Chance to show real heart at Shropshire beauty spot
Visitors will gather at one of Shropshire’s most picturesque landscapes as part of a national celebration of Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty.
The Shropshire Hills AONB will be among all 46 across the country to take part.
The event, on September 21, will see volunteers, staff and visitors forming the shape of a heart using objects and their own bodies.
Here in Shropshire, people are invited to join the celebration in the heart of our AONB – Carding Mill Valley, Church Stretton – where songs inspired by the area will be played.
Composer Mary Keith will lead a pop-up choir and photographer Ben Osborne will capture the event on film. A singing workshop will take place from 11am to 12.30pm, at the National Trust tearooms, Carding Mill Valley. Everyone is welcome to join the choir.
Picnic
The picnic will take place at 1pm and it will be time for the heart formation at 2pm. The heart shape has been chosen as it represents not only the love for these areas but also that AONBs and National Parks were originally thought of as the ‘Natural Health Service’.
Howard Davies, Chief Executive of the National Association for AONBs, said: “This national moment kicks off Landscapes for Life Week, so-called because we’re committed to our iconic national landscapes forever.
“And those landscapes are so much more than a view – they are landscapes for living.
“They are a place for nature, which AONB partnerships are actively working to conserve and enhance.
“They are a place for rural productivity and at the heart of our great British food industry.
“They are a place of tranquillity, rootedness and wellbeing, treasured by generations of people seeking peace, exercise and leisure; truly our Natural Health Service.”
