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Old Oswestry in LiDAR

Old Oswestry is an Iron Age hillfort in Shropshire. Here it is in the Environment Agency's 1 m LiDAR, shaded so the shape of the ground stands out. Look for a diamond-shaped hilltop wrapped in five banks and ditches, with entrances on the east and west and a group of rectangular hollows by the western gate.

What you can see

• The hillfort is roughly diamond-shaped, up to 570m by 420m, with five banks and ditches broken by entrances on the east and west. (Historic England)
• Its two outermost banks rise steeply from deep ditches and stand up to 6m high. (Historic England)
• Roughly rectangular hollows lie between banks either side of the western entrance; they have been variously described as cisterns, storage pits, stock enclosures and quarry pits. (Historic England)
• During the First World War, troops from nearby Park Hall camp used the hillfort for training exercises. (Historic England)

Visiting

English Heritage says entry is free and it is open any reasonable time during daylight hours, a quarter-mile walk along a public footpath from the Gatacre Avenue car park. (English Heritage)

Official record: Historic England list entry 1014899: Old Oswestry hillfort, and two adjacent sections of Wat's Dyke.

Look, don't detect or dig

Old Oswestry is a Scheduled Monument, protected by law because it's of national importance. In England it's a criminal offence to use a metal detector on a Scheduled Monument without Historic England's written consent, and to remove any object of archaeological or historical interest found with one. Damaging a scheduled monument is an offence too, and works on one, including digging, need Scheduled Monument Consent first. More on Scheduled Monuments and the rules.

Keep to paths and open access land, and follow the Countryside Code.

More sites in LiDAR

Arbor Low · Mam Tor · British Camp · Belas Knap Long Barrow · all sites