Hawkstone Park Follies ~ Shrewsbury.

Whilst looking for somewhere to stop off on route to our recent break in Shropshire, I came across Hawkstone Park Follies, a unique 100 acre country park near Shrewsbury. In the 18th Century this rocky sandstone landscape was developed into caves, grottos, towers and arches and became one of the most visited tourist attractions in the country.

It was in 1700 that King & Queens diplomat and Lord of the Treasury Sir Richard Hill inherited the Hawkstone estate and together with his younger brother John ,started making changes to the scenery. Over the years more and more turrets and towers were added until eventually the Hills family money ran out and by the Twentieth century Hawkstone was all but abandoned, overgrown and forgotten. Luckily in more recent years the area has been designated a Grade 1 listed park by English Heritage, allowing it to be restored to its former glory.

Dogs are permitted to visit as long as they are on lead, so we spent a couple of hours exploring the follies and then had lunch in the glasshouse tea room.

Near the start of the trail.

The Urn ~ Sir Richard Hills commemorative monument to his ancestor Rowland Hill, a staunch Royalist.

The White Tower ~ originally thought to have been white washed, this is a Grade 2 listed Summerhouse.

The park has a Troll trail especially for children. We found ourselves following it, completely by accident of course. 😉

Californian Red Woods and other magnificent conifers adorn Hawkstone.

Another monument commemorating Sir Richards ancestor Sir Rowland Hill. He must have admired him!

We soon found ourselves regretting not bringing Hugo’s water with us. It was a humid type of day and Mr H was puffing and panting quite a bit. Unusually the park didn’t seem to have any brooks or ponds for him to dip in either. We decided to only look at a few more follies before turning back.

Swiss Bridge. We didnt see any trolls living underneath.

Green copper ore in the rocks.

Gingerbread Hall. Also known as the Temple of Patience, this was where visitors used to wait for their guide whilst enjoying a drink of lemonade and gingerbread.

Not totally sure what these strange looking flowers are growing on the rocky crags.

Ravens Shelf.

The Grotto ~ A myriad of caves encrusted with shells.

Gothic Arch.

We did miss a few other follies such as The Hermitage and Foxes knob. Not sure what that is! Have you ever visited Hawkstone?