Clun to Offa's Dyke and return

Our circuit yesterday had included the leg of the Shropshire Way from Bishop's Castle to Offa's Dyke near Churchtown and today we wanted to include the leg from Clun back to Offa's Dyke about a mile further south, near the hill called Hergan. Yesterday we'd done the road walking in the morning but today we decided to follow the Shropshire Way from Clun to Hergan before taking minor roads for most of the return leg, just retracing our outward path for the last mile or so. This would give us steeper climbs and gentler descents (which I always prefer) as well as getting the more energetic climbing out of the way in the morning, hopefully before it got too warm. 

Clun seems a walker-friendly place,  and the Walking in Clun website  quite reasonably asks you to park at the large free car park by the Memorial Hall at SO302811 to ease the pressure elsewhere in the town. This wasn't a problem at all, though  by car, the car park is better approached by way of Ford Street than by way of Hospital Lane (which is rather narrow). After leaving the car we cut across the top of the town and across the main road to the castle, which is perched high above the River Clun. We left Clun by way of a narrow path by the bowls club, which soon took us to the River Unk (a tributory of the Clun) and so to a nice shady path to the northwest.  There were views back to the castle and the hill-encircled town, though the sun was not in a helpful place for photography.

After a mile or so of gentle walking by the river and across fields we crossed a minor road and climbed on a rather overgrown path around the edge of crop fields. We soon reached a  more open ridge, and for the next mile and a half we climbed steadily up this to the north-west, with stunning views in all directions. The route is marked on the map as "Cefns" which apparently just means "ridge" in Welsh.  We had sheep and occasional cows for company, and useful shade from the trees growing along the ridge.

After the local summit at 373 metres, we descended to the hamlet of Three Gates at 317 metres. A footpath behind a farmhouse led to a relatively steep though short climb along a row of trees. This took us over the shoulder of the hill of Hergan, close to the 380 metre contour, then we "contoured" around the hill, descending slightly and reaching Offa's Dyke, the Offa's Dyke Path, and a minor road. We crossed the road on the route of the Offa's Dyke Path to the south and stopped for a snack. It's weird to think we were walking here exactly 16 years ago today. 

Our return leg started by continuing along the minor road back to Three Gates, which involved a short climb then a gradual descent. Slightly confusingly, from Three Gates  you can return to Clun along  minor roads either to the east or west of the ridge we'd walked along earlier. We opted for the western route, i.e. we turned right in Three Gates and descended quite steeply to the pretty village of Mardu. I don't think any cars passed us in this section, and very few did for the entire return leg to Clun. As we continued,  the steepness of the slope up to the ridge on our left was impressive, and the narrowness of the road made it slightly tricky to find a suitable spot to stop for lunch, but we found somewhere near Hollybush and as we ate our lunch a campervan with canoe on the top came rattling past. Further on, we must have given a real shock to a farmer emerging through a field entrance with various agricultural implements making it tricky for him to turn his tractor onto the road; he probably doesn't encounter walkers very often! He waited for us to pass and, a surprising distance further on, we waited on a wider section of road for him to pass us. Some of the roads round here are so narrow that the only way vehicles of any sort can pass walkers is for the walkers to press themselves right into the hedge - and this can be nettly.

We tool a left-hand fork in Whiteott Keysett then continued straight on rather than taking a right-hand turning signposted to Clun (this would have taken us up to the B4368).  We passed a number of footpaths to the right, but about a kilometre from the place where the road-route to Clun was signposted to the right, we found ourselves back at the place where the Shropshire Way from Clun crossed the road we were now on and we turned right onto it. We'd enjoyed the shade of the trees in this section this morning and it was even more appreciated now! There were a few more people about than there had been earlier, including two women having a picnic near the river, who commented how unusual it was to see others in "their place". 

We bought ice creams at the Spa Shop in Clun then returned to the car and so to the cottage.

Following leg of Shropshire Way (anti-clockwise)