GREENFIELDS

The Staggs Brook Valley is a wedge of countryside reaching right into the town. Much of the historic wildlife value of this place has been retained, probably because its small, steep-sided fields present lethal risks to tractors. So, its herb-rich unimproved pastures and big hedgerows survive, along with areas of woodland and scrub.

Its value was recently given formal recognition by North Shropshire District Council, when Greenfields was designated a Local Nature Reserve and leased to the Trust.

Pignut, fleabane and cuckoo flower - these once common flowers are not so familiar today, but at Greenfields you can find them. Look, too, for the bright blue flowers of brooklime at the stream's edges and in marshy areas; and listen for water voles - this is one of the few remaining places in Shropshire where you may still hear them plopping into the water.

Please keep dogs under control, especially when livestock are present.

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