=Accommodation Obtainable.=—­“Wrekin Hotel,” etc. =Alternative Route.=—­Train from Paddington.  Great Western Rly.

To reach the top of the Wrekin from Wellington—­a distance of 3 miles—­one must follow the main road to Shrewsbury for a mile; then turning to the left, having skirted a ridge of the hills, and following a lane one reaches the foot of the ascent.  The Wrekin, although it rises in such a compact and lonely fashion from the level country, is not one single height, but a range consisting of four hills.  Those on the north-east are called the Ercall and Lawrence hills, while those on the west are the Wrekin and Primrose hills.

The Wrekin is composed of igneous rocks, and is one of the most remarkable examples of eruptive trap in England.  Its shoulders are of silurian and carboniferous strata.  The sedimentary deposits within the influence of the volcanic action have passed through considerable changes, the sandstone having become granitic quartz rock, chiefly composed of pure white quartz with particles of decomposed felspar.

Close to the valleys of Little Wenlock, to the south-east of the Wrekin, are irregularly shaped bosses of basaltic greenstone.

The folk-lore concerning the Wrekin is, of course, rich and full of detail.  One legend says that two giants set to work to make themselves a citadel, and dug out the earth required for the purpose from the bed of the Severn.  The top of the Wrekin is 1335 feet high, and owing to its remarkably isolated position the horizon on a clear day has a circumference of 350 miles.  It is not surprising, therefore, that the hill was used as a beacon station in early days.  The great sweeping prospect from the summit includes the Malvern Hills, Caradoc and the Brown Clee group, Plinlimmon, Cader Idris, the Brecknock Beacons, Arran Fowdy, and the Berwin chain of mountains, overtopped by the Snowdon range.

Wellington is chiefly modern, and its old church was rebuilt in 1789.  The chief industry is nail-making.

[Illustration:  Valentine & Sons, Ltd.

THE WREKIN FROM WELLINGTON.]

WROXETER AND THE ROMAN CITY OF URICONIUM, SALOP

=How to get there.=—­Train from Euston.  L. and N.W.  Railway. =Nearest Station.=—­Upton Magna via Shrewsbury (Wroxeter lies 2-1/2
  miles south of Upton Magna).
=Distance from London.=—­159 miles. =Average Time.=—­Varies between 3-1/4 to 5 hours.

                     1st 2nd 3rd
=Fares.=—­Single 23s. 10d. 15s. 9d. 12s. 7d. 
          Return 44s. 0d. 27s. 6d. 25s. 2d.

=Accommodation Obtainable.=—­At Shrewsbury, “Raven Hotel,” “Lion
  Hotel,” “George Hotel,” etc.

The village of Wroxeter would not be of exceptional interest but for the proximity of the site of the Roman city of Uriconium.  It is owing to this fact that the churchyard gate is composed of Roman pillars and capitals.  A summer-house in an adjoining garden is also made of Roman materials, and the church contains a font in the form of an adapted Roman capital, obtained with the rest from Uriconium.  The church is chiefly Norman, but probably a portion of the south wall of the chancel is Saxon.