Shropshire Routes to Roots

A walk around Bury Ditches Hill Fort

Background

The Bury Ditches hillfort, near Lydbury North in Shropshire, dates from the 1st millennium B.C. and is considered to be one of the finest hillforts in Britain. The hillfort is on Forestry Commission land so it is freely accessible to members of the public, with a car park close by. This walk takes you round the fort, enabling you to see some of its archaeological features. In the 1970's the hillfort was really revealed for the first time, following a number of winter storms that removed many of the trees from the top of the hill.

Bury Ditches hillfort from the air

Once you have finished reading about Bury Ditches, you may be interested in the theme on Lydbury North, a nearby estate and once home to Lord Clive of India.

Going for a walk around Bury Ditches

Start your walk from the Forestry Commission car park (on the north-east side of the hillfort) and head first of all towards the north-east entrance. Don't worry about missing it, because you can't! The north entrance is described by archaeologists as a classic example of an 'in turned entrance'.

An 'in turned entrance' is formed when the ramparts or ridges around the edge of the hillfort are extended into the interior to create a passageway. The 'in turned' entrance at Bury Ditches leads to a 40 metre passageway into the monument and is thought by some, to have formed part of a guard house built by the Cornovii tribe, the same tribe that lived on top of the Wrekin.

Now move on towards the top of the hill, towards the toposcope, which points out all of the key surrounding features: including the barrows on the top of the Longmynd, to the north-east and the Bronze Age axe factories of Corndon Hill, to the north.

Having looked at these features, move on round to the south-west side of the hillfort. On this side, you can see an 'out turned' or 'staggered entrance'. This part of the hillfort gets its name because the ramparts or ridges coming up from the south and down from the north overlap one another. This entrance forms a narrow and zig-zagged passageway and had obvious defensive advantages, when it comes to defending an entrance against attack.

Now begin heading back to car park, enjoying some of the nicest Shropshire views!

Extra information:

The Forestry Commission has a car park big enough for 20 cars, between Clunton and Lydbury North. There is a picnic table at the car park, with a braille trail leading up the hillfort. The Forestry Commission has laid out their own walk around the monument, which is well sign posted from the car park. It is about 1.3 miles in length and takes about 1 to 1 and half hours at an easy walking pace.

Continue

If you want to learn more about this area of South Shropshire, explore the theme on Lydbury North: Lydbury North.

Find more places to discover in Shropshire: Walks