The Wrekin

 hill, folklore

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An infamous hill in Shropshire that was once used as a Celtic Fort.

According to folklore, the hill was created by a Welsh giant who was angry with the people of nearby Shrewsbury. He was on his way with a shovel full of spade (the size of a hill) to dump on Shrewsbury. On the way he got lost and asked a cobbler, who was actually walking from Shrewsbury, which direction the town was.

Being a cobbler he had a sack full of old shoes and not wanting the town to be destroyed, he told the giant he the sack full of was actually just shoes he had worn out just walking from Shrewsbury (despite Shrewsbury actually being within a few miles).

The gaint was convinced Shrewsbury must be so far away that he decided he couldn't be bothered destroying the town anymore and dumped his shovel load of soil on the ground where he was, thereby creating the Wrekin. He then cleaned his shoes, thereby creating the smaller hill Ercall which is next to the Wrekin, and went home to the Welsh mountains.

Up until the 1st Century A.D., the Wrekin was a hill fort and headquarters of the Celtic Cornovii tribe. During the 1st cnetury however, the fort was destroyed by the Romans who then built the nearby Wroxeter town.