The Baron at Bucknell

Lace up your walking boots and bring some spare socks – this southerly part of Shropshire is walking country, and the Baron’s owners have compiled a book showing all the walks that start at the pub, graded according to time and difficulty level. The 176-mile Offa’s Dyke Path passes through Knighton, five miles away and the halfway point of the route: flip a coin here to pick a direction, take off for a day’s happy hiking then come back to town to catch a performance at the Knighton Community Centre. If your idea of walking mainly involves wheeling your clubs around a green, there are several golf clubs within easy distance among the Shropshire scenery: Ludlow Golf Club is the oldest in the Union of Shropshire and Herefordshire; Church Stretton is the third highest course in Britain with views across the Stretton Valley, and Kington Golf Club has the highest 18 hole golf course in England. Sitting sightseers can pedal or canter their way around the many woodland cycle and horse-riding tracks near the Baron or get an adrenaline rush at Bucknell Wood’s new downhill mountain biking course; for true seated sightseeing, hop on the Heart of Wales train at Bucknell for runs between Llanelli and Craven Arms and some spectacular scenery. The market town of Ludlow is 12 miles west of the Baron and has regular events including food and drink festivals, fetes, local produce markets and theatre, as well as Ludlow Racecourse, over 450 listed buildings including the eleventh century Ludlow Castle for history buffs, or cross over to Ironbridge a 45 minute drive away for an industrious look at Britain’s history with at the Ironbridge Gorge museums and meeting the locals at Blists Hill Victorian Town.