Heart to be formed in Shropshire Hills AONB for national celebration

The Shropshire Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB)) are inviting you to bring a picnic and join them in a celebration of our most loved landscapes.

Carding Mill Valley in the heart of the Shropshire Hills AONB

On Saturday 21 September 2019, 46 AONB’s across the country are forming a heart for the first time ever to show how much they love their landscapes.

From Cornwall over to Kent and up to the North Pennines staff, volunteers, residents and visitors will be forming hearts, either using their own bodies at mass gatherings or using objects in the landscape.

Here in the Shropshire Hills AONB, you are invited to join the celebration in the heart of our AONB – Carding Mill Valley, Church Stretton.  Listen to songs inspired by this beautiful landscape and help us to create a heart in the Shropshire Hills.

Composer, Mary Keith, will lead the pop-up choir, and photographer, Ben Osborne, will capture the event on film.

You are also welcome to be part of our Shropshire Hills pop-up choir.  Join Mary as she leads a singing workshop in the morning (11am – 12.30pm) to prepare our pop-up choir for an informal afternoon performance.  All voices are welcome.  Just turn up at the National Trust tearooms, Carding Mill Valley, no need to book.

The picnic will take place at 1pm and it will be time for the heart formation at 2pm. Everyone is encouraged to wear bright clothing to make the heart really stand out.

The heart shape has been chosen as it represents not only the love for these areas but also that AONBs and National Parks were originally thought of as the ‘Natural Health Service’. The legislation that allowed the creation of these protected landscapes, the National Parks & Access to the Countryside Act was agreed in 1949, the same year as the National Health Service. The two acts were seen as complimentary; preventing illness through recreation and then curing them if did get ill.

Howard Davies, Chief Executive of the National Association for AONBs, said:

“This national moment kicks off Landscapes for Life Week, so-called because we’re committed to our iconic national landscapes forever. And those landscapes are so much more than a view – they are landscapes for living. They are a place for nature – which AONB partnerships are actively working to conserve and enhance. They are a place for rural productivity and at the heart of our great British food industry. They are a place of tranquillity, rootedness and wellbeing, treasured by generations of people seeking peace, exercise and leisure; truly our Natural Health Service.”

All the hearts are being captured on film and video and shared with others. There are 46 AONBs across the UK each will be participating. This national moment kicks off the Landscapes for Life week to celebrate our AONBs.

The Shropshire Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) is one of Britain’s finest landscapes.  Covering 23% of Shropshire, the AONB extends from the Wrekin to the Clun Forest and from the Stiperstones to the Clee Hills.  It is a diverse and tranquil area, with rugged hills, rolling pastoral fields, woods and meadows, picturesque villages and historic buildings, hillforts and ancient monuments.

For further information contact Stephanie Hayes, Shropshire Hills AONB Partnership, Unit 9 Drovers House, The Auction Yard, Craven Arms, SY7 9BZ

01743 254740  shropshirehillsaonb@shropshire.gov.uk   www.shropshirehillsaonb.co.uk.