craven Arms
, passing to the north of the village of Lydbury North
and running through the hamlet of Round Oak. At Craven Arms the route crosses the Marches railway line
and the busy A49 to the hamlet of Halford, after which it runs along the B4368 east-bound for a short distance, before heading south on a country lane to Onibury
and after that village, southeast on another country lane, passing through Ludlow Racecourse
and Golf Club, before reaching the village of Bromfield
. At Bromfield is the Ludlow Food Centre and the route meets the A49 again.
of Ludlow
and then continues in a southerly direction into Herefordshire
, first to Leominster
(where the route goes through the town) and then to Hereford
, where it joins up with National Cycle Route 46. After Hereford, route 44 heads in a roughly southeast direction to Cinderford, via Ross-on-Wye
. At Cinderford it links up with National Cycle Route 42
.
-Craven Arms (and then continuing to Cinderford as above) but the section from Shrewsbury to Craven Arms was re-routed via Bishop's Castle. Instead the original Church Stretton route is now designated as a (West Midlands
) regional route, numbered either 32 or 33. It is at present unsigned, but appears for example on the Six Castles Cycleway leaflet.
This regional route is not yet signed along the route. The first stage of signing is expected to be Shrewsbury to Church Stretton and would begin at Greyfriars Bridge close to the centre of Shrewsbury (where it connects with national route 81) and end at Church Stretton railway station
, a length of around 15 miles. Almost all the route in on country lanes, as well as the cycle path along a disused railway trackbed in Shrewsbury, which takes the route across the Rea Brook
and through Sutton Farm. The route however has to cross the busy A49 road and also runs for a short distance along the A458 near Shrewsbury.
Between Shrewsbury (Coleham
) and Church Stretton, the route passes through the villages and hamlets of Betton Strange
, Condover
, Great Ryton
(and Little Ryton), Longnor
and All Stretton
. The route is downhill from Church Stretton to Shrewsbury.
National Cycle Network
The National Cycle Network is a network of cycle routes in the United Kingdom.The National Cycle Network was created by the charity Sustrans , and aided by a £42.5 million National Lottery grant. In 2005 it was used for over 230 million trips.Many routes hope to minimise contact with motor...
, connects Shrewsbury
Shrewsbury
Shrewsbury is the county town of Shropshire, in the West Midlands region of England. Lying on the River Severn, it is a civil parish home to some 70,000 inhabitants, and is the primary settlement and headquarters of Shropshire Council...
, Shropshire
Shropshire
Shropshire is a county in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes, the county is a NUTS 3 region and is one of four counties or unitary districts that comprise the "Shropshire and Staffordshire" NUTS 2 region. It borders Wales to the west...
with Cinderford
Cinderford
Cinderford is a small town on the eastern fringe of the Forest of Dean in Gloucestershire, England. A population of 8,116 people is recorded in the 2001 census....
, Gloucestershire
Gloucestershire
Gloucestershire is a county in South West England. The county comprises part of the Cotswold Hills, part of the flat fertile valley of the River Severn, and the entire Forest of Dean....
. The part of the route from Shrewsbury to Bromfield
Bromfield, Shropshire
Bromfield is a village and civil parish in Shropshire, England.According to the 2001 census it had a population of 306.-Location:Bromfield is located near the market town of Ludlow, two miles north of the town on the A49 road....
is signed - the remainder of the route is currently unsigned.
The section from Shrewsbury to Leominster is advertised as the Six Castles Cycleway. The six castles on or near the route are (in geographical order from north to south): Shrewsbury Castle
Shrewsbury Castle
Shrewsbury Castle is a red sandstone castle in Shrewsbury, Shropshire, England. It stands on a hill in the neck of the meander of the River Severn on which the town originally developed. The castle is situated directly above Shrewsbury railway station....
, Bishop's Castle
Bishop's Castle
Bishop's Castle is a small market town in Shropshire, England, and formerly its smallest borough. According to the 2001 census it had a population of 1,630. Bishop's Castle is east of the Wales-England border, about north-west of Ludlow and about south-west of Shrewsbury. To the south is Clun...
, Stokesay Castle
Stokesay Castle
Stokesay Castle is a fortified manor house in Stokesay, a mile south of the town of Craven Arms, in southern Shropshire. It was built in the late 13th century...
, Ludlow Castle
Ludlow Castle
Ludlow Castle is a large, partly ruined, non-inhabited castle which dominates the town of Ludlow in Shropshire, England. It stands on a high point overlooking the River Teme...
, Richard's Castle
Richard's Castle
Richard's Castle is a village, castle and two civil parishes on the border of the counties of Herefordshire and Shropshire in England.The village lies on the B4361, 5½ miles south of the historic market town of Ludlow...
and Croft Castle
Croft Castle
Croft Castle is a manor house and associated buildings near the village of Yarpole in Herefordshire, England some to the north-west of Leominster .-11th century origin:...
.
Shrewsbury-Bromfield
The route begins in Shrewsbury, one mile west of the town centre, where it links up with National Cycle Route 81. The formal start point of the route is on Shelton Road (the B4380), at the junction with Woodfield Avenue, where route 81 exists on its way between Shelton and the town centre. Route 44 heads southeast along the B4380 to Longden Road Roundabout, where it turns off onto Longden Road out of Shrewsbury, passing the Priory and Meole Brace secondary schools. The first village outside of Shrewsbury is Hook-a-GateHook-a-Gate
Hook-a-Gate is a village in Shropshire, England. It is located on the Shrewsbury to Longden road, just over the A5 Shrewsbury by-pass from Shrewsbury itself. Bayston Hill is nearby, though there is no direct vehicular road connecting the two villages, only a track. It was formerly a stop on the...
. After passing through Hook-a-Gate and the neighbouring hamlet of Annscroft, the route turns off along country lanes to Arscott
Arscott
Arscott is a small village in Shropshire, England. It is near to Plealey, Shorthill and Annscroft.Nearby is the hamlet of Arscott Villa, which adjoins Annscroft....
and then Shorthill, where it meets the A488. The route crosses over the main road and along country lanes again to the large village of Pontesbury
Pontesbury
Pontesbury is a large village and civil parish in Shropshire and is approximately eight miles southwest of the county town of Shrewsbury. The village of Minsterley is just over a mile further southwest. The A488 road runs through the village, on its way from Shrewsbury to Bishop's Castle...
, where again it meets the A488.
After Pontesbury the route again follows country lanes and heads south to Habberley
Habberley, Shropshire
Habberley is a small village in the English county of Shropshire.Habberley lies near the Stiperstones southwest of the town of Shrewsbury.Formerly a small civil parish in its own right Habberley was merged in to the Pontesbury civil parish in 1967. In 1824 its population was recorded as 151 - by...
and then after this village, west to Minsterley
Minsterley
Minsterley is a village and civil parish in Shropshire, England. It is home to a large dairy operated by Uniq foods.The dairy currently employs nearly 500 people...
, where the route again meets the A488. The route then heads along the B4499 to Priest Weston, on the Shropshire-Wales border, passing to the west of the Stiperstones
Stiperstones
The Stiperstones is a very distinctive hill in the county of Shropshire, England. It is a quartzite ridge formed some 480 Million years ago. During the last Ice Age the summit stood out above the glaciers and was subject to constant freezing and thawing which shattered the quartzite into a mass of...
hills. It briefly enters Powys
Powys
Powys is a local-government county and preserved county in Wales.-Geography:Powys covers the historic counties of Montgomeryshire and Radnorshire, most of Brecknockshire , and a small part of Denbighshire — an area of 5,179 km², making it the largest county in Wales by land area.It is...
, including the village of Churchstoke (or Church Stoke), where it meets the A489. After Church Stoke, the route is on country lanes again and heads roughly southeast to the small (English) town of Bishop's Castle.
After passing through Bishop's Castle and crossing the A488, the route then roughly runs southeast to Craven Arms
Craven Arms
Craven Arms is a small town and civil parish in Shropshire, England, located on the A49 road and the Welsh Marches railway line, which connect it north and south to the larger towns of Shrewsbury and Ludlow respectively. The Heart of Wales railway line joins the Welsh Marches line at Craven Arms...
, passing to the north of the village of Lydbury North
Lydbury North
Lydbury North is a village and a geographically large parish in Shropshire, England. It is locally called Lydbury and there is no settlement of "Lydbury South"....
and running through the hamlet of Round Oak. At Craven Arms the route crosses the Marches railway line
Welsh Marches Line
The Welsh Marches Line , known historically as the North and West Route, is the railway line running from Newport in south-east Wales to Shrewsbury in the West Midlands region of England by way of Abergavenny, Hereford and Craven Arms, and thence to Crewe via Whitchurch...
and the busy A49 to the hamlet of Halford, after which it runs along the B4368 east-bound for a short distance, before heading south on a country lane to Onibury
Onibury
Onibury is a small village and civil parish in southern Shropshire, in the lower division of the hundred of Munslow. It is sited on the River Onny 5 miles to the north-west of Ludlow, and had a railway station on the Shrewsbury and Hereford Railway....
and after that village, southeast on another country lane, passing through Ludlow Racecourse
Ludlow Racecourse
Ludlow Racecourse is a thoroughbred horse racing venue located near Ludlow, Shropshire, England.The B4365 crosses the racecourse at three points of the tracks and traffic is stopped when the course is in use....
and Golf Club, before reaching the village of Bromfield
Bromfield, Shropshire
Bromfield is a village and civil parish in Shropshire, England.According to the 2001 census it had a population of 306.-Location:Bromfield is located near the market town of Ludlow, two miles north of the town on the A49 road....
. At Bromfield is the Ludlow Food Centre and the route meets the A49 again.
Bromfield-Cinderford
After Bromfield it passes just to the west of the historic market townMarket town
Market town or market right is a legal term, originating in the medieval period, for a European settlement that has the right to host markets, distinguishing it from a village and city...
of Ludlow
Ludlow
Ludlow is a market town in Shropshire, England close to the Welsh border and in the Welsh Marches. It lies within a bend of the River Teme, on its eastern bank, forming an area of and centred on a small hill. Atop this hill is the site of Ludlow Castle and the market place...
and then continues in a southerly direction into Herefordshire
Herefordshire
Herefordshire is a historic and ceremonial county in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes it is a NUTS 3 region and is one of three counties that comprise the "Herefordshire, Worcestershire and Gloucestershire" NUTS 2 region. It also forms a unitary district known as the...
, first to Leominster
Leominster
Leominster is a market town in Herefordshire, England, located approximately north of the city of Hereford and south of Ludlow, at...
(where the route goes through the town) and then to Hereford
Hereford
Hereford is a cathedral city, civil parish and county town of Herefordshire, England. It lies on the River Wye, approximately east of the border with Wales, southwest of Worcester, and northwest of Gloucester...
, where it joins up with National Cycle Route 46. After Hereford, route 44 heads in a roughly southeast direction to Cinderford, via Ross-on-Wye
Ross-on-Wye
Ross-on-Wye is a small market town with a population of 10,089 in southeastern Herefordshire, England, located on the River Wye, and on the northern edge of the Forest of Dean.-History:...
. At Cinderford it links up with National Cycle Route 42
National Cycle Route 42
National Cycle Route 42 is a part of the National Cycle Network running from Glasbury in Mid Wales to Gloucester in England. It provides a north-south link from Route 8 to Route 4, and provides an alternative south route for Lon Las Cymru for those starting at Chepstow instead of Cardiff...
.
Regional Route 32/33
Originally the National Route 44 was planned to go Shrewsbury-Church StrettonChurch Stretton
Church Stretton is a small town and civil parish in Shropshire, England. The population of the town was recorded as 2,789 in 2001, whilst the population of the wider parish was recorded as 4,186...
-Craven Arms (and then continuing to Cinderford as above) but the section from Shrewsbury to Craven Arms was re-routed via Bishop's Castle. Instead the original Church Stretton route is now designated as a (West Midlands
West Midlands (region)
The West Midlands is an official region of England, covering the western half of the area traditionally known as the Midlands. It contains the second most populous British city, Birmingham, and the larger West Midlands conurbation, which includes the city of Wolverhampton and large towns of Dudley,...
) regional route, numbered either 32 or 33. It is at present unsigned, but appears for example on the Six Castles Cycleway leaflet.
This regional route is not yet signed along the route. The first stage of signing is expected to be Shrewsbury to Church Stretton and would begin at Greyfriars Bridge close to the centre of Shrewsbury (where it connects with national route 81) and end at Church Stretton railway station
Church Stretton railway station
Church Stretton railway station is a railway station serving the town of Church Stretton in Shropshire, England. It is situated on the Welsh Marches Line, 12¾ miles south of Shrewsbury railway station, while trains on the Heart of Wales Line also serve the station...
, a length of around 15 miles. Almost all the route in on country lanes, as well as the cycle path along a disused railway trackbed in Shrewsbury, which takes the route across the Rea Brook
Rea Brook
The name Rea Brook can refer to either of two brooks in Shropshire, England.One of the brooks, which eventually becomes the River Rea, is in southern Shropshire. It is to the east of Brown Clee Hill....
and through Sutton Farm. The route however has to cross the busy A49 road and also runs for a short distance along the A458 near Shrewsbury.
Between Shrewsbury (Coleham
Coleham
Coleham is a district of the town of Shrewsbury in Shropshire, England. It is located just south, over the River Severn, from Shrewsbury town centre....
) and Church Stretton, the route passes through the villages and hamlets of Betton Strange
Betton Strange
Betton Strange is a hamlet in the English county of Shropshire. It is just south of Shrewsbury, near to the Shrewsbury bypass and the A458.Regional Cycle Route 32/33 runs through, on its way from Shrewsbury to Condover.-External links:...
, Condover
Condover
Condover is a village and civil parish in Shropshire, England. It lies 4.7 miles south of the county town of Shrewsbury, and just east of the A49. The Cound Brook flows through the village on its way from the Stretton Hills to a confluence with the River Severn...
, Great Ryton
Great Ryton
Great Ryton is a small village in Shropshire, England.It is located less than a mile to the northeast of the village of Dorrington and the A49 road there....
(and Little Ryton), Longnor
Longnor, Shropshire
Longnor is a village and civil parish in the English county of Shropshire.It is located just off the A49 south of Dorrington and north of Leebotwood...
and All Stretton
All Stretton
All Stretton is a village and civil parish in Shropshire, England.-Geography:All Stretton lies about a mile to the north of the market town of Church Stretton, on the old Shrewsbury Road - the county town is 12 miles to the north. Similarly, the small village of Little Stretton lies to the south...
. The route is downhill from Church Stretton to Shrewsbury.
External links
- Shropshire Council Six Castles Cycleway
- Shropshire Cycling
- Regional Route 32/33 (Google Maps)