Shropshire Way: Walking festival launched

The route takes in the Shropshire Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty

A week-long walking festival has begun in Shropshire and will close with the unveiling of a new sculpture.

The Shropshire Way is a 200-mile path with north and south loops that form a figure of eight centring on Shrewsbury.

Walking groups will lead routes but limited places must be booked because of coronavirus guidelines.

Audrey Menhinick, chairwoman of the Shropshire Way Association, said new maps and waymarking made the county's diverse scenery more accessible.

Audrey Menhinick said paths had been improved and were better marked

The routes take in the Shropshire Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty as well as the towns of Bishop's Castle, Clun, Ludlow, Much Wenlock, Ironbridge and Wellington.

The way is marked by a distinctive orange and black buzzard symbol, which was the inspiration for a two-metre-high sculpture on Kingsland Bridge in Shrewsbury.

The original path was drawn by The Ramblers in 1980, but Ms Menhinick said volunteers had since helped improve paths and markings.

Shropshire Way Association publicity officer Amanda Hartley-Newton, said the routes would take people "through the most beautiful scenery that Shropshire has to offer".

"It's a very diverse county in that respect, so we have beautiful hills, we have hill-top fortresses, we've got castles, market towns. [It's] absolutely stunning."