Mitchell's Fold

Having visited more than my fair share of stones in fields, I am now firmly convinced that our ancient forbears were engaged in some form of competition with one another, to ascertain whom could position their stones in the most stunning and chilled location. This appears especially true when it came to locating stone circles. A great many are to be found in spectacular settings and Mitchell's Fold is capable of going all the way to the final.

This charming Bronze Age stone circle is to be found in Shropshire on a fairly remote area known as Stapely Common. Head south out of Shrewsbury on the A488 until you reach a place called The Marsh. Here you should bear right whereupon the Common and the stones should be signposted. A little lane leads up to the Common where you can leave your car. Fortunately given the Common's size, the circle is not too far and is easy to spot once you have ascended the slight rise from the lane to the Common proper.

The first thing you will notice will of course be that award winning view of Shropshire and beyond to Wales. There are several prominent hills to be seen notably Stapeley Hill in the north east and Corndon Hill to the south, which I guess must be over the border in Wales. The stone circle itself is not the most impressive you will see as several of the stones are long since gone. However, five bricks scattered on the ground would make Mitchell's Fold worth a visit due to its striking setting. Nevertheless the fifteen or so stones that remain show us that this would have been quite an impressive circle in its day. The stones are not especially large, apart from one that stands taller than a man, but they are well proportioned and would have made quite a large circle before their companions went missing. The circle also has a friend a short distance away, an outlying stone known as the Cow Stone. This is a fairly large stone that would originally have been upright but is now taking a fairly lengthy vacation, chilling on its back.

The Common appeared quite well used when we visited despite its relative remoteness, however, it was not so busy as to spoil the ambience and it was a beautifully chilled spot to while away a few hours.