Clun Forest
Encyclopedia
Clun Forest is a remote, rural area of open pastures, moorland and mixed deciduous
/coniferous woodland in the southwest part of the English
county of Shropshire
and also just over the border into Powys
, Wales
.
It was once a large forest covering an area that stretched from Ludlow
up the Clun Valley. It now is only forested in some wooded areas, such as Radnor Wood
, though a fairly large area of forest exists on the English/Welsh border north of Anchor
.
The ancient Offa's Dyke
runs north-south through the area (and can be walked by the Offa's Dyke Path
).
wrote as part of his series of poems A Shropshire Lad
:
"In valleys of springs of rivers
By Ony and Teme and Clun,
The country for easy livers,
The quietest under the sun...
'Tis a long way further than Knighton,
A quieter place than Clun,
Where doomsday may thunder and lighten
And little 'twill matter to one."
Shropshire Hills AONB
Deciduous
Deciduous means "falling off at maturity" or "tending to fall off", and is typically used in reference to trees or shrubs that lose their leaves seasonally, and to the shedding of other plant structures such as petals after flowering or fruit when ripe...
/coniferous woodland in the southwest part of the English
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
county of Shropshire
Shropshire
Shropshire is a county in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes, the county is a NUTS 3 region and is one of four counties or unitary districts that comprise the "Shropshire and Staffordshire" NUTS 2 region. It borders Wales to the west...
and also just over the border into Powys
Powys
Powys is a local-government county and preserved county in Wales.-Geography:Powys covers the historic counties of Montgomeryshire and Radnorshire, most of Brecknockshire , and a small part of Denbighshire — an area of 5,179 km², making it the largest county in Wales by land area.It is...
, Wales
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
.
It was once a large forest covering an area that stretched from Ludlow
Ludlow
Ludlow is a market town in Shropshire, England close to the Welsh border and in the Welsh Marches. It lies within a bend of the River Teme, on its eastern bank, forming an area of and centred on a small hill. Atop this hill is the site of Ludlow Castle and the market place...
up the Clun Valley. It now is only forested in some wooded areas, such as Radnor Wood
Radnor Wood
Radnor Wood is a small forest east of the small town of Clun, Shropshire, England covering an area of 1.5 km2. The wood can be easily accessed via the B4368 which passes through Clun and to the south of the forest....
, though a fairly large area of forest exists on the English/Welsh border north of Anchor
Anchor, Shropshire
Anchor is a remote hamlet in Shropshire, England, located at . The hamlet is the most westerly place in Shropshire.-Geography:Anchor lies only 400m away from the border with Wales. The B4368 road runs through the hamlet on its way between the towns of Clun to Newtown...
.
The ancient Offa's Dyke
Offa's Dyke
Offa's Dyke is a massive linear earthwork, roughly followed by some of the current border between England and Wales. In places, it is up to wide and high. In the 8th century it formed some kind of delineation between the Anglian kingdom of Mercia and the Welsh kingdom of Powys...
runs north-south through the area (and can be walked by the Offa's Dyke Path
Offa's Dyke Path
Offa's Dyke Path is a long distance footpath along the Welsh-English border. Opened in 1971, it is one of Britain's premier National Trails and draws walkers from throughout the world...
).
A Shropshire Lad
A. E. HousmanA. E. Housman
Alfred Edward Housman , usually known as A. E. Housman, was an English classical scholar and poet, best known to the general public for his cycle of poems A Shropshire Lad. Lyrical and almost epigrammatic in form, the poems were mostly written before 1900...
wrote as part of his series of poems A Shropshire Lad
A Shropshire Lad
A Shropshire Lad is a cycle of sixty-three poems by the English poet Alfred Edward Housman . Some of the better-known poems in the book are "To an Athlete Dying Young", "Loveliest of Trees, the Cherry Now" and "When I Was One-and-Twenty".The collection was published in 1896...
:
"In valleys of springs of rivers
By Ony and Teme and Clun,
The country for easy livers,
The quietest under the sun...
'Tis a long way further than Knighton,
A quieter place than Clun,
Where doomsday may thunder and lighten
And little 'twill matter to one."
See also
- ClunClunClun is a small town in Shropshire, England. The town is located entirely in the Shropshire Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. The 2001 census recorded 642 people living in the town...
- NewcastleNewcastle, ShropshireNewcastle is a village in the rural south west of Shropshire, England. It lies at the confluence of the River Clun and the Folly Brook, 3 miles west of the small town of Clun...
Shropshire Hills AONB
Shropshire Hills AONB
The Shropshire Hills area is designated as an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty , in the English county of Shropshire, close to its border with Wales. Designated in 1958 , the area encompasses of land primarily in south-west Shropshire...