Hopton's Heaven

Shropshire’s Hopton Woods blend nature and nurture so skilfully you’ll be instantly hooked; we almost never left...

- Sim Mainey

I feel I need to start with an apology, or rather, I feel I need to start with sort of an apology. This trail guide was supposed to be a look at two of Shropshire’s most iconic trail centres — Hopton Woods and Eastridge Woods. But, it’s not. So, for that I apologise, but only sort of. Allow me to tell you why you’re only getting half an apology.

Many moons ago, I was introduced to riding in Shropshire by mbr’s deputy online editor, Benji Haworth. The two of us, along with bikes and riding paraphernalia, squeezed into his Renault Clio and drove down from West Yorkshire to the Welsh border. Benji assured me that the riding in Shropshire was some of the finest in England. And he was right. The trails around Church Stretton rank as some of my all-time favourites — fast, flowing, with great views and a decent cup of tea at the bottom.

So, it was with a little trepidation that I accepted the challenge to go and report on two trail centres just down the road from those great trails; after all, a trail centre can’t beat natural trails can it, so why bother?

Today I’m making the trip down in my car with Dan Bladon. A supposed three-hour journey turns to four thanks to the ‘upgrading’ of the M62, combined with rush hour traffic, and I’m more than a bit apprehensive that we’re not going to manage to fit two trail centres into one day while we fritter away time sat stationary on a motorway. We eventually manage to break free from the shackles of commuter hell and strike out cross-country towards our first port of call, Hopton Woods.