Wenlock Wanderer bus service axed due to lack of passengers
A weekend shuttle bus service linking communities in the Shropshire countryside to nearby towns has been axed due to lack of use.
The Wenlock Wanderer, which ran between Church Stretton and Much Wenlock, will not run next year after numbers failed to rise and a bid by the National Trust to take over Wenlock Quarry fell through.
Officials at Shropshire Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty Partnership, have pledged other routes run across rural parts of south Shropshire as part of the Shropshire Hills Shuttles service will resume when the new season starts in the spring.
Stephanie Hayes, Shropshire Hills AONB promotion officer, said up to 7,500 people had used the Shropshire Hills Shuttles during this year and added they remained popular.
She said the "flagship" Longmynd and Stiperstones shuttle, covering Church Stretton, Minsterley and Pontesbury, would continue to run and was very popular.
But she said the Wenlock Wanderer route had not attracted enough users for it to be maintained.
The cut is a further blow to bus users in South Shropshire, after the Shropshire Link service was discontinued on October 5.
Shropshire Link buses provided transport in towns such as Market Drayton, Oswestry, Whitchurch and the wider Shrewsbury rural area.
The Wenlock Wanderer shuttle was launched last year due to the increased interest in Much Wenlock in the build up to the London 2012 Olympics.
Thousands of tourists descended on the town to learn about William Penny Brookes and the Wenlock Olympian Games, which were held in 1850, and are acclaimed as the forerunner of the modern day Olympic Games.
The route ran from Church Stretton with stops in Little Stretton, Acton Scott, Wall under Heywood, Longville-in-the-Dale, Presthope, Blakeway Hollow before it reached Much Wenlock.
Ms Hayes said: "The numbers have not improved so we will have to cut that service.
"The Longmynd and Stiperstones shuttle has been running for 12 years now.
"Funding comes from Natural England through the Stiperstones Trust, as well as Shropshire Council and ourselves, so that one is okay."
The Castle Connect service, which started this year and covers Ludlow, Knighton, Clun and Bishop's Castle, was well supported in its first season, she said.
