Shropshire Tourist Information and Visitor Guide

The Shropshire Secret Hills Discovery Centre offers you a day out in the “countryside” without having to travel a great distance!

Blending into the hillside of on the edge of Craven Arms, this centre provides any visitor with an innovative way to look at their surroundings and think about how they interact with them environmentally. Perhaps after your visit you will be able to think of ways in which to improve even a tiny bit of your own environment whether you are from the country or the city.

To start, the building itself is purposely shaped to look as if it belongs amongst the hills and meadowlands. The roof is non- traditional, not the usual tile or slate, not even thatched, it is actually made from real growing grass and very heavy indeed - about 70 tonnes they estimate. If you think of the weight the structure has to support, then when you get inside you will be able to appreciate its design-it’s curved and flat and bright and it makes you want to “wander” around the exhibits as if you were out for a country ramble.

The weather could be fair or foul and you will still learn a lot about the history and layout of the Shropshire Hills.

As you enter the exhibition area you will be taken aback by the photography which is depicts areas of outstanding beauty in the county… scenes that make people fall in love with Shropshire, write about it, research it and want to return again and again:

A panoramic vista of sheep grazing on the Long Mynd at Church Stretton and you will hear the sheep and buzzards in the background and the multi-medis presentation actually makes you feel as if you are standing in this special heather moorland. This moorland is one of the country’s few surviving grouse moors. It’s only a few miles down the road if you decide you’d like to have a “real” walk on The Long Mynd after your visit. The National Trust’s visitor’s centre at Cardingmill Valley near Church Stretton is a good place to head for.

The next step is into the area of geology, where there are samples of the stones of the different eras and descriptions of how they were formed. The anatomy of a hill is described and then there is an explanation on the effects of car emissions and global warming on our environment and how they might change out landscape in the future.

This is one of our earlier interactive museums in Shropshire and so they actually want you to THINK and TOUCH and ANSWER QUESTIONS in an attempt to make you learn and want to find answers. In fact, the centre’s exhibits all have buttons to push, flaps to lift and handles to pull. In addition there is a quiz that the children can do called Little Mammoth Discovery Trail. The trail starts in the exhibit area and carries on outside into the meadowlands. If after following the baby mammoth’s footprints thru the exhibits and all the questions get answered, the children get a prize.

There is full sized replica of an actual mammoth that was found in a quarry in Condover (north towards Shrewsbury) by a lady who was dog-walking. It was a very important find for the whole country. This mammoth died when the climate was going thru a major change at the end of the Ice Age. It makes you think, if this happened to the mammoth, what is in store for our present environment if we don’t take measures to protect it now?

Car emissions, failing to recycling, use of dangerous chemicals, destruction of too many of our trees and intensive farming will change the way the countryside looks and the types of wildlife it can sustain. It is s a big responsibility we have on our shoulders.

The Green Belt Areas and Sites of Special Scientific Interest need to be protected against urban development .The exhibits here will endorse and teach people to become aware of such issues.

You can also learn a lot about the county through its folklore and fables and the centre has a display that tells you local fables in a Shropshire accent or gives you hints from the farmer’s almanac that your grandmother used to live by.

The next natural evolvement is how the countryside affected famous authors in their writings and perceptions of country folk and wildlife. Some of our better known authors are represented in the exhibits - A.E.Houseman, E.M. Forrester, Mary Webb, and Reverand Donald Carr.

It’s also encouraging to see the photos of our local craftspeople and to know that some are still trying to carry on the traditional skills for the next generation to be able to see, appreciate, and perhaps develop enough of an interest to learn to utilize the skills themselves.

The main circular exhibit is only a part of the Secret Hills Discovery Centre; there are activity rooms for children’s activity sessions and lectures; there is an exhibition area for craftspeople, artists, and photographers etc. to display their works. There is a shop filled with books, maps, gifts, local foods, birdfeeders and more; the café has a good selection of food from snacks to lunch buffets and will cater to groups and children’s parties. All the foods in the café and shop are sourced from local food suppliers where possible..

School parties are always encouraged to visit, but please phone first to pre-book.

The outside venue of the centre is geared round the Onny Meadows, so called because they are bordered by the River Onny. The area is 25 acres of wildlife meadows which are open to the public. Well behaved dogs and children are encouraged to run, play and explore not only the grasslands, but the pools and the river.

The river should be approached with caution because its flow and strength can vary from day to day, but also if you approach quietly you might be able to see some interesting wildlife and birdlife.

The grassland and wildflower meadows have developed nicely and offer a good variety for identification walks-plant life, pond life, birds, butterflies, bees and moths.

Walking the meadows is easy because the paths are either hard surface or fairly level grass paths, there are benches for resting and picnic tables as well.

The Discovery Centre’s intention is to first encourage people to visit the site and learn about the history, ecology, archaeology, geology, and then to stimulated them to get out into the real countryside to explore.

As you can see the Secret Hills Discovery Centre has so much to offer you, both indoors and out with motivation to explore more, it’s a visit well worth a stop in Craven Arms.