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43-399: The hills stretch over 24-kilometre (15 mi) and run north - south, and for about this distance the lowest point along the hills is just under 300 metres (980 ft). Titterstone Clee Hill is around five miles south of Brown Clee Hill . The B4364 road from Ludlow to Bridgnorth runs between the two hills, offering good views of both. The hills have been said to form a "gateway" from

86-404: A 100-mile radius. The smaller of the two is a Met Office weather radar station which is part of a network of 16 across the country used to detect cloud precipitation (rain). The domes and masts are well-known local landmarks , with one in particular often being nicknamed 'the golf ball'. Clee Hill is still quarried behind Cleehill village. Quarrying resumed here in the late 1980s, 50 years after

129-658: A Flight Lieutenant, disbanded and closed in September 1957. However it was reactivated in 1964 under the oversight of the Civil Aviation Authority . Several radar domes and towers currently operate on the summit of the hill. The largest of the radar arrays is part of the National Air Traffic Services (NATS) radar network, and covers one of 30 overlapping regions of UK airspace. The one on Titterstone Clee monitors all aircraft within

172-535: A hill is universally considered to be not as tall, or as steep as a mountain. Geographers historically regarded mountains as hills greater than 1,000 feet (304.8 meters) above sea level . In contrast, hillwalkers have tended to regard mountains as peaks 2,000 feet (610 m) above sea level. The Oxford English Dictionary also suggests a limit of 2,000 feet (610 m) and Whittow states "Some authorities regard eminences above 600 m (1,969 ft) as mountains, those below being referred to as hills." Today,

215-436: A hill). The rounded peaks of hills results from the diffusive movement of soil and regolith covering the hill, a process known as downhill creep . Various names may be used to describe types of hills, based on appearance and method of formation. Many such names originated in one geographical region to describe a type of hill formation particular to that region, though the names are often adopted by geologists and used in

258-505: A lake. Over the years large numbers of quarries were opened up on Titterstone Clee to exploit the dolerite. All but one, on Clee Hill, are now abandoned. The largest quarries have sheer drops of up to around 100 feet (30m). Before the Second World War , the area would be described as industrial, because of the presence of wide-scale quarrying and associated activity. Men came from places such as Bridgnorth and Ludlow to work in

301-604: A minor public road reaches to the upper parts of the hill where there are parking areas. Thus Titterstone Clee is popular with walkers and picnickers, but much less so than nearby hills such as the Long Mynd . From the summit the Shropshire Way runs north to Brown Clee Hill , southwest to Ludlow and east to Cleobury Mortimer. Another long-distance trail, the Jack Mytton Way runs along the northeastern margin of

344-656: A mountain is usually defined in the UK and Ireland as any summit at least 2,000 feet or 610 meters high, while the UK government's Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000 defined mountainous areas (for the purposes of open access legislation) as areas above 600 meters (1,969 feet). Some definitions include a topographical prominence requirement, typically 100 feet (30.5 m) or 500 feet (152.4 m). In practice, mountains in Scotland are frequently referred to as "hills" no matter what their height, as reflected in names such as

387-536: A much smaller force entrenched on the hill top. Battles for the possession of high ground have often resulted in heavy casualties to both sides, such as the 1969 Battle of Hamburger Hill during the Vietnam War , the Battle of Stalingrad and Battle of Peleliu during World War II , and the 1969 Kargil War between India and Pakistan. The Great Wall of China is an enduring example of hilltop fortification. It

430-454: A wider geographical context. These include: Many settlements were originally built on hills, either to avoid floods (particularly if they were near a large body of water), for defense (since they offer a good view of the surrounding land and require would-be attackers to fight uphill), or to avoid densely forested areas. For example, Ancient Rome was built on seven hills , helping to protect it from invaders. Some settlements, particularly in

473-473: Is of note that the walls of the fort are made up of stone blocks, instead of earth banks. Clee Hill is one of only a few hills and mountains noted on the Hereford Mappa Mundi , a 13th-century map of the world displayed at Hereford Cathedral . In medieval times ironstone and, later, coal were mined, in particular from bell pits: localised mine shafts , one of which has now flooded to form

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516-564: Is popular in hilly areas such as the English Peak District and the Scottish Highlands . Many hills are categorized according to relative height or other criteria and feature on lists named after mountaineers, such as Munros (Scotland) and Wainwrights (England). Specific activities such as " peak bagging " (or "Munro bagging") involve climbing hills on these lists with the aim of eventually climbing every hill on

559-541: Is possible to see the urban centres of Dudley and Wolverhampton , with Wolverhampton Wanderers FC 's Molineux stadium visible. The hills mark a clear eastern boundary to the Shropshire Hills , and are just west of the Severn Valley between Bridgnorth and Bewdley . The hills stand out over the surrounding countryside and can be seen from well into Staffordshire , Worcestershire, Herefordshire and

602-610: The Black Country . They can also be seen, on a clear day, from the M5 Motorway on the northbound approach to Bromsgrove . The hills were created by glacial activity in the last ice age . In the summer the hills are green and are easy walking, attracting many visitors from the Black Country and other parts of the West Midlands as well as much further afield, but care must be taken during winter, as though most of

645-816: The Brecon Beacons , the Black Mountains , The Long Mynd , Stiperstones Shropshire's third highest peak, Corndon Hill and Radnor Forest . To the south are the Malvern Hills and the Cotswolds , and to the east are the Clent Hills , Turner's Hill , Barr Beacon and the spread of the West Midlands . To the north is Cannock Chase , and on a very clear day the hills of the Peak District including The Roaches and Winter Hill . It

688-598: The Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000 and thereby freely available to walkers. There is in addition a dense network of footpaths and bridleways running both across the unenclosed land and also the enclosed farmland surrounding the hill. Some connect from the A4117 Cleobury Mortimer to Ludlow road which runs east–west across Clee Hill Common's southern flanks (reaching a height of 1,250 feet (380 m) above sea level at its highest point) though

731-602: The Cuillin Hills and the Torridon Hills . In Wales, the distinction is more a term of land use and appearance and has nothing to do with height. For a while, the US defined a mountain as being 1,000 feet (304.8 m) or more tall. Any similar landform lower than this height was considered a hill. The United States Geological Survey , however, has concluded that these terms do not in fact have technical definitions in

774-596: The 1775 Battle of Bunker Hill (which was actually fought on Breed's Hill ) in the American War of Independence ; and Cemetery Hill and Culp's Hill in the 1863 Battle of Gettysburg , the turning point of the American Civil War . The Battle of San Juan Hill in the 1898 Spanish–American War won the Americans control of Santiago de Cuba but only after suffering from heavy casualties inflicted by

817-543: The 20th century, a further large quarry (the Magpie Quarry) opened on the eastern side of Clee Hill and an aerial ropeway was built to carry stone off the hill eastwards to the railway at Detton Ford. The footings for the tall pylons which supported the wires still remain near the summit, parallel to the modern day track to the radar domes. During the Second World War, in September 1941, a radar station

860-528: The Middle East, are located on artificial hills consisting of debris (particularly mudbricks ) that has accumulated over many generations. Such a location is known as a " tell ". In Northern Europe , many ancient monuments are sited in heaps. Some of these are defensive structures (such as the hillforts of the Iron Age ), but others appear to have hardly any significance. In Britain, many churches at

903-540: The Titterstone Clee Dhustone quarry closed just below the summit. The main buildings of the quarry are just visible from the A4117 road but virtually hidden from view by ingenious landscaping. A 20th century triangulation pillar marks the summit. The summit area and unenclosed upper slopes of Titterstone Clee, along with Clee Hill to its south, were mapped as 'open country' under the provisions of

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946-693: The US. The Great Soviet Encyclopedia defined "hill" as an upland with a relative height of up to 200 m (660 ft). A hillock is a small hill. Other words include knoll and (in Scotland, Northern Ireland and northern England) its variant, knowe. Artificial hills may be referred to by a variety of technical names, including mound and tumulus . Hills may form through geomorphic phenomena : faulting , erosion of larger landforms such as mountains and movement and deposition of sediment by glaciers (notably moraines and drumlins or by erosion exposing solid rock which then weathers down into

989-586: The basal sandstone of the Coal Measures is known as the 'Gutter Coal'. The dark coloured dolerite of the sill is known locally as Dhu Stone ('dhu' may have arisen from the Welsh 'du' meaning 'black'). It is an olivine basalt which appears to have been intruded as a sill between sandstone layers within the recently deposited and possibly unconsolidated strata of the Middle Westphalian sediments,

1032-475: The built up areas of the West Midlands to the hills and rural landscape of Wales and are at the heart of the Welsh Marches . Much quarrying has taken place on the hills over the years, and there are large air traffic control domes and radar towers on the summits of both hills which can be seen for many miles around. Views from the west of the hills spread as far as Snowdonia and Cadair Idris ,

1075-418: The city's fog and civil engineering projects today famous as tourist attractions such as the cable cars and Lombard Street . Hills provide important advantages to an army that controls their heights, giving them an elevated view and firing position and forcing an opposing army to charge uphill to attack a fort or other position. They may also conceal forces behind them, allowing a force to lie in wait on

1118-591: The contacts being locally distorted where dolerite intruded weak sediments. An extensive fault system runs ENE-WSW across the southern flanks of these hills. The northerly downthrowing Leinthall Earls Fault runs off to the WSW whilst the Titterstone Clee Fault runs off the ENE. Other smaller faults, some at right angles to these named faults, affect both the sedimentary strata and the intruded sills. Near

1161-510: The crest of a hill, using that crest for cover, and firing on unsuspecting attackers as they broach the hilltop. As a result, conventional military strategies often demand possession of high ground. Because of their strategic and tactical values, hills have been the site of many notable battles, such as the Battle of Alesia in 52 BC and the first recorded military conflict in Scotland, the Battle of Mons Graupius in AD 83. Modern era conflicts include

1204-503: The ground between Cleehill village and Knowle and also to the northeast of the hill. This is succeeded by the mudstones, siltstones and sandstones of the Lower and Middle Coal Measures which makes up much of the rest of the surface of the hill extending southwest to Knowbury and northeast beneath Catherton Common . It contains seatearths and coal seams which have been worked in the past. The lowermost and most extensive of these, just above

1247-655: The higher part of the hill is common land , used for the grazing of sheep , air traffic control services and both working and disused quarries . The summit of Titterstone Clee is bleak, treeless and shaped by decades of quarrying. Many of the industrial structures still remain. Most of the summit of the hill is affected by man-made activity, the result of hill fort construction during the Bronze and Iron Ages and, more recently, by years of mining for coal and quarrying for dolerite , known locally as 'dhustone', initially for shaped setts for road paving and lining excavations (notably

1290-470: The highest pub in Shropshire , called The Kremlin, and also to the highest primary school. On the northeast slope of the hill is the small village of Cleeton St Mary . The hill rises above the surrounding countryside by virtue of its distinctive geology, the igneous rocks and their adjacent zones of contact metamorphism capping both Titterstone Clee and Clee Hill being more resistant to erosion than

1333-406: The hill. Hill A hill is a landform that extends above the surrounding terrain. It often has a distinct summit , and is usually applied to peaks which are above elevation compared to the relative landmass, though not as prominent as mountains . Hills fall under the category of slope landforms . The distinction between a hill and a mountain is unclear and largely subjective, but

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1376-627: The neighbouring sedimentary rocks . Most of the lower ground is underlain by mudstones and sandstones of Devonian age and collected together as the Old Red Sandstone . The uppermost part of this succession is the St Maughans Formation and on the northern and western sides it rises almost to the summit where it is then capped by the relatively resistant dolerite sill and its strong hornfels contact metamorphic zone. A similar but larger and separate intrusion caps Clee Hill to

1419-406: The new docks at Newport, South Wales) but later for aggregate in concrete and for road paving. Many derelict quarry buildings scattered over the hill are of industrial archaeological interest as very early examples of the use of reinforced concrete. The village of Cleehill lies on this road as it crosses the hill. At 1,296 feet (395 m) above sea level, it was home to what was, until it closed,

1462-399: The quarries, and the villages of Bedlam and Dhustone on Titterstone Clee were built especially for the quarry workers. Crumbling remains of quarry buildings now litter the hill, reminders of a bygone industry that once employed more than 2,000 people here. An old 3 ft ( 914 mm ) narrow gauge railway incline is still visible on the hill and a large concrete structure under which

1505-717: The south. The Old Red Sandstone is unconformably overlain by Carboniferous Limestone which locally is accounted for by the Oreton Limestone Formation and the Lower Limestone Shale Group. These rocks occur in a curved outcrop to the south of Cleehill village and to the north around Farlow. Overlying this is the Cornbrook Sandstone Formation, the local representative of the Millstone Grit underlying

1548-565: The summit is the Giant's Chair – a pile of boulders created during cold phases of the Devensian ice age. Near the summit trig point are the remains of a Bronze Age cairn , dating back up to 4,000 years and indicating that the summit was a likely ceremonial site. Although partly destroyed by quarrying, Titterstone Clee's Iron Age hill fort or encampment, enclosed by a huge boundary earthworks, has fared better than those on Brown Clee . It

1591-631: The summit to 533 metres (1,749 ft) above sea level. It is one of the Clee Hills , in the Shropshire Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty . The nearest town to the hill is Ludlow , which can be seen from parts of Cleehill village. Titterstone Clee is the third-highest hill in Shropshire, surpassed only by the nearby Brown Clee Hill (540 metres (1,770 ft)) and Stiperstones (536 metres (1,759 ft)). Much of

1634-601: The time there is no snow and ice on the hills, when it comes it can be sudden and severe with very strong gales and blizzards often closing roads on the hill. The village of Cleehill , lies on the slopes of Titterstone Clee Hill, about halfway between Ludlow and Cleobury Mortimer . The area is important for wildlife, with peregrine , kestrel , Northern wheatear , European stonechat , skylark , Eurasian curlew and barn owl often seen, as well as adders, rabbits, and other birds, including ravens . In late July and early August 2007, Catherton Common near Titterstone Clee

1677-500: The tops of hills are thought to have been built on the sites of earlier pagan holy places. The Washington National Cathedral in Washington, D.C. has followed this tradition and was built on the highest hill in that city. Some cities' hills are culturally significant in their foundation, defense, and history. In addition to Rome, hills have played a prominent role in the history of San Francisco , with its hills being central to

1720-424: The wagons were filled with stone still remains next to the modern day car park. Nearby, on the flanks of Clee Hill, a standard gauge railway incline provided means of exporting quarried stone from above Cleehill village. This railway infrastructure remained intact until abandoned in the early 1960s. In the past the quarries have also been worked (on a much smaller scale) for coal, fireclay and limestone . Early in

1763-469: Was built on hilltops to help defend against invaders from the north, such as Mongols . Hillwalking is a British English term for a form of hiking which involves the ascent of hills. The activity is usually distinguished from mountaineering as it does not involve ropes or technically difficult rock climbing , although the terms mountain and hill are often used interchangeably in Britain. Hillwalking

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1806-430: Was home to a very rare woodchat shrike . The Clee Hills often cause confusion amongst people through their names, but basically: 52°25′N 2°40′W  /  52.417°N 2.667°W  / 52.417; -2.667 Titterstone Clee Hill Titterstone Clee Hill , sometimes referred to as Titterstone Clee or Clee Hill , is a prominent hill in the rural English county of Shropshire , rising at

1849-456: Was set up on Titterstone Clee under cover of being a Royal Air Force station under the name of RAF Clee Hill , which housed between 40 and 50 personnel. Initially the radar and wireless crew lived in huts within the station which made for cold living conditions in winter but it ceased to be residential in September 1956 when crew were allowed to board in Ludlow. The station, latterly commanded by

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