Shropshire Hills Discovery Centre

8.9 25 reviews
Buttercup meadow
Buttercup meadow
Lovely location
Overnight in the onny meadows
Dragonfly pond
Meadows
Campsite. portaloos are near the entrance and river is to the back
The orchard
Climbing logs
1/19

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  • Back to basics pitches in a hay meadow on the edge of Craven Arms
  • On the Shropshire Way, nine miles from Ludlow and Long Mynd
  • Shop and café on site, plus fishing permits to buy
If you’re setting out to explore the Shropshire Hills, what better place to do it from than on site at the Shropshire Hills Discovery Centre? The back to basics pitches here are on the edge of Craven Arms, just a few minutes’ walk from its shops, pubs and takeaways, and in a handy spot for getting out and about. The folk that run the place describe stays here as being close to wild camping – numbers are kept low and there are no regimented pitches. This isn’t the place for you if you need things like showers and electric hookups, as the only facilities on site are a cold water tap and ‘festival-style’ toilets (although you can also use the centre’s proper loos during opening hours). However, it may well be the place for you if you like the sound of camping among 12 hectares of nature reserve that’s recognised by the British Dragonfly Society as a hotspot for dragonfly spotting. You may well also see red kites overhead and notice kingfishers and otters down at the banks of the river Onny, 50 metres away. All sorts of outdoor pursuits are possible around here: buy day permits for fishing in the river (home to trout, salmon and grayling), set off on the adjacent Shropshire Way for a walk to Ludlow or Clun or head out for a ride on National Cycleway 44, which runs through Craven Arms. Those travelling without a car can get around on the bus (from the stop just outside) or train (from the station five minutes’ walk away). Don’t forget to leave some time to explore the centre itself: it’s got a great exhibition about the area (including the story of the Shropshire Mammoth) and houses a café serving breakfasts, lunches, snacks, drinks and ice creams.

Site type

Tent sites 15
RV sites 3
Open now
Opens July 25

Languages spoken

English

French

German

Open from Fri, Jul 25 to

Nearby sites that are bookable on Pitchup.com

Unfortunately, we have no nearby bookable sites.

Want to know more about camping in Shropshire?

Features

Portable toilet

Pop-up campground

Dogs allowed

Leisure on park

Bar or club house Cycle hire Evening entertainment Fishing Fitness centre Indoor swimming pool Kids' club On-site restaurant/cafe Outdoor swimming pool Playground Recreation room/arcade TV room Takeout Tennis Watersports

Amenities on park

Bath available Car parking by site/unit Composting toilet Dog park Drying room Free wifi Grocery store Ice pack freezing Internet access Laundromat Parent & baby washroom Payphone Pick-up from public transport Portable toilet Pub toilets Restrooms Shower available Washing-up area Wifi

Groups welcome

Family friendly Motorcycle friendly Scouts welcome Single-sex groups welcome Student groups welcome

Rules

Barbecue grills allowed Barbecue provided Campfires allowed Commercial vehicles allowed Dogs allowed Dogs allowed all year

Themes

Budget/backpacker Hikers’ paradise Wild camping Wildlife haven

Utilities

Charging facilities Dump station Electric car charging point(s) No hot water Propane/gas cylinders available Recycling available Renewable energy

Nearby amenities

Bar nearby Convenience store nearby Dog walk nearby Nearby farmers' market Public transportation nearby

Type

Pop-up campground Small (11-25 sites)

Nearby leisure

Cycle hire nearby Cycling nearby Fishing nearby Golf nearby Horseback riding nearby Mountain biking nearby Restaurant nearby

Location

Shropshire Hills Discovery Centre

School Road

Craven Arms

Shropshire

England

SY7 9RS

Directions

Timezone

Europe/London +0100 (GMT+01:00)

GPS

52.43757°N
2.83271°W

Nearest transport

Coach
29.2 km Nag`s Head Hotel
29.2 km Nag`s Head Hotel
30.6 km Marche Lane Jct
Rail
0.6 km Craven Arms Rail Station
3.9 km Broome Rail Station
7.4 km Hopton Heath Rail Station

Please note: All distances on this page are calculated "as the crow flies" - please check actual distance depending on your mode of travel using the Get directions button above.

Local attractions

Start your stay with a visit to your local manor house, the medieval Stokesay Castle – it’s only 10 minutes’ walk away, so it’s easy to pop round for a tour of the house and the walled garden. If you’ve got an eye for historic buildings, check out the ruins of Clun Castle (20 minutes’ drive) and the National Trust’s Croft Castle and Parkland (half an hour) too. A stay in the Shropshire Hills should also involve some walks, of course – the landscapes around here are rather special. Top spots include Wenlock Edge (15 minutes) and the trails of Carding Mill Valley and the Long Mynd (20 minutes). Several local towns are worth a stroll, too, including foodie favourite Ludlow (15 minutes), Church Stretton (15 minutes) and Shrewsbury (35 minutes) with its half-timbered Tudor centre.

Must see

Stokesay Castle 0.8 km

Ludlow Castle 10.9 km

Much Wenlock Priory 25.5 km

Enginuity 31.1 km

Ironbridge Gorge Museums 31.4 km

National Trust

Carding Mill Valley and the Shropshire Hills 12 km

Wilderhope Manor 15 km

Croft Castle and Parkland 17.1 km

Attingham Park Estate: Cronkhill 27.5 km

Attingham Park 29.6 km

Cycle routes

Find local routes on the National Cycle Network - over 12,000 miles of cycling routes.

Other

Craven Arms, Halford and the River Onny 0.1 km

Craven Arms and Hopesay Common 0.1 km

STOKESAY COURT 4 km

FERNEY HALL 5 km

OAKLY PARK 8.1 km

Please note: All distances on this page are calculated "as the crow flies" - please check actual distance depending on your mode of travel using the Get directions button above.

Reviews

8.9

Overall rating from 25 Pitchup.com customers

  • 60%
    10
  • 0%
    9
  • 32%
    8
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    7
  • 4%
    6
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    5
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    1
Location
 9
Value for money
 9
Accommodation
 9
Facilities / Activities
 8
Customer service
 9
Child friendliness
 9
Cleanliness
 9
Wifi
 6
Wild camping

92% would recommend this site to a friend

88% would stay here again
Reviews page 1 of 3
Arrival date (latest first)

So many fun things to see and do all within close proximity…

Overall

10 out of 10
Location
 10
Value for money
 10
Accommodation
 10
Facilities / Activities
 10
Customer service
 10
Child friendliness
 10
Cleanliness
 10
Wifi
 2
Joe P.

Onny Meadows primitive grass RV campsite

Liked So many fun things to see and do all within close proximity to the site! The centre itself has a great exhibition and a lovely cafe. There’s a bmx pump track 10min walk away, Long Mynd is a 15min drive, there’s meadow walks all around the Oni meadows, a cute museum of lost content 5 minute walk away. A garden centre/camping supplies shop 2 min walk from the centre made sure we were able to grab things that we hadn’t intended to bring like a different style bike pump or extra gas.

There is a river that runs through the campsite which is great for activities just be up on your water safety talks. Our dog is a bit obsessed with water so we chose to keep him nearby. However, dogs were welcome so long as they were well behaved and on the lead during walks.

Disliked Not so much a dislike, but be prepared and bring lots of insect repellent just in case. There are lots of water sources and midges and mozzies love that stuff. Wearing plenty of mosquito repellent was a must for us.

Recommend to friends Visit again

No fuss site with basic amenities as advertised…

Overall

8 out of 10
Location
 6
Value for money
 10
Accommodation
 6
Facilities / Activities
 4
Customer service
 10
Child friendliness
 10
Cleanliness
 10
Wifi
 2
Anonymous

Onny Meadows primitive grass tent or trailer tent campsite

Liked No fuss site with basic amenities as advertised

Disliked Slightly hard to find the campsite turn off from a reasonably busy road.

Recommend to friends Visit again

Small quiet site. One Chemical toilet that was clean. Only down side…

Overall

10 out of 10
Location
 10
Value for money
 10
Accommodation
 8
Facilities / Activities
 10
Customer service
 10
Child friendliness
 10
Cleanliness
 10
Wifi
 2
Adam C.

Onny Meadows primitive grass tent or trailer tent campsite

Liked Small quiet site. One Chemical toilet that was clean. Only down side is on night there was a group making a lot of noise until 1.30 in the morning and flashing a light around at tents.

Recommend to friends Visit again

We really enjoyed our stay here, plenty of walks to do with…

Overall

8 out of 10
Location
 10
Value for money
 10
Accommodation
 10
Facilities / Activities
 10
Customer service
 10
Child friendliness
 10
Cleanliness
 10
Wifi
 No rating
Jasmin P.

Onny Meadows primitive grass tent or trailer tent campsite

Liked We really enjoyed our stay here, plenty of walks to do with the kids and pup. The area was clean and well maintained we will come back at some point

Recommend to friends Visit again

Great place to stay. Did some lovely walks and just over the…

Overall

10 out of 10
Location
 10
Value for money
 10
Accommodation
 8
Facilities / Activities
 8
Customer service
 10
Child friendliness
 8
Cleanliness
 10
Wifi
 6
Kirsty H.

Onny Meadows primitive grass tent or trailer tent campsite

Liked Great place to stay. Did some lovely walks and just over the road from stokesy castle.
No showers but hey ho. The cleanest porta loo ever seen! Saw lots of different birds and at night lots of bats and an owl swooped over us!
Perfect 2 night stay.

Recommend to friends Visit again

Nice site but take torches, lanterns and lights…

Overall

8 out of 10
Location
 10
Value for money
 8
Accommodation
 10
Facilities / Activities
 6
Customer service
 4
Child friendliness
 6
Cleanliness
 8
Wifi
 2
Mark H.

Onny Meadows primitive grass RV campsite

Liked Nice site but take torches, lanterns and lights

Recommend to friends Visit again

Perfect budget pitch in the Onny Meadows

Overall

10 out of 10
Location
 8
Value for money
 10
Accommodation
 6
Facilities / Activities
 6
Customer service
 10
Child friendliness
 8
Cleanliness
 8
Wifi
 No rating
Martin P.

Onny Meadows primitive grass RV campsite

Liked Perfect budget pitch for a night in the Onny Meadows. A tap, a bin and a chemical toilet are, as advertised, the only overnight facilities - but that's all we needed! A short walk to the Discovery Centre and the town, a longer morning walk to the woods on Norton Camp above.

Recommend to friends Visit again

A lovely get away from it all stay

Overall

8 out of 10
Location
 6
Value for money
 10
Accommodation
 8
Facilities / Activities
 10
Customer service
 10
Child friendliness
 10
Cleanliness
 10
Wifi
 6
Joanne K.

Onny Meadows primitive grass tent or trailer tent campsite

Liked We loved the setting. It was great being surrounded by nature, the fields, the river, the walks. We also loved the cafe and the activities at the centre.

Disliked It would be great to be able to take our dog into the centre, even if just a small area. Travelling as a lone adult with children and a dog this made using the cafe and the centre facilities difficult.

Recommend to friends Visit again

Amazing little find discovery center was brilliant. Porta loo was…

Overall

10 out of 10
Location
 10
Value for money
 10
Accommodation
 10
Facilities / Activities
 10
Customer service
 10
Child friendliness
 10
Cleanliness
 10
Wifi
 10
Nicola M.

Onny Meadows primitive grass tent or trailer tent campsite

Liked Amazing little find discovery center was brilliant. Porta loo was clean nice quiet site

Disliked Road noise

Recommend to friends Visit again

In a meadow, near river, orchards & wildlife just basics ,loo & water.

Overall

10 out of 10
Location
 10
Value for money
 10
Accommodation
 10
Facilities / Activities
 10
Customer service
 10
Child friendliness
 8
Cleanliness
 10
Wifi
 No rating
Anonymous

Onny Meadows primitive grass tent or trailer tent campsite

Liked Gentle introduction to wild camping with extra amenities a short walk away (a mile).

Recommend to friends Visit again

Frequently asked questions

  • Does Shropshire Hills Discovery Centre have a swimming pool? No View all features
  • Is Shropshire Hills Discovery Centre dog friendly? Yes View all features
  • What attractions are near Shropshire Hills Discovery Centre? Start your stay with a visit to your local manor house, the medieval Stokesay Castle – it’s only 10 minutes’ walk away, so it’s easy to pop round for a tour of … Read more
  • When can I check in and check out of Shropshire Hills Discovery Centre?
    RV, travel trailer and tent sites
    Arrive:  10 a.m. –  Anytime
    Depart by:  Anytime
    Read more