The Pipe Walk at Carding Mill Valley
This walk is a great way to see some beautiful views and also to really get to the heart of 'those blue remembered hills', as mentioned in the poem by A E Housman.
Total steps: 8
Total steps: 8
Start point
Carding Mill Valley, grid ref: SO411949
Step 1
If you are starting from the Chalet Pavilion, follow the stream uphill to the site of the former top car park.
Step 2
Cross the stream on the sturdy vehicle bridge opposite the green ticket machine. Ahead, the track curves around a spur of the hill, before opening out into a broad side valley. You are now walking along New Pool Hollow, named after two early mill pools.
Step 3
Keep following the path along New Pool Hollow until you come to a small palisaded area (a wooden enclosure fixed in the ground).
Step 4
Within 440yd (400m), climb the reservoir's retaining bank.
Step 5
Walk along the length of the reservoir bank with the reservoir on your left, then veer right and pick up the path that goes around the edge of the hill.
Step 6
Continue around to the other side of the hill. Here you will be looking down on the site of the former top car park and Carding Mill Valley. Follow the path as it gently descends to join the path below.
Step 7
When the valley divides 550yd (500m) later at the confluence (the merging of two streams), take the left-hand fork and climb the crude 'pitched' stone steps into Lightspout Hollow.
Step 8
Rising above the stream, the rocky path snakes uphill around interlocking spurs. Continue for 550yd (500m) and you will arrive at Lightspout waterfall. Return downhill by the same route.
End point
Lightspout Waterfall, grid ref: SO431951
Trail map
More near here
The Burway Loop: a walk to the top of the Long Mynd
Take a challenging walk from Carding Mill Valley up to the highest point of the Long Mynd, which offers impressive views across Shropshire and beyond.
Lightspout Waterfall walk
Starting at Carding Mill Valley at the heart of the Long Mynd enjoy a sometimes challenging walk along a stream to the 4-metre cascade at the picturesque Lightspout Waterfall, taking in impressive geology and wildlife along the way.
New Pool Hollow walk
This shorter walk through the valley ends with beautiful views of the reservoir and beyond.
The Long Mynd and Ratlinghope walk
A challenging 10-mile circular walk taking in both sides of the Long Mynd, with impressive views over Shropshire and a halfway stop at the pub for refreshments.
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