A public footpath runs right past the Folly on the top of the north-facing scarp so it can always be visited externally.
The best place to park for a visit is at the foot of Callow Hill on the road from Lower Dinchope to Westhope, SO 457854, where you will see a small interpretation board.
Walk past the barrier onto a forestry fire road for a couple of hundred yards to a clearing. From the clearing, the left-signed path takes a long zig-zag up the hill for a pleasant walk that itself provides enticing views. Alternatively, the right signed path goes straight up the hill – a shorter but very steep path to the folly!
Flounders’ Folly is also on a waymarked trail, the Hills and Dales Hike, from the Discovery Centre in Craven Arms. You can see the pdf of the route here SHDC-Hills-Dales-Hike. There are a number of walks on public paths that can take in the Folly.
Paths can become overgrown during high summer and can be muddy or frozen at other times. Please equip appropriately.
When the Folly is open a St George’s flag is flown from the top.
The Folly is opened by volunteers on at least one Sunday a month. On those days visitors can climb to the top and admire the wonderful 360º views of the Welsh borderland, the West Midlands, and the attractive patchwork landscape of the Shropshire hills and fields. A series of interpretation boards around the inside of the viewpoint inform visitors of exactly what they are looking at.
There is no charge for entry, but a donations box is available and all money is gratefully received to help keep the Folly maintained and in good order.
Details of opening dates are available on the homepage of this website, and from the Discovery Centre in Craven Arms.
Depending on the time of year, the footpath routes to the Folly can be rich in birdlife, butterflies, flowers and fungi. The limestone on the ‘zig’ of the path from the clearing also holds fossils dating back 400+ million years, when our bit of Shropshire was some 4,000 miles away, south of the Equator and covered by sea water!
