National Cycle Network Route 44, part of the

National Cycle Network The National Cycle Network (NCN) is the national cycling route network of the United Kingdom, which was established to encourage cycling and walking throughout Britain, as well as for the purposes of bicycle touring. It was created by the cha ...

, connects

Shrewsbury Shrewsbury ( , also ) is a market town, civil parish, and the county town of Shropshire, England, on the River Severn, north-west of London; at the 2021 census, it had a population of 76,782. The town's name can be pronounced as either 'S ...

Shropshire Shropshire (; alternatively Salop; abbreviated in print only as Shrops; demonym Salopian ) is a landlocked historic county in the West Midlands region of England. It is bordered by Wales to the west and the English counties of Cheshire to ...

with

Cinderford Cinderford is a town and civil parish on the eastern fringe of the Forest of Dean in Gloucestershire, England. The population was 8,777 at the 2021 Census. The town came into existence in the 19th century, following the rapid expansion of Cind ...

Gloucestershire Gloucestershire ( abbreviated Glos) is a county in South West England. The county comprises part of the Cotswold Hills, part of the flat fertile valley of the River Severn and the entire Forest of Dean. The county town is the city of Gl ...

. The part of the route from Shrewsbury to Bromfield is signed - the remainder of the route is currently unsigned. The section from Shrewsbury to Leominster is advertised as the Six Castles Cycleway. The six castles on or near the route are (in geographical order from north to south):

Shrewsbury Castle Shrewsbury Castle is a red sandstone castle in Shrewsbury, Shropshire, England. It stands on a hill in the neck of the meander of the River Severn on which the town originally developed. The castle, directly above Shrewsbury railway station, is a ...

Bishop's Castle Bishop's Castle is a market town in the south west of Shropshire, England. According to the 2011 Census it had a population of 1,893. Bishop's Castle is east of the Wales-England border, about north-west of Ludlow and about south-west o ...

Stokesay Castle Stokesay Castle is one of the finest surviving fortified manor houses in England, and situated at Stokesay in Shropshire. It was largely built in its present form in the late 13th century by Laurence de Ludlow, on the earlier castle (some of whi ...

Ludlow Castle Ludlow Castle is a ruined medieval fortification in the town of the same name in the English county of Shropshire, standing on a promontory overlooking the River Teme. The castle was probably founded by Walter de Lacy after the Norman conque ...

Richard's Castle Richard's Castle is a village, castle and two civil parishes on the border of the counties of Herefordshire and Shropshire in England. The Herefordshire section of the parish had a population of 250 at the 2011 Census. The Shropshire section o ...

and

Croft Castle Croft Castle is a country house in the village of Croft, Herefordshire, England. Owned by the Croft family since 1085, the castle and estate passed out of their hands in the 18th century, before being repurchased by the family in 1923. In 195 ...

Route

Shrewsbury-Bromfield

The route begins in Shrewsbury, one mile west of the town centre, where it links up with

National Cycle Route 81 National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, ce ...

. The formal start point of the route is on Shelton Road (the B4380), at the junction with Woodfield Avenue, where route 81 exists on its way between Shelton and the town centre. Route 44 heads southeast along the B4380 to Longden Road Roundabout, where it turns off onto Longden Road out of Shrewsbury, passing the Priory and Meole Brace secondary schools. The first village outside of Shrewsbury is Hook-a-Gate. After passing through Hook-a-Gate and the neighbouring hamlet of Annscroft, the route turns off along country lanes to

Arscott Arscott is a small hamlet in Shropshire, England. It is near to Plealey, Shorthill and Annscroft and within the civil parish of Pontesbury. The hamlet is spread out along Pound Lane and has a number of Victorian cottages associated with the ...

and then Shorthill, where it meets the A488. The route crosses over the main road and along country lanes again to the large village of

Pontesbury Pontesbury is a village and civil parish in Shropshire and is approximately eight miles southwest of Shrewsbury. In the 2011 census, the village had a population of 1,873 and the parish had a population of 3,227. The village of Minsterley is j ...

, where again it meets the A488. After Pontesbury the route again follows country lanes and heads south to Habberley and then after this village, west to

Minsterley Minsterley is a village and civil parish in Shropshire, England. In the 2011 census, its population was 1,777. Minsterley lies one mile south-west of Pontesbury and 10 miles south-west of Shrewsbury. East from Minsterley along the A488, is the la ...

, where the route again meets the A488. The route then heads along the B4499 to

Priest Weston Priestweston (or Priest Weston) is a small village in the civil parish of Chirbury with Brompton, Shropshire, England, lying in the Welsh Marches. Its name is based on the Old English for "western settlement (''tun'')", with the affix ''priest ...

, on the Shropshire-Wales border, passing to the west of the

Stiperstones The Stiperstones ( cy, Carneddau Teon) is a distinctive hill in the county of Shropshire, England. The quartzite rock of the ridge formed some 480 million years ago. During the last Ice Age Stiperstones lay on the eastern margin of the Welsh i ...

hills. It briefly enters

Powys Powys (; ) is a Local government in Wales#Principal areas, county and Preserved counties of Wales, preserved county in Wales. It is named after the Kingdom of Powys which was a Welsh succession of states, successor state, petty kingdom and princi ...

, including the village of

Churchstoke Churchstoke or Church Stoke ( cy, Yr Ystog) is a village, community and electoral ward in Montgomeryshire, Powys, Wales. Located in the southeast of the Vale of Montgomery, it is overlooked by Todleth Hill, Roundton Hill and Corndon Hill. The ...

(or Church Stoke), where it meets the A489. After Church Stoke, the route is on country lanes again and heads roughly southeast to the small (English) town of Bishop's Castle. After passing through Bishop's Castle and crossing the A488, the route then roughly runs southeast to

Craven Arms Craven Arms is a market town and civil parish in Shropshire, England, on the A49 road and the Welsh Marches railway line, which link it north and south to the larger towns of Shrewsbury and Ludlow respectively. The Heart of Wales railway line ...

, passing to the north of the village of

Lydbury North Lydbury North is a village and a geographically large civil parish in south Shropshire, England. The population of the parish at the 2011 census was 695. The parish is locally called Lydbury, and there is no settlement called Lydbury South. It ...

and running through the hamlet of Round Oak. At Craven Arms the route crosses the

Marches railway line In medieval Europe, a march or mark was, in broad terms, any kind of borderland, as opposed to a national "heartland". More specifically, a march was a border between realms or a neutral buffer zone under joint control of two states in which diff ...

and the busy A49 to the hamlet of Halford, after which it runs along the B4368 east-bound for a short distance, before heading south on a country lane to

Onibury Onibury is a village and Civil parishes in England, civil parish on the River Onny in southern Shropshire, about northwest of the market town of Ludlow. The parish includes the hamlets of Walton and Wootton and was extended in 1967 to include p ...

and after that village, southeast on another country lane, passing through

Ludlow Racecourse Ludlow Racecourse is a thoroughbred horse racing venue located in Bromfield near Ludlow, Shropshire, England. One of the oldest courses in the country Ludlow stages National Hunt racing however originally flat racing was held there. The Hurdles ...

and Golf Club, before reaching the village of Bromfield. At Bromfield is the Ludlow Food Centre and the route meets the A49 again.

Bromfield-Cinderford

After Bromfield it passes just to the west of the historic

market town A market town is a Human settlement, settlement most common in Europe that obtained by custom or royal charter, in the Middle Ages, a market right, which allowed it to host a regular marketplace, market; this distinguished it from a village or ...

Ludlow Ludlow () is a market town in Shropshire, England. The town is significant in the history of the Welsh Marches and in relation to Wales. It is located south of Shrewsbury and north of Hereford, on the A49 road (Great Britain), A49 road which ...

and then continues in a southerly direction into

Herefordshire Herefordshire () is a county in the West Midlands of England, governed by Herefordshire Council. It is bordered by Shropshire to the north, Worcestershire to the east, Gloucestershire to the south-east, and the Welsh counties of Monmouthshire ...

, first to

Leominster Leominster ( ) is a market town in Herefordshire, England, at the confluence of the River Lugg and its tributary the River Kenwater. The town is north of Hereford and south of Ludlow in Shropshire. With a population of 11,700, Leominster is t ...

(where the route goes through the town) and then to

Hereford Hereford () is a cathedral city, civil parish and the county town of Herefordshire, England. It lies on the River Wye, approximately east of the border with Wales, south-west of Worcester and north-west of Gloucester. With a populatio ...

, where it joins up with

National Cycle Route 46 National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, ce ...

. After Hereford, route 44 heads in a roughly southeast direction to Cinderford, via

Ross-on-Wye Ross-on-Wye (Welsh: ''Rhosan ar Wy'') is a market town in England, near the border with Wales. It had a population of 10,582 according to the 2011 census, estimated at 11,309 in 2019. It lies in south-eastern Herefordshire, on the River Wye and ...

. At Cinderford it links up with

National Cycle Route 42 National Cycle Route 42 is a part of the National Cycle Network running from Glasbury in Mid Wales to Gloucester in England. It provides a north–south link from Route 8 (''Lon Las Cymru'') to Route 4, and provides an alternative south route ...

Regional Route 32/33

Originally the National Route 44 was planned to go Shrewsbury-

Church Stretton Church Stretton is a market town in Shropshire, England, south of Shrewsbury and north of Ludlow. The population in 2011 was 4,671.

-Craven Arms (and then continuing to Cinderford as above) but the section from Shrewsbury to Craven Arms was re-routed via Bishop's Castle. Instead the original Church Stretton route is now designated as a ( West Midlands) regional route, numbered either 32 or 33. It is at present unsigned, but appears for example on the Six Castles Cycleway leaflet. This regional route is not yet signed along the route. The first stage of signing is expected to be Shrewsbury to Church Stretton and would begin at Greyfriars Bridge close to the centre of Shrewsbury (where it connects with national route 81) and end at

Church Stretton railway station Church Stretton railway station is a railway station serving the town of Church Stretton in Shropshire, England on the Welsh Marches Line, south of Shrewsbury railway station; trains on the Heart of Wales Line also serve the station. All train ...

, a length of around 15 miles. Almost all the route in on country lanes, as well as the cycle path along a disused railway trackbed in Shrewsbury, which takes the route across the

Rea Brook The name Rea Brook can refer to either of two brooks in Shropshire, England. One of the brooks, which eventually becomes the River Rea, is in southern Shropshire. It is to the east of Brown Clee Hill. The other, described here, is a minor ...

and through Sutton Farm. The route however has to cross the busy A49 road and also runs for a short distance along the A458 near Shrewsbury. Between Shrewsbury (

Coleham Coleham is a district of the town of Shrewsbury in Shropshire, England. It is located just south, over the River Severn, from Shrewsbury town centre. History Coleham grew up as a village outside medieval Shrewsbury, with the nearest crossing ov ...

) and Church Stretton, the route passes through the villages and hamlets of

Betton Strange Betton Strange is a hamlet in the English county of Shropshire. It is only south of Shrewsbury town centre, situated in countryside just beyond the Shrewsbury bypass (the A5) and near the A458. It is located in the civil parish of Berrington, ...

Condover Condover is a village and civil parish in Shropshire, England. It is about south of the county town of Shrewsbury, and just east of the A49. The Cound Brook flows through the village on its way from the Stretton Hills to a confluence with the ...

Great Ryton Great Ryton is a small village in Shropshire, England, to the south of Shrewsbury. It is located less than to the northeast of the village of Dorrington and the A49 road there. Together with the neighbouring hamlet of Little Ryton and Ryton ...

(and Little Ryton), Longnor and

All Stretton All Stretton is a village and a now separate civil parish in Shropshire, England. Much of it is covered by a Conservation Area. Geography All Stretton lies about a mile to the north of the market town of Church Stretton, on the old Shrewsbury ...

. The route is downhill from Church Stretton to Shrewsbury, descending from to .

External links

Shropshire Council
Six Castles Cycleway
Shropshire CyclingRegional Route 32/33
(Google Maps) {{Transport in Gloucestershire Transport in Shropshire Transport in Herefordshire Transport in Gloucestershire Cycleways in England