Stiperstones
The Stiperstones in south Shropshire is one of the most distinctive and most atmospheric ridge walks in England, a line of quartzite tors rising along a moorland ridge whose combination of dramatic rock formations, dark heather moorland and rich seam of legend creates an experience quite different from the pastoral gentleness of most Shropshire walking. The dramatic profiles of the Devil's Chair and other tors are visible for miles across the surrounding hills. The Devil's Chair, the largest tor, is the focus of the principal legend attached to the hill, in which the devil rests here when flying between meetings with his followers. The quartzite tors are remnants of a Cambrian-age formation hardened into a much more resistant rock, the quartzite resisting erosion while surrounding material was worn away to leave the distinctive jagged profiles that give the Stiperstones their visual character. The Nature Reserve above the Stiperstones provides excellent heathland walking and the views from the ridge over the Welsh border country are extensive. The combination of the geology, the folklore, the wildlife and the remote Shropshire border landscape makes the Stiperstones one of the most characterful hill walks available in the English Midlands.