Good Bye Church Stretton Hello Thailand

Explore Church Stretton – Hidden Gem in the Shropshire Hills | Nature, Walks & Local Charm

Welcome to Church Stretton, a stunning market town nestled in the heart of the Shropshire Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB). Often called “Little Switzerland”, this charming destination is known for its dramatic landscapes, peaceful walking trails, and rich local heritage.

In my series of “Best of Britain” videos, we take you on a scenic tour of Church Stretton and the surrounding countryside. Discover the breathtaking views from Long Mynd, wander through Carding Mill Valley, and experience the tranquil beauty of Batch Valley, Ashes Hollow, and the Stretton Hills. We’ll also explore the historic town center, local shops, and cozy cafés that make this area a perfect escape from the hustle and bustle.

Whether you’re into hiking, photography, or just looking for your next UK countryside getaway, Church Stretton offers something for everyone. With well-marked trails, stunning viewpoints, and warm local hospitality, it’s one of England’s best-kept secrets.

✅ Perfect for: Nature lovers, walkers, UK travel enthusiasts, and weekend adventurers.
✅ Don’t miss: The summit of Long Mynd, the historic Church of St Laurence, and the Thursday market in town.

📍 Located between Shrewsbury and Ludlow, Church Stretton is easily accessible by train or car.

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Good morning, England. And here we are. It’s September 16, 2025. And this is my final day in the UK. Yay. Cuz tomorrow I am flying to the country I love, Thailand. Yay. Thailand, here I come. And England, there I go. Yay. So, what is it? Ah, Tuesday, a high of 15 Celsius today. And look, we got sunshine. Even though few thunderstorms in the background, but we’re not going to worry about those at all because we’re happy, happy, happy, happy to be leaving. Now, I have a spreadsheet. On my spreadsheet, it says in the last 60 days, I have done 59 days of gardening. Finally, my gardening days are over. And during the last week, every single one of those days, it has rained. Especially two days ago, it was 10° C. And I worked for about 5 hours in the pouring rain. Yuck, yuck, yuck. So, I have a little bit of arthritis in my fingers after all that gardening work. So, I’m looking forward to getting to the tropical sunshine and the lovely hot weather in Thailand and my bones and my circulation and everything will be super duper. So, what we’re going to do now, we’re going to go into the town. That wind is cold. Icy, icy, icy. It’s only uh middle of September. Bloody hell. Oh, something about me. I’ve been overseas now 41 years since I left England the age of 21, 62 now. 41 years. I’ve lived mainly in Taiwan, Philippines, Thailand. I love the tropical weather. Don’t enjoy the cold British weather at all. Especially that biting wind that does get into your bones. Yes, I could wear gloves, but why could wear gloves when I can live in Thailand? Hey. All right, Addios. We’re going to go into town now. Church, Treton, and I want to show you something at 12:00, which it’s almost 12:00 now. As much as I don’t enjoy the cold weather in the UK, especially that biting wind, I do love the culture and the history of this wonderful country. As an example, I’m here in the graveyard of the local church. The church is nearly 1,000 years old. Uh the graves look hundreds of years old some of them. Absolutely wonderful. So very nice. And it’s coming up. If we go this way, almost 12:00 and at 12:00 you’re going to hear the church bells ring and you’re going to hear it chime 12:00. So let’s have a walk around here. And let’s see if we can find the clock so we can see exactly what is the time because I believe it’s almost 12:00. And I know I kind of complain about the weather, but today is absolutely gorgeous. Yes, it’s only a high of 15 Celsius, but those beautiful blue skies. And here we go. We’ll go around the other side. Hear the bells. 1. 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12. Aha. No. 13:00, but you heard it. And you can see it 12:00 straight up and straight up. A wonderful, beautiful church, nearly a thousand years old. Wonderful day. So, we’ll say goodbye to the church in this still lovely weather. And we’ll head this way up towards the long wind. And for those of you with eagle eyes and a good memory, if you look back about three and a half months ago, I came to this field. This is the location of the church Treton Beer Festival. So, we’re just getting through the gate there. Yes. And this large field here called Rectory Field. This was the location of the beer festival. We had Tipsy Tom’s beer trailer. You remember that over there? Over here we had a tent with a selection of about 25 different barrels of beer. We had Mr. Cider over here. We had a live band playing over there. All in all, fantastic. And a point of interest, two days ago on Sunday when it really rained down. I actually worked for eight hours, but five of it was in the pouring rain. Uh, I worked, you see the man on the the uh, what do you call it? A riding lawn mower. His name is Ed. And I did work for him and his lovely wife. Magnificent garden, million pound house. All very good. But I’d rather be in Thailand. So, let’s head up here towards the long men and let’s see what we can find. I’ve never been up this trail. That means you haven’t either. I guess I can go to the gate and wave at Ed. Ah, there’s one of their two dogs. That dog, the sheep dog, 16 years old. So, there’s Ed on his little riding tractor there. Uh, if I wave. Hello, Ed. Is he waving? I don’t think you can hear me. Hello, Ed. No, you can’t hear me. Hello, Ed. No, you can’t hear this dog here, the sheep dog, 16 years old. I can’t remember her name, but she has a companion dog, 9 years old, a golden retriever. Her name is Holly because she was born at Christmas. How about that? So, that name more easy to remember. So, let’s go for a little walk up this steep hill here. Get some exercise. I tell you what, I said I’ve done 59 out of the last 60 days gardening, but I’ve also done about 90 out of the last 105 days. So, I’m super super fit. Haven’t walked up one of these hills in quite a while, but my legs are feeling strong. I’ve lost couple of kilos in weight. that helps as well. I’m right now this morning 75.2 kilos and my ideal weight is 75.0. So there you go. Right about at my ideal weight, feeling good, looking good. And tomorrow, best day of the year, flying back to Thailand. Going to see my little baby girl who’s not a baby anymore. My little Jasmine. She just turned 20 months old, so she’ll be appearing on a future video as early as next week. Oh, how I love my little Jasmine. Beautiful little baby. Well, like I say, not really a baby anymore. Beautiful little toddler. Mr. Like crazy. The shout out also to my two children in the Philippines, Princess and CJ. Love you both. Love you baby Jasmine. This is Daddy out for a beautiful trek in the hills. And check out this weather. Lovely. Never mind the biting wind. Like it used to be on my bicycle. Yes, it’s a headwind. Wouldn’t you expect anything else? My hat. Very solid. Quite heavy. It’s staying on. But if it was a lighter hat, it would be gone. Gone with the wind. Ah, what a nice view here. Let’s uh show you the trees losing their leaves already. Another wonderful property up ahead. Beautiful field. Not sure if we can get up that way. So, I think we’ll just follow the trail this way. But I don’t know. We’re going to go all the way up the Long Min today. We’ll see. Let’s just enjoy the moment. Keep on trailing. Woo! My eyes are watering because of the cold. Ah, what a country. Yeah, you got to love it. The sun is out. So that means it’s a delightful day, but still the wind, little bit breezy, little bit chilly, and when it goes on your face, yes, makes your eyes water. All right. I believe up here, I’ve never been here, but I believe up here is the largest house in Church Treon, which is called the Long M House. So, we’re going to see it from I guess this is the front entrance, but we really want to see it from the other side in all of its magnificence. On one of my very early videos back in late May when I first got to Church Treon, I did point out this large Longm house in the distance and I said, “Well, one day we’ll come here.” So, today’s the day, which is appropriate being my last full day in church. So, what I’m going to do is just walk through the car park here. See, I’m starting to speak English again. A lot of people point out that I speak American. Uh, this, for our American viewers, is a parking lot, as they well know, not a car park. But hey, the English invented the English language. Who am I to argue? All right. Ho. Oh, look at that. A Range Rover. Oh, they call it an over finch. You see that, CJ? Look, they’ve made it into a soft top. Look at those magnificent wheels. Look, with the the red rims there. Very nice. So, a convertible Range Rover. Now, that is my new favorite car. You like that, CJ? CJ is my son. He loves cars. He loves Formula 1 and before they were champions, his favorite Formula 1 team was McLaren and now they are world champions soon to be for a second time. And goodbye to the Red Bulls who are not our favorite team. Okay, the long be house. Let’s have a look what this sign says and then we will try and make our way to the front. Oh, don’t need to know that. We thought there was a historical marker. Yes. So, we’re going to go this way and see if we can get around to the other side. So, come with me as we walk around to the proper front of the Long M house. And as we go over here and then sweep this way. Look at that. What a view. And you see it says up there long mind. So we made it. Looks like a four or fivestar hotel. So when you’ve got money, you want to go walking up the Long. What a great place this could be to stay. If it’s a bit cool, have your drinks inside. If it’s nice and hot like today, be brave. come and have a pint of Guinness or a pint of summer cider sitting out here. So, there you go. One last view of the Long Mind. Let’s zoom in and say bye-bye to one or two or five of the 2,000 sheep that live up there. Some of them even have names, and some of them like to play their favorite game of hiding sheep. So, with those happy words, we’re going to head back now through Church Treadton. And in case I don’t see anything exciting to film, I’m going to leave you with tomorrow. I’m on the airplane to Thailand. And when I get to Thailand, life is going to be so fun fun fun cuz it’s still rainy season. And recently, the last few weeks, Thailand has had incredible flooding issues. So hopefully the rain will cease, the sun will come out, temperatures will be hot, and everybody will be happy, happy, happy. So I’m going to leave you with from the Long Minn House, Miles of Smiles.