Shropshire’s Great Outdoors website is launched

Enjoy getting out and about in Shropshire’s Great Outdoors? Need to know more about where to go and what to do? Looking for a great family day out? A new website is being launched by the Shropshire Outdoor Partnership team at Shropshire Council making the answer to these questions just a click away.

The new website, www.shropshiresgreatoutdoors.co.uk, has been designed to provide a user-friendly experience allowing residents and visitors to the UK’s largest land-locked county to discover its fantastic countryside, exceptional views and wonderful wildlife.

On the easy-to-navigate website users can explore Shropshire’s Green Flag Award-winning country parks, heritage sites and play areas or get active on over 5,500 kilometres of Public Rights of Way. With the Shropshire Hills designated an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and the internationally important Meres and Mosses in the north, Shropshire is the perfect place to enjoy the great outdoors.

Stuart West, Shropshire Council’s Cabinet member for leisure and culture, said:

“With the Easter holidays coming up, we hope you will make the most of the spring weather to explore the wonderful countryside of Shropshire with your family and friends. We hope the Shropshire’s Great Outdoors website will make is easier to find the perfect trip out that everyone will enjoy, whatever you’re looking for.”

The website is presented in handy sections highlighting promoted walking, cycling and horse riding routes. Each section is designed to reveal the many great outdoor pursuits Shropshire’s beautiful and varied landscape has to offer. For example, whatever sort of walk you are looking for, whether close to a market town, showing some of the best countryside or with a pub lunch to finish off; the search criteria on www.shropshiresgreatoutdoors.co.uk will help you find it.

The cycling section makes getting out and about in the great outdoors by bike easier than ever. The 185m Shropshire Cycleway which goes round the perimeter of the county, a number of National Cycle Routes that pass through Shropshire including the Mercian Way, and the Six Castles Cycleway, can all be downloaded prior to each journey or accessed on route with a mobile device.

With over 600 miles of byways and bridleways, crisscrossing their way through the stunning countryside, you couldn’t ask for a better place to ride in the great outdoors than Shropshire. Long distance routes, such as the Jack Mytton Way, which can be tackled in sections, can be accessed online as well as many different circular routes. The online interactive map allows users to search by place names which will quickly highlight nearby Public Rights of Way. The flexibility of the interactive map means many of the promoted routes and Rights of Way can be linked to create your own bespoke adventure.

If you are just looking for a new experience, whatever time of year it is, the website will help create great memories in the ‘Top Outdoor Experience’ section. Shropshire’s breath-taking landscape, over 5,000 years of heritage and wonderful wildlife means there is an inspiring experience for every visitor for every season in Shropshire. You can also keep up to date with the many events happening around the county.

The website also details local Walking for Health groups, highlights volunteering opportunities around the county and a new guide for farmers and landowners, explaining the responsibilities associated with Right of Way, is available too. Furthermore, the website allows users to sign up for newsletters which will be delivered directly to their inboxes.

Visit www.shropshiresgreatoutdoors.co.uk and start planning a Shropshire’s Great Outdoors adventure.

Further information

About Shropshire Outdoor Partnerships team

The Shropshire Outdoor Partnerships Service is the part of Shropshire Council that maintains and develops recreational access, conserves and enhances the natural environment and encourages people to improve their wellbeing by being active outdoors.

The service maintains and protects Public Rights of Way, country parks, heritage sites, greenspaces and play areas and supports the Shropshire Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) Partnership.

Working with local communities across Shropshire, their priorities are to:

• Conserve and enhance the natural environment
• Improve people’s health and wellbeing
• Support the local tourism economy
• A wide range of local people volunteer to help us, including those involved in:

• Walking for Health
• Shropshire Wild Teams
• Parish Paths Partnerships
• Volunteer Rangers
• Youth Rangers Outdoor Partnerships help you to access Shropshire’s countryside and greenspaces:
• Parks, countryside sites and greenspaces
• Together we all help you enjoy Shropshire’s Great Outdoors!

• Managing country parks, heritage sites and local greenspaces for people, landscape and wildlife
• Creating opportunities to improve potential for play and quiet recreation
• Helping you protect, conserve and enjoy wildlife on your doorstep and make a difference to where you live
• Promoting local sites to help support the local visitor economy
• Outdoor play spaces
• Outdoor Partnerships provide vital opportunities for children and young people to exercise their imagination and challenge themselves both physically and mentally by:

• Maintaining play spaces, ranging from small play areas to acres of parkland with adventure play spaces
• Providing advice to local communities who wish to develop local play spaces
• Ensuring new play spaces are created through the planning processRights of Way
• Outdoor Partnerships help you access one of the largest networks of Public Rights of Way in the country
•  Maintaining over 5,500 kms of routesWorking together with communities and landowners
• Promoting routes to help support the visitor economy
• Increasing physical activity to improve the health and wellbeing of Shropshire residents Shropshire Hills AONB Partnership  The outdoors is good for us! By promoting the great outdoors and running schemes such as Walking for Health and the Wild Teams we are helping people tackle mental and physical health issues.
• The main purpose of AONB designation is to conserve and enhance natural beauty, while also taking account of economic and social needs, promoting sustainable development and meeting the demand for recreation. The Shropshire Hills AONB Partnership co-ordinates this work.
• The Shropshire Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) was designated in 1958 and covers a quarter of Shropshire. It is one of 46 AONBs in the UK which, along with National Parks, make up our finest landscapes.