Bishop's Castle

Bishop's Castle is a small market town in Shropshire, England, and formerly its smallest borough. According to the 2001 census it had a population of 1,630. Bishop's Castle is one and a half miles east of the Wales-England border, about twenty miles north-west of Ludlow and about twenty miles south-west of Shrewsbury. To the south is Clun and to the east is Church Stretton. The town is best known as a thriving market town with a strong agricultural community and has more recently become known for its alternative community including artists, musicians, writers and craftspeople.

This is excellent walking country and Bishop's Castle is a "Walkers are Welcome Town", gaining the award in 2008. The long distance footpath the Shropshire Way runs through the town and Offa's Dyke is only a few miles away to the west. The ancient trackway of the Kerry Ridgeway, a prehistoric Bronze Age route, runs from the town. The BC Ring, a 60 mile challenging route around the town, was published in 2008. The town has two micro-breweries, many pubs and eating places and a wide variety of places to stay in the town itself and the surrounding countryside.

Bishop's Castle has been on a main route for travellers since prehistoric times, although the town was bypassed in the 19th century by Thomas Telford's great road. The inns would have provided accommodation for travellers and have stabled their horses. There is no main road running through the town, though the A488 runs north-south just to the east of the town, on its way from Shrewsbury, Pontesbury and Minsterley to Clun and Knighton. The B4385 runs around the town and connects with the A488.

Bishops Castle had a railway, the Bishops Castle Railway, between 1865 and 1935. Originally it was meant to go from Craven Arms to Montgomery, although it never made it that far as the money ran out. Sections of the old railway can still be seen today, including some of the embankments, bridges and stations. There is an limited daytime bus service (#553) on Mondays to Saturdays between Bishops Castle and Shrewsbury Bus Station