Hales

Hales is barely more than a scattering of farms, cottages and a parish church set among the gently rolling arable land east of Market Drayton, right where Shropshire gives way to Staffordshire. The Anglican church of St Mary, from which Market Drayton's own parish church takes its historic name of "St Mary's, Drayton-in-Hales", stands as the hamlet's main landmark, and the surrounding lanes are the kind of quiet, hedgerow-lined byways that see more tractors than tourists.

It is easy to miss Hales on a map, but that is rather the point: this is deep, unhurried Shropshire-Staffordshire border country, a base for exploring the market town, canal and countryside around it rather than a destination with attractions of its own.

Top things to do near Hales

Market Drayton and the wider Shropshire Union Canal corridor are only a short drive away, and make up most of the area's genuine visitor interest.

• Market Drayton town centre — a historic market town that has held its market since the 13th century, with independent shops, timber-framed buildings and a Discovery Trail linking hidden plaques and historic details through the streets.
• Tyrley Locks — a flight of five picturesque locks on the Shropshire Union Canal, a favourite spot for watching narrowboats work through and a popular circular walk from town.
• Hodnet Hall Gardens — sixty acres of landscaped gardens, pools and woodland walks around a Jacobean-style hall, a few miles south of Market Drayton.
• Blore Heath — the site of a 1459 Wars of the Roses battle, just across the county line in Staffordshire, marked by a memorial and quiet farmland walks.
• Bearstone and the surrounding lanes — the flat, hedge-bound farmland around Hales and neighbouring Bearstone is good, gentle walking and cycling country away from traffic.

Getting to Hales

Hales sits about two miles east of Market Drayton, just inside Staffordshire on the border with Shropshire, with a Market Drayton (TF9) postal address. It is reached along minor lanes off the A53 and A529, with Market Drayton itself the nearest town for fuel, shops and services. The closest mainline railway stations are at Stoke-on-Trent and Wem, both around 30 minutes away by car, and the wider area is best explored by car given the rural, unlit lanes after dark.

Best time to visit Hales

Spring and summer suit this stretch of border countryside best, when the hedgerows and farmland are at their greenest and the towpath at Tyrley Locks is busiest with boats. Market Drayton's markets and events run through the warmer months, while autumn brings quieter lanes and good colour in the hedgerows and copses around Hodnet. Winters are mild but wet underfoot, and the flat, exposed farmland offers little shelter, so a market-town base with somewhere warm and dry to retreat to is the sensible option.

Where to stay near Hales

Hales itself has no hotels, so accommodation means looking to Market Drayton and the surrounding villages, where farmhouse B&Bs, coaching inns and small independent hotels serve visitors to the town and canal.

Food and drink near Hales

There is no pub or café in Hales itself, so eating out means a short drive into Market Drayton, home to well-regarded spots such as The Gingerbread Man and Jaipur Restaurant, alongside traditional pubs and cafés serving the market town's visitors and canal boaters.