The Wrekin

The Wrekin is a hill rising above the Shropshire Plain in eastern Shropshire, five miles west of Telford. It stands 407 metres high and forms part of the Shropshire Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. The hill is a familiar landmark visible from the M54 motorway and can be seen as far as Manchester and Gloucestershire. Its slopes are covered with woodland and its summit holds an Iron Age hill fort. A transmitting station and a beacon also mark the top of the hill. The hill fort covers almost eight hectares and was once the capital of the Cornovii tribe. In AD 47 Roman forces captured and burned the fort, forcing the tribe to move to Wroxeter. A Second World War beacon was later replaced by a millennium beacon that flashes red every few seconds at night. In 2022 a new artwork, The Sky Begins at My Feet, was unveiled around the trig point. The sculpture includes portraits of seven local people set in handmade tiles. A steep footpath leads from the M54 junction up to the summit through changing landscapes. The lower slopes pass Carboniferous sandstones while the summit ridge is formed from ancient volcanic rocks. On clear days the view stretches across Shropshire and into Staffordshire. Nearby Ercall Hill lies to the northwest, and Ironbridge Gorge lies to the south. The hill’s folklore includes tales of a giant and a cobbler, and a local toast mentions ‘all friends around the Wrekin’.