THE LONG MYND
The Long Mynd was born 560 million years ago close to the Antarctic Circle. The sedimentary rocks were laid down in layers, a bit like the pages of a book. Earth movements folded them on their side on their journey north, so that the rock strata are now almost vertical across the Mynd from east to west. Ice and water have smoothed the plateau, leaving a steep scarp on the Welsh side and deeply cut valleys known locally as batches or hollows in the Stretton Valley. A Neolithic trade route known as the Portway runs along the spine of the Mynd from north to south and a number of Bronze Age burial mounds have been found along it. An Iron Age hill fort on Bodbury Hill overlooks Carding Mill Valley, and traces of medieval cultivation can be found everywhere.
The Mynd first became popular as a tourist destination in the 1860s when it was advertised as “England’s Little Switzerland”. The National Trust acquired 5,000 acres of it in 1965 and established their offices, shop and restaurant in Carding Mill Valley a few years later. They maintain a network of hiking trails and bridleways across the Mynd, and manage the heathland as a habitat for birds and wildlife. The National Trust also runs a thriving educational programme for about 24,000 children annually, mainly from the urban West Midlands.
The Mynd first became popular as a tourist destination in the 1860s when it was advertised as “England’s Little Switzerland”. The National Trust acquired 5,000 acres of it in 1965 and established their offices, shop and restaurant in Carding Mill Valley a few years later. They maintain a network of hiking trails and bridleways across the Mynd, and manage the heathland as a habitat for birds and wildlife. The National Trust also runs a thriving educational programme for about 24,000 children annually, mainly from the urban West Midlands.