A traveller's guide to Bishop's Castle, Shropshire

Quaint and quirky, this Shropshire market town makes the ideal base for an escape to the country.

By Mark Rowe
Published 9 Apr 2019, 00:22 BST
Bishop’s Castle
Bishop’s Castle, a quirky rural pit stop tucked away in rural Shropshire.
Photograph by Alamy

Why go

Tucked away in rural Shropshire, and just two miles from the Welsh border, Bishop’s Castle is a quirky rural pit stop, its jumble of townhouses and timber-framed buildings home to a number of artists and craftspeople. Check out the one-handed clock on St John’s Church— a fitting symbol of the town’s palpably slower pace of life.

What to do

Don your walking boots and head out into the Shropshire Hills. Just a short drive from town lies the Stiperstones, a jagged quartzite hill, where you can climb to the summit at dusk in midsummer and witness a marvellous twilight glow stretching for miles around.

Don’t miss

The House on Crutches — a modest little museum of Shropshire social history. It’s housed in an extraordinary Elizabethan timbered building that juts out over the High Street.

We like

A ramble around the colourful high street, where woodworker Stuart Carroll crafts traditional furniture from green ash at his shop, Old Time. Don’t forget to call in at A J Pugh Butchers, where you can pick up a fidget pie — a local Shropshire speciality, filled with bacon, potatoes, apple and thyme.

Where to stay

Perched on a hill at the top of town, the Castle Hotel features a handsome oak-panelled dining room and stylish guest rooms. Don’t miss the garden with its superb views across the rolling Shropshire countryside.

Where to eat

The Three Tuns Inn and Brewery (the UK’s oldest brewery) dates back to 1642. As well as great ale, expect hearty pub grub.

Published in the April 2019 issue of National Geographic Traveller (UK)

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