The River Onny flows through the meadows surrounding Craven Arms. It’s source is at White Grit in the Shropshire Hills. It has two branches the East and the West Onny which converge at Eaton east of Lydham. The Eastern course rises near Bridges.
It is a short river of about 25miles in length, it merges with the River Teme at Bromfield, north of Ludlow.
The name Onny comes from the Welsh onnau, the River on which ash trees grew.
There are several places from which to walk along the Onny. And glimpses of it can be seen from the car when travelling to Ludlow.
The Onny Meadows is a great place to visit and walk along the banks. At Kingfisher Corner you may catch a glimpse of a kingfisher or a dipper. There are Alders along this section and black poplars. See if you can spot the water mint I found this summer. There is evidence in the River of an old mill just down from Kingfisher Corner and an old mill pond behind. Further down is another old mill pond and on the opposite bank an old track is visible where grain was brought down to the mill. At the far end, by the A 49 you can see the Telford Bridge which crossed the A49 before it was replaced by the current bridge.
A walk north of the Corvedale Road takes you along the Onny river bank through Halford Meadows. This is much more open and there are often sheep or cows grazing in these meadows. On the opposite bank you can see Halfords old Mill, now ” done up” and lived in.
The Onny Trail, which goes along the former Bishops Castle Railway line, provides a pleasant walk along the River Onny. Look out for fossils found in the different shales and sandstones.
The photograph in the header of this blog post shows the River Onny taken from the Onny Trail.
