I was wrong about this unassuming town that's thriving in the Shropshire Hills

Tucked between the rolling Shropshire Hills, the market town of Craven Arms is often described as the 'Gateway to the Marches.'

Sitting on the busy A49 and along the Welsh Marches Line railway, the small town has thousands of people passing through every day. 

My only real experience of Craven Arms was the 90 seconds or so it takes to drive through the town on the way to its older and shinier sister, Ludlow. 

Having only seen it moving slowly past my car window, I had previously thought Craven Arms consisted of little else but supermarket-slash-garden-centre Tuffins, a chippy and a large, boarded-up coaching inn.

But an hour's exploration off the A49 quickly showed me how wrong I was. 

The town is full of little businesses, including a couple of pubs, a hardware shop, a butcher's, a barber’s, a hairdresser's, an antique shop, a medical practice, a pharmacy, several cafes, two chip shops, an Indian restaurant, and a Chinese takeaway - not bad for a tiny town with fewer than 3,000 residents.

When we visited, octogenarian Barbara Frost had been volunteering in the town's Severn Hospice charity shop for around two decades.

Barbara said: "We've got a good supermarket. We've the most wonderful doctors' practice here, and the staff at the chemist are really kind and helpful. We're lucky, very lucky."

For a small town in the middle of rural south Shropshire, it's also incredibly well connected. 

A quick scan of the train timetable promised easy and regular transport links to Manchester, Cardiff and Liverpool, while regular buses shuttle between Ludlow, Shrewsbury and Telford. 

"It's one of the nicest places around, I think," said David Key, owner of antique shop Craven Vintage.

"I don't think there's a great deal to do, unless you enjoy the countryside. But it's very convenient for other places, with the road going to Ludlow or Shrewsbury and the main line from Manchester down to Cardiff - you can get away to anywhere." 

It's a friendly town too: almost half a dozen people wished me a good morning while I waited outside Tuffins for our photographer.  

Barbara said: "The people are great, you walk around Craven Arms and someone will smile at you or say hello." 

"It's very friendly," agreed Roger Harvey, who moved to Craven Arms around 10 years ago from Newtown. 

"There's hardly ever any trouble - the odd one or two, like you would get anywhere."

So if to you, like me, Craven Arms is but a brief blur through a car window, park up for an hour or two. Because you'll find a town with warmth, character, and community quietly thriving in the heart of the Shropshire hills.