Parking fees have been suggested as a way of funding a visitor centre for The Wrekin – but would you pay them?
Charges could see thousands of visitors paying to park their cars when they take a walk up the county landmark.
See also: Wrekin parking fees plan
The idea was posed by Pete Lambert, the Wrekin Forest Project Officer for the Shropshire Wildlife Trust.
He said any visitor centre could not rely on charity for its annual running costs.
Consultation on the centre, and its running costs, is to take place in the new year.
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39 Comments
Why should we pay to park at the Wrekin to go for a walk?
Stupid and crass suggestion
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If we put up a visitor centre for every hill in Shropshire, or every notable hill in the UK where on earth would we be then?
Simply leave things as they are parking wise, but put out a donation box with a well-designed information point, that is all that is required…The money raised then could go towards footpath work and conservation instead of the up keep of a visitor centre with all the associated costs, I speak myself from first hand experience.
Why do we need a visitor centre at every opportunity when a well designed information point would suffice?
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I use the Wrekin quite a lot for walking / running,but being a local person, I wouldn’t use a visitor centre so why should I pay for it’s upkeep?
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It’s all very well people objecting to paying for parking at the Wrekin but were it to be a reasonable charge I don’t see a problem. I would love to see a visitors centre on the Wrekin to inform visitors to the area about the history and heritage of our landscape. we should be proud of the Wrekin and want to share it with visitors who will then go home telling friends of the wonderful scenery and interesting history of Telford’s much loved monument and if parking charges are the way to raise funds to make that happen then so be it.
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I’d pay to park if I wasn’t local and didn’t know any better. However, I am local, don’t need a visitor’s centre and like to pop to the Wrekin occasionally for a stroll.
As others have said, a well designed information board stocked with leaflets is all that’s needed. It’s only a hill, after all. How much information do you need?
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I think I would - AS LONG AS the money went to keep the car park secure from those who would break into the cars while the owners were walking up the Wrekin. Imagine how easy it would be if someone were to watch you park and them ascend the Wrekin .. they would know your going to be away for plenty of time.
A visitor centre could sell trinkets and stuff, to keep going and raise funds for the paths and upkeep but proper on-site security would cost money. Its a nightly hang-out from what I’ve seen some evenings when driving past - so I hope the visitor centre is secure.
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Let’s face it, there is going to be more and more tourists in this area whether we like it or not. A visitor centre might do some good.
Just never ever let them require payment to go up the Wrekin.
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I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. The Wrekin is patheti and doesn’t warrant a visitor centre. Much better hills in Shropshire to visit already with visitor information and tea shops.
As someone with some experience of hill and mountains (have climbed every mountain in England and Wales) I feel qualified to comment - just what qualifications do these council bods have? A degree in Shoe Design? Cobblers!
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Clever folks run this site, don’t they? Stopped me voting twice! Cobblers!
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QUITE RIGHT PEOPLE SHOULD HAVE TO PAY!!!! ESPECIALLY DURING THE CREDIT CRUNCH! IF HAVE THE TIME TO GO WALKING THEN YOU HAVE THE MONEY TO PAY FOR PARKING!!! ONLY RICH PEOPLE GO WALKING
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What will TAWPA think of this?!?!?!
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Lucy W You have walked every hill in England and Wales???
try a mountain huni a much harder challenge
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Why is the Wrekin pathetic Lucy W?????
Name another “hill” in Shropshire better than the Wrekin
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vcxb: I’m poor and do loads of walking - done every mountain in England and Wales.
This visitor centre will be a loss maker from the off that every tax payer will have to fund this folly regardless of whether or not they want to walk up the Wrekin.
If people think car parking and selling sticky buns and cuppas with tacky gifts will pay for this you must be mad, absolutley mad!
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i see no problem in paying a reasonable charge of say .50p and i would be quite happy to pay say .20p to use any newly erected toilets
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A GOOD IDEA WOULD KEEP THE CHAVS OUT SO ONLY SERIOUS WALKERS CAN USE IT
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Always gets me that when you visit sites abroad you almost always have to pay something so whats wrong with this if the money is used wisely?
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Not satified with milking the motorist in every other aspect of driving, the motorist is now being expected to fund a visitor centre.
They are having a laugh?? or maybe not??
The great cash cow (AKA “the motorist) is there for the taking ….. again.
Criminal …. about time this is stopped, and funds taken from all the other extortianate taxes we pay:
Road tax, Fuel Tax, Vehicle taxes, speed camera revenue etc
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Y Mab: You wanted to know a better hill than the Wrekin - well here it is - even named after your forefathers. Caer Caradoc. Impressive Iron Age Hill Fort earth works on the top to rival any in Britain. The fresh water spring on the top that fed the fort still runs today if you look hard enough for it. It was the strong hold of Caradoc who was one of the last of the British to resist the Roman Invasion in 43AD. It was on the hill he made is last stand before being captured and taken to Rome. The prehistoric track way can still be walked along to the fort. The top destination for Megaliths and Prehistory worldwide. Breathtaking views at 459m asl, wildlife, flora and fauna, what more could you ask for? And you can pop down to one of the lovely tea shops in Church Stretton if you really feel the need for a stick bun and cuppa.
The Wrekin is only 406m asl so the moral of the post is: Size does matter!
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Sparky: Serious walkers will be else where!
Capt: I climber the Grossglocker highest moutain in Austria (3789m) and the parking was free. I would definately recommend it as well a visiting the bear by Hitler’s “Eagles Nest” if you are into Nazi memorabilia.
All these fees will actually put people off going and Rodney’s Pillar will be the “New Wrekin”.
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Lucy W - I shall be walking up the best hill in Shropshire “The Wrekin” this afternoon at 2 - 4pm to enjoy the beauty of this gorgeous hill the best in Shropshire
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Lucy W - I know all about the hills in Church Stretton as I work in CS.
The hills are ok but the views cannot beat the view from the Wrekin.
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Y Mab: So when did you last walk Brown Clee? An interesting fact is that there is nothing higher to the south of Brown Clee! Not alot of people know that.
Sorry I cant join you this afternoon but I’m glad you enjoy it so much. Pity you didn’t have more time as you could have done the Lawley and Caer Caradoc in their splendid surroundings - sorry but a view of the M54 doesn’t do it for me.
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Y Mab: re#12 No I haven’t walked every hill much better things to do, and I have climbed many mountains all around the world, and I agree that generally they are more challenging.
I hope your un-challenging stroll up Wrekin Hill goes well this afternoon.
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Why do we want to encourage more people to visit??
More people = more rubbish and erossion!!
All that is needed is a revamp of the old toilets which would be a fraction of the cost of buying up new land and putting up a visitor center.
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Y Mab Darogan - careful, while you’re up the Wrekin Dave might break into your car.
I agree with Lucy - never liked the Wrekin - Long Mynd far nicer. I’d even go so far as to suggest Nesscliff Hill is too.
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Bob: What do you need toilets for? The place is covered in trees!
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I climbed Everest without oxygen and in my swim shorts! then I woke up! went up the Wrekin years a go with the Air Cadets then tackled a Longmynd hike! I really liked both.
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This will cause problems with people parking their cars in the roads around the Wrekin.
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A few miles down the road from Shropshire are the Malvern Hills, until you have stood at the top of the Worcester Beacon on a clear day with the muted tones of Edward Elgar sounding in ones earphones, one hasn’t been up any hill in England worth the effort, the continent or anywhere. One can look down on the Wrekin, Brown Clee and many other surrounding hills. You are charged to park though, quite hefty rates with rangers going around to check.
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Just leave things as they are. Don’t interfere with nature, it will look after itself. Interference will destroy the very thing that makes it attractive, although i think it may be too late! Take the concrete road for example, and the monsterous notce board halfway up. Igo up there daily and find it hard to understand.
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I don’t see the need for a visitor centre, however, I never visit the Wrekin as it is too far away from where I live, therefore, my opinion is not that important. But I do have a soft spot for this lovely little mountain which stands above the Shropshire countryside. It was there that I first went camping and hiking at a Boy Scout camp in 1948. It was my introduction to the outdoors and I have since climbed many mountains. In the ’50s and ’60s the European alps - you know - Matterhorn, Eiger, Jungfrau, Piz Bernina etc. Later in New Zealand Mt. Cook, Aspiring etc., and now live in close proximity to the Selkirk and Rocky mountains where I spend much of my free time either climbing or skiing.
What I do believe is that the Wrekin and any other natural areas of Britain should be protected and motor vehicles of any kind should be kept at a very safe distance.
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Stuart: Having driven past the Malverns and seen ariel filing, I have to say the thought of listening to Elgar on them is excellent.
However the Malverns (425m) do not lookdown on Brown Clee (540m). As I said in #23, you have to go north to look down on Brown Clee. However they do look down on the Wrekin (406m).
Do the comedy anoracks remember that sketch with John Cleese, Ronnie Barker and Ronnie Corbet?
So the Clee is “Cleese”, Malvern “Barker” and Wrekin “Corbet” knowing his place!
By the way I never pay car parking. Use an OS map and find an alternative route for a “free” parking place.
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£10 and worth every penny.
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Inspired by Stuart’s suggestion of listening to Elgar on the Malverns, I had a look at my CD collection and found some other “appropriately” named songs.
Wonderful Land – Shadows; Run to the Hills – Iron Maiden; Walk of Life – Dire Straits; Summer Walkers – Runrig; Walk this Way – Aerosmith; Walk Tall – Val Doonigan; The Wanderer – Status Quo version; Walking After Midnight – Patsy Cline; I walk the line – Johnny Cash.
And for special walks:
The Rockies: Rocky Mountain Way – Joe Walsh
Everest: Eight Miles High – The Birds
Wall of China: March of the Siamese Children – Kenny Ball
Kilamangiro: Kilamangiro – Babyshambles
A special one for Joe Simpson, All By Myself – Carmen.
And finally, anyone who is thinking of walking up the Wrekin, Wasted Time – Eagles.
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Tony Lewis, we may have met. Remember the Log Cabin, the stream and so on. I did my first “official Scout Camp” on the Wrekin with Meole Brace Troop in 1948. Thereafter, a mate and myself cycled out from Shrewsbury on every available day to sleep in the Log Cabin - we were often the only ones on the Wrekin and the backwoods of Canada had nothing by comparison.
Oh! for those times back, when roads were uncluttered, motorways not thought of and one could look down from the Wrekin on a placid rural sight without hardly a car to be seen. Now with a population explosian, buildings and development going up everywhere, it won’t be long before there is a planning row going on about building high rise flats on the top of the Wrekin.
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Stuart,
I remember the log cabin and cycling the 12 or so miles to the Wrekin campsite. Learning about bushcraft, an appreciation and love of the natural environment etc; how lucky we were to have lived at that time. Sometimes we’d hike around or to the top of the Wrekin and other times walk or cycle the country roads.
Local farmers would, if we were lucky, sell us milk or eggs (remember food was rationed and you couldn’t just go into a store and buy food)….. nobody I knew owned a car.
However, talking about log cabins, I will pack my skis and snowshoes and head out tomorrow to a log cabin nestled in the Selkirk mountains.
Perhaps encounter a timber wolf or wolverine and most certainly cougar tracks; the backwoods of Canada ain’t that bad…..
And you don’t have to pay to park!!
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Don’t you have a lot of ignoramuses airing their lack of understanding? The Wrekin and its forest are wonderful, magical places with delightful walks. There are four books about this beautiful place; I wrote two of them. I first ascended Th Wrekin in 1923 and hope to be the oldest chap to walk up - in five years time.
Please, no extra cars, traffic calming in the area, a visitor centre in Wellington and reopen the lavatories.
George the Ancient.
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Personally i’ve never been up the wrekin but i would love to. As for the charging to park to fund a visitor center, well thats just pathetic no matter where it was or what HILL it was. How many people will have to park before they could even begin to fund such a project. Then there are the overheads and upkeep of such a project. It comes to something when the simple day outs have added expences to them because we’re contributing to this, that and the other. A simple Information board would be good enough. The goverment/councils and so on need to stop adding extra expences.. what is the country coming to.. if they cant afford to fund without adding taxes and hidden costs/charges then don’t do it. Quite simple really!!
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