Culture and Sport
The novelist Henry Kingsley (1830–1876) wrote "Stretton" based around this area, and Oliver Sandys' book, "Quaint Place" is set in Church Stretton. Mary Webb's works also made reference to the town, under the name "Shepwardine". The Lone Pine Club series of children's books by Malcolm Saville is also partly set in the area.
Church Stretton is a major centre for the sport of archery, and there is also a gliding air field and station atop the Long Mynd, owned by the Midland Gliding Club. As well as gliding, the activities of paragliding, hang gliding and similar aerial pursuits take place from the Long Mynd. Church Stretton became a Walkers Are Welcome town in 2009, the first in the West Midlands, and its many well-maintained footpaths over the Long Mynd and the Stretton Hills help make it a major walking centre for Shropshire. In the town itself, sports facilities are provided adjacent to the schools, just off Shrewsbury Road, which include a swimming pool and a recently opened 4 court sports & leisure centre, and the town council provide facilities (such as a BMX facility, crazy golf, hard tennis courts, a bowling green and a croquet pitch) at the town park (situated between the A49 and the railway).
Read more about this topic: Church Stretton
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