The Shropshire Hills are a dissected upland area and one of the natural regions of England. They lie wholly within the county of

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 th ...

and encompass several distinctive and well-known landmarks, such as the

Long Mynd , photo = , photo_alt = , photo_caption = View down Townbrook Valley toward Burway Hill , country_type = , country = England , subdivision1_type = County , subdivision1 = Shropshire , border ...

Wenlock Edge Wenlock Edge is a limestone escarpment near Much Wenlock, Shropshire, England and a site of special scientific interest because of its geology. It is over long, running southwest to northeast between Craven Arms and Much Wenlock, and is roughl ...

The Wrekin The Wrekin is a hill in east Shropshire, England. It is located some five miles (8 km) west of Telford, on the border between the unitary authorities of Shropshire and Telford and Wrekin. Rising above the Shropshire Plain to a height of 4 ...

and the Clees. The Shropshire Hills lie south of the county town of

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 'Sh ...

between the

Welsh border Welsh may refer to: Related to Wales * Welsh, referring or related to Wales * Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales * Welsh people People * Welsh (surname) * Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peopl ...

and

Much Wenlock Much Wenlock is a market town and parish in Shropshire, England, situated on the A458 road between Shrewsbury and Bridgnorth. Nearby, to the northeast, is the Ironbridge Gorge, and the new town of Telford. The civil parish includes the villag ...

, extending as far south as

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 which bypasses the town. The t ...

. To the north they are bounded by the Shropshire, Cheshire and Staffordshire Plain, to the east by the

Severn Valley The Severn Valley is a rural area of the West Midlands region of England, through which the River Severn runs and the Severn Valley Railway steam heritage line operates, starting at its northernmost point in Bridgnorth, Shropshire and runni ...

and

Mid Severn Sandstone Plateau The Mid Severn Sandstone Plateau is a rural landscape and one of the natural regions of central England, straddling the border between the counties of Shropshire and Staffordshire. It stretches from the western fringes of the Birmingham conurbati ...

, to the southeast by Knighton and the Teme Valley and to the southwest by the

Clun Clun ( cy, Colunwy) is a town in south west Shropshire, England, and the Shropshire Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. The 2011 census recorded 680 people living in the town.Combined populations for the two output areas covering the tow ...

and North West Herefordshire Hills.

Environment

The Shropshire Hills are listed as

Natural Area A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, or features of geological or o ...

No. 42 and also as National Character Area 65 by

Natural England Natural England is a non-departmental public body in the United Kingdom sponsored by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. It is responsible for ensuring that England's natural environment, including its land, flora and fauna, ...

, the UK Government's advisor on the

natural environment The natural environment or natural world encompasses all life, living and non-living things occurring nature, naturally, meaning in this case not Artificiality, artificial. The term is most often applied to the Earth or some parts of Earth. Th ...

. The NCA covers an area of and measure around from west to east and north to south. The dominant pattern of the hills is a series of southwest to northeast ridges, scarps and valleys. They are characterized by steep, rounded 'whaleback' hills, often crowned with open moorland, with woodland dressing the steeper slopes. There are scattered farms in dales and sheltering in valleys; larger settlements being confined to the Stretton Valley and A49 corridor.''Shropshire Hills - Character Area 65''
at www.naturalengland.org.uk. Accessed on 7 Apr 2013.

Major summits

Roughly a half of the NCA lies within the

Shropshire Hills AONB The Shropshire Hills area, in the English county of Shropshire, is designated as an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty ( AONB). It is located in the south of the county, extending to its border with Wales. Designated in 1958, the area encompass ...

. In addition, the region contains two

Special Areas of Conservation A Special Area of Conservation (SAC) is defined in the European Union's Habitats Directive (92/43/EEC), also known as the ''Directive on the Conservation of Natural Habitats and of Wild Fauna and Flora''. They are to protect the 220 habitats and ap ...

(The Stiperstones & The Hollies SAC; Downton Gorge SAC) and a national nature reserve (The Stiperstones NNR) as well as 73

Sites of Special Scientific Interest A Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in Great Britain or an Area of Special Scientific Interest (ASSI) in the Isle of Man and Northern Ireland is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in the United Kingdom and Isle of ...

, the latter totalling . Its major watercourses are the rivers Corve, Onny,

Severn , name_etymology = , image = SevernFromCastleCB.JPG , image_size = 288 , image_caption = The river seen from Shrewsbury Castle , map = RiverSevernMap.jpg , map_size = 288 , map_c ...

and

Teme The River Teme (pronounced ; cy, Afon Tefeidiad) rises in Mid Wales, south of Newtown, and flows southeast roughly forming the border between England and Wales for several miles through Knighton before entering England in the vicinity of ...

and the Ledwyche and

Rea REA or Rea may refer to: Places * Rea, Lombardy, in Italy * Rea, Missouri, United States * River Rea, a river in Birmingham, England * River Rea, Shropshire, a river in Shropshire, England * Rea, Hungarian name of Reea village in Totești Commun ...

brooks. The average elevation is ; the highest point is

Brown Clee Hill Brown Clee Hill is the highest hill in the rural English county of Shropshire, at above sea level. It is one of the Clee Hills, and is in the Shropshire Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. Geography Brown Clee Hill lies five miles nort ...

at .''NCA 65: Shropshire Hills - Key Facts & Data''
at www.naturalengland.org.uk. Accessed on 7 Apr 2013. Significant summits in the Shropshire Hills include: * Brown Clee (540m), *

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 ...

(536m), * Titterstone Clee (533m), *

(Pole Bank) (516m), *

Caer Caradoc Caer Caradoc ( cy, Caer Caradog, the fort of Caradog) is a hill in the English county of Shropshire. It overlooks the town of Church Stretton and the village of All Stretton and offers panoramic views to the north towards the Wrekin, east to ...

(459m), * Heath Mynd (452m), *

Hope Bowdler Hope Bowdler is a small village and civil parish in Shropshire, England. It is situated on the B4371, east of the market town of Church Stretton. The village is at above sea level. There is a parish church in the village, dedicated to St An ...

(426m), *

(407m), * Ragleth Hill (398m), * Lawley (377m).

References

{{coord, 52.522, -2.719, region:GB-SHR_type:landmark, display=title Natural regions of England Hills of Shropshire