CLUNTON COPPICE

CLUNTON, SHROPSHIRE

The climb up into Clunton Coppice is a degree easier than the torturous Spoad Hill a few kilometres to the east (see here), but nonetheless a fearsome and rewarding climb. Leave the village and cross the river; you rise slightly and ahead the road bends left and up the bank. Lying at the base of a gorge flanked by high, muddy, hedge-topped banks, the narrow, rough, and broken road cuts its course upwards. This opening stretch soon curves round to the right and promptly gets steeper and rougher. The initial punishing ramps will hurt the legs, but thankfully there’s a slight dip and a mini-plateau as you enter the Coppice. Make the most of this relief, as it’s disappointingly short-lived. The climbing continues shortly after on a debris-covered surface. In the shadow of the moss-covered rocks you soon reach a tight right-hand corner that touches 20% at its steepest before easing and bending left to finish.