Beautiful new guidebook detailing 12 'Coronation Walks' around Telford is available now
A new guide to a dozen new walking routes around Telford is now available to buy.
The new booklet is a guide to 12 'Coronation Walks' across the northern half of Telford and Wrekin, taking in scenic walking routes everywhere from the Ercall to Priorslee and from Ketley's nature reserves to Newport Canal.
It is a companion to the South Telford Coronation Walks guide, which was published late last year and covers 11 walks south of the M54.
A launch event for the new North Telford Coronation Walks guide at Wellington Library on Saturday (May 24) welcomed guest speakers including the town mayor and a 90-year-old walker who shared her perspective on how the landscape of Telford has been transformed in her lifetime.
The Telford Coronation Walks project, which saw 23 new routes set out across the borough, was launched in 2023 (the year of King Charles III's coronation) and was spearheaded by the Friends of the T50 50-mile trail.
Friends of the T50 member and author of the guidebooks Anne Suffolk said of Saturday's event: "There were speeches by Reg Snell, mayor of Wellington (who brought his worn-out boots to the launch event to much laughter), Councillor Carolyn Healy from Telford & Wrekin Council and 90-year-old local walking personality Marion Law, still an active walker and volunteer with the Ramblers and the Open Spaces Society, who spoke of the transformations she has seen from slag heaps and abandoned old workings to new woods, viewpoints and pleasant footpaths as parts of the new town were created."
Anne continued: "The walks were created by The Friends of the T50 50-Mile Trail: a group of local volunteers who came together to share our love of our own favourite walking places, creating a network of easy-to-follow routes, so that people can enjoy the great wealth of nature and green spaces and discover lots of local history and heritage within easy reach all around us.
"The book describes 12 lovely circular walks in Telford north of the M54. All are readily accessible by public transport and most can be completed in an hour and a half.
"The shortest is 1.75 miles and the longest 4.75 miles. Half of them are suitable for people using a wheelchair or pushing a little one.
"The guidebook has maps, detailed directions and there's lots of information about history, heritage and wildlife to look out for on the way. It is beautifully illustrated with full-colour photos of walk highlights.
"The walks were part-funded by Telford & Wrekin Council's Coronation Legacy Fund: this paid for all the walks to be fully waymarked with their own distinctive blue-and-white logo. The printing of the books was done by NW Print in Trench Lock, the printing costs were met from the income of the sales of the T50 guidebook.
"The guidebooks only cost £5 each and any surplus income, after the costs of the project are met, will go to improving walking trails in Telford or developing new ones."
The guide book is now available at the Telford Town Park Visitor Centre, Waterstones in Telford Centre, or by post plus £3 for postage and packing here or on eBay.
Learn more about the Coronation Walks or the T50 trail at https://www.telfordt5050miletrail.org.uk.
