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A Walk from the Abbey
Welcome to the Rea Brook Valley This takes you on a circular walk from Shrewsbury Abbey into the tranquil Rea Brook Valley. The map shows the route of the walk and other footpaths in the Valley and how they link up with the surrounding roads. The circular walk is marked with green arrows. It is about 2.5km long and will take one to two hours depending on how fast you walk. The walk has some steps and kissing gates. Part of a longer walk (marked with burgundy arrows) follows some of the same route. This walk is in the Rural Rambles set. The Valley is part of the countryside. During the winter some of the paths may be wet and muddy so strong shoes or boots are needed. Start your walk by the mural "Windows onto the Rea Brook" opposite the Abbey. This building is the former Abbey Station, once part of the Potteries, Shrewsbury and North Wales Railway. Walk along the old platform, now at the edge of the car park. Soon you will get your first sight of the Rea Brook itself as it flows into a culvert carrying it under the car park. The Rea Brook rises at Marton Pool in the Shropshire Hills and flows with great force during the winter months. Six corn mills were powered by its waters between the Abbey and Meole Brace. Follow the path, through a kissing gate and into a field. Traffic noise can be heard in many parts of the Valley but this is one of the quietest places - listen for any birds calling. Continue through the field to the gate. This takes you onto the former Old Potts Railway line. Woodland has developed on the sides of the old railway and this is a good place to see bats on a summer evening. Turn left along the embankment, crossing over the Rea Brook and taking the steps down on the left. This is the site of Trill’s Mill. Trill comes from an Anglo-Saxon word meaning trickle and refers to the trickle of water over a mill wheel. In the past the mill was also called Prynce’s and Monk’s Mill and converted to steam power in the 1800s. Go through the subway under the road and into Leat Meadow. The old mill race is visible as a thick line of trees along the side of the Valley. It was first recorded in the Domesday Book in 1086 but is thought to be over 1000 years old. Follow the trail through the meadow, passing a strip of trees on your left. This is the remains of a levelling leat. Each mill had a fine tuning system with a channel cut back to the brook and a sluice which could be opened or closed to control the flow to the water wheel. The leat fills with water in the winter and stays damp throughout the summer creating a home for damp-loving plants and animals. Continue under the subway into Column Meadow. Listen for the whistle of a Kingfisher and look out for a flash of blue as you walk along the riverbank. Follow the path until you reach another path which crosses the Valley. This is a very old trackway and has been used since Roman times. The hedgerows on each side contain holly, hawthorn and elder. Ahead of you is the former site of Burnt Mill. More recently it was the home of Salop Laundry and has now been redeveloped as houses. Turn right along the lane and cross the Rea Brook by the metal bridge. Look out for chubb and sticklebacks in the water beneath. On a sunny day this is a warm pool for basking. Head to the right across the grass and under the old apple trees. Go up the steps and through a gate into the meadow. From here you have a view of Lord Hill on his Column. Built in the 18th century, it is over 40m (133ft) tall. Lord Hill fought in the Battle of Waterloo. Walk through the meadow to the kissing gate which leads onto the roundabout. Historically these small fields along the Rea Brook were grazed by sheep and cattle belonging to the Abbey. Drovers bringing stock for the town market would rest their animals in some of the fields until it was time for the market to start. Hay was cut in some fields each summer to provide winter feed for stock. This traditional, fertilizer-free management promotes wild flower growth, providing food for many birds and insects. Grazing and hay cutting are still carried out in some of these fields. Cross over Pritchard Way to walk around the far side of the roundabout. Cross over Old Potts Way and continue to the left along the road until you reach a path on the right. Take this path which leads back onto the old railway line and retrace your steps through the meadow back to the mural. Things to look out for :- Watch for Kestrels hovering almost motionless over the Valley meadows as they hunt for small mammals in the long grass. "Windows onto the Rea Brook", the mural painted by local artist, Jude Woodhouse, gives a taste of the scenery that lies just a short walk up the Valley. Pipistrelles are Britain’s smallest and most numerous bat. They feed on tiny insects, like gnats, and one bat may eat up to 3000 in one night. Warm, still summer evenings at dusk are the best times to go bat watching. Once it is dark you may be lucky enough to see the noctule bat against the sky high above the trees. Burnt Mill was a corn mill from 1086 until 1908. Water to power the mill machinery was generated by the flow of water along the mill race. You can see the remains of the mill race from the wooden bridge at the bottom of the steps up to Laundry Lane. Today the mill race provides a home for plants such as watermint and the rare greater spearwort which need damp conditions to grow in. Song thrushes use a stone as an anvil to crack open snail shells to get at the tasty meal inside. The same anvil will be used many times so look out for stones surrounded by broken snail shell pieces. Small mammals, such as voles, live in rough, long grass making them good hunting grounds for owls, kestrels and foxes. Barn Owls are not very common now. They nest in barns and other buildings and many of these have fallen into ruin or been converted into houses as farming methods have changed so reducing the number of suitable nesting sites. Un-fertilised grassland is also less common so hunting grounds are few and far between. Fungi can be seen all year round in the Valley but Autumn is a particularly good time to look out for bracket fungi on trees and fallen logs and toadstools on the ground. The razorstrop fungus grows on birch trees and is so named because its hard surface used to be used for sharpening razors. The bright red top and white spots of the fly agaric toadstool warn of its poison. The infamous nettle has many uses. Nettle soup and nettle wine are just two. Nettles can also be used to make cloth. 85% of the German army’s uniforms in World War I was made of nettle. |
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Telephone 01743 359199 E-Mail countryside@shrewsbury.gov.uk
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