Haughmond Hill isn't the first place that jumps out at you when you visit Shrewsbury. The Wrekin near Telford is a bigger hill, and the South Shrophire and Welsh hills loom beautifully in the distance on a clear day; however, when you are driving down the A5 and you get a few miles from Shrewsbury, keep an eye to the right of the road and you can see a small hillock jutting out above the farmland of the North Shropshire plain. This is Haughmond Hill.

The Hill

Haughmond Hill is a small spur of turbidite that protrudes from the roll of the land. In essence it continues the height of the land behind it, creating a flat top that juts out, giving a clear view over the Shrewsbury plain. It is pronounced 'haw-mund'.

An Ancient Hill Fort

Given its vantage point it was clearly a good place to set up camp and watch for invaders. It has remains of a 'slight univallate hillfort', which was constructed in the transition period between the Late Bronze Age and Early Iron Age, the 8th to 5th Centuries BC. If you know what you are looking for you may be able to see traces of this, while the less experienced among us can just appreciate the view!

A Monastic Community

Nestled at its foot was a community of Benedictine monks who first settled there in 1130 in order to escape the world. The Dissolution closed the monastery like so many others, and today it is a ruin, protected by English Heritage. It is closed during the winter but is open during the more hospitable months for a modest fee.

A Folly

The remains of an 18th century folly known as Haughmond Castle is visible on the top of the hill. It collapsed in 1931, having consisted of three two-storey towers used to signal to the local foxhunters that a hunt was due to take place. You can just about see it in this picture of the wharf at Uffington, in the background. It was part of the local Sundorne Castle estate, a large stately home that was mostly pulled down in 1955 and is now a ruin itself.

A Modern Defence

A few metres from the remains of the folly is a World War II spigot mortar emplacement. Unusually for a 'Blacker Bombard' like this, it wasn't close enough to a bridge, road or other important location, so it has been assumed it was used by the Home Guard for training rather than for real defence. It is possible that it could have been placed there to defend the river Severn, as the river loops around not far away, but it would have been a long shot!

A Working Quarry

There has been a modern quarry on this site since the 1950s, although there have been small-scale quarrying of red sandstone all over the hill for local building for hundreds of years. Bardon Aggregates currently quarry a large section of the hill for road surfacing material; this is one of only seven quarries in the country that can produce the right quality stone. It is estimated that it will run out in about 2020.

They are only allowed to continue quarrying downwards, not outwards. They only blast a couple of times a month so it is rare to be disturbed by loud noises, and because the work goes on inside the pit the noise of the machinery is only heard quite close by.

A Hidden Gem

Owned by the Forestry Commission but maintained by the quarry, the surrounding area is a mix of native trees and planted firs. As there are a few elm trees still left here, it is possible to catch a glimpse of a White-letter Hairstreak butterfly. When they are in caterpillar form they only eat elm tree leaves, so they are now very rare due to the Dutch Elm disease that swept through the country in the 1960s. You may also catch a glimpse of the deer that live on the hill, but you will have to be quiet!

At the top of the hill, just off of the B5062, is a large car park with a small cafe. You'll always get a space during the week but good weather at a weekend can see it packed out! If you are on a mountain bike or on foot you can also access the base of the hill from the village of Uffington, but there is no car parking available at that point.

There are four signed routes through the woodland.

• The Yellow route is circular and 1.3km long, and suitable for wheelchairs and pushchairs.
• The circular Red route is 2.3km long and is a lovely stroll through the woodland.
• The Blue route is also circular, and is an extension of the Red route all the way up to the remains of the castle, the best viewpoint of the route. It is about 4km long.
• The Geo-Trail is not circular but does meet up with the Blue walk at its end, and is 1.3km long. This has some information boards about the local ecology and geology, and also has a platform to look into the working quarry.

There is also a mountain biking route extension on the Yellow route that has some more exiting terrain which is also suitable for horse-riding.

While it is generally advisable to stick to the marked paths, there are also smaller footpaths that link up the main routes, and a gravel track that you can follow if you don't want to wend your way by muddy paths on the blue route. There are also several footpaths that lead down off of the hill onto the surrounding land and lead to the local villages of Uffington and Upton Magna.