All Around The Wrekin

Those who live in Shropshire know that The Wrekin is more than just a hill. For all true Salopians it is a sort of focal point and symbol of Shropshire, the embodiment of home, a sentiment implied in the traditional toast 'To all friends around The Wrekin'. Although it reaches only a modest 1,323ft (407m), its splendid isolation makes it seem higher. This illusion is strengthened by its shape: while basically a whaleback, it appears conical from certain angles, like a mini-mountain, giving the impression of an extinct volcano. It isn't, though it is volcanic in origin, an eroded remnant of a vast chunk of rock thrust to the surface around 700 million years ago, putting it among the oldest rocks in the world.

If that origin seems a bit mundane, you might prefer the alternative provided by local folklore, which tells of the giant Gwendol Wrekin ap Shenkin ap Mynyddmawr (or the Devil in another version) who was on his way to Shrewsbury to dam the River Severn with a shovelful of soil. He met a cobbler who guessed what he was up to, showed him the sackful of shoes he was carrying and told him he had worn them all out trying to find Shrewsbury. Frustrated, Gwendol dumped his shovelful on the spot, sparing Shrewsbury from flooding and creating The Wrekin. (It didn't work, however - Shrewsbury floods nearly every winter.)

The return leg of the walk takes you through The Ercall Nature Reserve. The Ercall (pronounced arkle) is a small, steep, wooded hill important for its geology as well as its woodlands and wildlife. It has been much quarried and the sheer quarry faces are exciting to explore. Much of The Ercall is composed of Wrekin quartzite, a hard, white, crystalline rock around 535 million years old. It also has what geologists call an intrusion of granophyre, a fine-grained granite formed 560 million years ago, and a source of china clay. The great civil engineer Thomas Telford (1757-1834) used Ercall granophyre when he resurfaced the Roman Watling Street to create his much admired Holyhead Road, on which the modern A5 is based. Do stop to read the information boards in the nature reserve if you would like to know more about the geology and ecology of The Ercall, which is managed by Shropshire Wildlife Trust in partnership with Telford and Wrekin Council.

What to look for

Limekiln Wood is full of intriguing humps and hollows, overgrown now by ferns and ivy but still hinting at its former role as a quarry. Coal and limestone were dug here and much of the limestone was burnt on site in kilns, two of which survive (they're not on the route of this walk). The resulting lime was used in agriculture and building.

Where to eat and drink

The Dun Cow on Duke Street and the White Lion on Crown Street in Wellington are traditional pubs. Café del Manso next to the bus station has outside tables, very pleasant on sunny days. But my vote goes to Flapjacks, a friendly tea room and restaurant on Bell Street at the end of Tan Bank. No dogs allowed, unfortunately, but children are welcome and there is a reasonable veggie selection.

While you're there

Why not visit one of the National Trust's more unusual properties? You'll pass close by it when you cross Holyhead Road towards the end of the walk. A Victorian suburban house called Sunnycroft, it is typical of many built for prosperous professionals and businessmen, and has survived largely unaltered, its original contents still in place. The garden has pigsties, stables, orchards and even a wellingtonia avenue.