Rico a Kokoni Dog and Maisy a Jack Russell cross Pug pose on a log
Many of my followers will know that my week day job is as Training & Development Manager for Assistance Dog Charity, Dog A.I.D. (www.dogaid.org.uk). Head Office is based in Shrewsbury, Shropshire and my lovely little dogs, Rico and Maisy, sometimes keep me company on my office days. As such we have been looking for walks in Shrewsbury to try out.
This blog covers the Battlefield Loop that we tried just before the Christmas break – we hope you enjoy it!
Location: Battlefield Heritage Park, Shrewsbury SY1 3FE. Large free car park is available.
Footwear Needed: Normally the paths here are great and you can get away with just trainers but not at the moment! Boots are required especially if you plan to do the full loop which requires walking through some fields on a trodden in but not paved path.
On / Off Lead: I recommend on lead at the start of the walk as the path is quite close to a very busy road. However when you follow the paths round towards the church then it is safe to let dogs off lead – if they have good recall! Remember, always call your dog back and pop them on lead when you see an on lead dog approaching. That dog is on lead for a reason!
Distraction Level: Medium – this is a very popular walking site. As such there are many dogs, regardless of what time of day or the weather conditions! Although there are some wide open areas, the paths can be narrow so not the best walk if you’re doing training for a reactive dog.
Starting at the car park, ignore the entrance into the open field. Instead take the path between the bins. The path to the furthest left leads you round on a different loop, but both the middle and right hand path lead to the same main walking route – a circular walk to the main heritage site of the 1403 Battle of Shrewsbury. This path has lots of tree trunks to the side, which are great for practicing your parkour moves on.
We took a short break here to have a sniffari and then do some “4 paws on” poses for photos. Getting your dog to do bits of training while you’re out on the walk helps to keep your dog engaged with you and makes the walks more fun for them! Feeling the different textures and exploring is great enrichment for them.
When you follow the paths round there’s great views across the fields, and a small ditch to the side which at the moment has a small stream running through. Keep your dogs on lead here if you don’t fancy bathing them after! Rico got caked in mud and had a lovely time clambering up and down the banks and paddling in the water. Maisy on the other hand stuck to the paths until later on.
You then get to a junction where taking the path to the left would lead you back up towards Shrewsbury. Bare right and head towards the church of St Mary Magdalene. At the moment this is where the paths are at their worst. The stream has come right up over the main path so take care with your footing and stick to the middle to ensure you and your dogs don’t drop over the side!
Keep following the path round. When you reach the church there are fact signs that you can have a look to find out more about the history of the Battlefield site.
From here there are some small wooden bridges to cross, Sadly, there are no poo bins! So you do need to carry these with you right until you return to the car park where there are several bins you can use. The path now leads you to a large open field. You can either take the path to the right and rejoin the path you started the walk from, or take the left path on a diagonal which leads you to a large metal gate – an entrance to the car park. When taking this route please ensure you close the gate after you – the farmer has put up several signs requesting this, so pull the gate too and secure with the twine provided.
Although not on the route we took, there is a visitor centre and cafe at the site, so it is worth having an explore and following the different routes. If you do, don’t forget to tag @nosetotrailuk on your Instagram photos so we can see how you got on!