The high ground, which is common land and designated as an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, lies between the Stiperstones range to the west and the Stretton Hills and Wenlock Edge to the east.

The Long Mynd commoners' ponies and sheep grazed here are hardy animals and are well adapted to the harsh conditions of life on the hill.

They graze selectively and very close to the ground, leaving patches of long vegetation which benefits insects and small mammals.

[2] Livestock grazing plays an important role in maintaining species-rich habitats by controlling the more aggressive plant species which would otherwise dominate the area.

[2] The geology dates back to the Precambrian, and during at least part of that long period this area would have been around 60° south of the equator,[citation needed] the same as the current latitude of the Falkland Islands.

Shropshire would have been at the very edge[citation needed] of a large continent near the sea, which was being buckled by tectonic activity, causing volcanoes to form.

The rivers would have flowed out to sea, creating large estuaries; over time, the mudflats would have built up, and volcanic eruptions deposited ash in layers between the sand and mud.

Unpublished research, including electron micrographs, by Professor Martin Brasier, showed that these are actually ichnofossils created by an unknown Ediacaran biota.

[citation needed] Field observations of the stratigraphy present, and its laminar nature, leave no doubt that they are in a marine environment; the absence of infilled or mineralised syncresis (shrinkage cracks) adds to this.

The hill of Caer Caradoc adjacent to the Long Mynd and from the same time is volcanic in origin, and is thought to be a remnant of the great mountain chain.

The Onny Valley Glacier pushed around the southern margin of the Long Mynd; one of many lowland outlets for the Welsh Ice Sheet.

[3] Today the steep and narrow valleys are covered in a thin layer of acidic soil, able to support only strong grasses, rushes and heathers.

It was probably built to control the access along the ancient east to west route, which still crosses the Long Mynd today by means of a modern road.

During the 18th century, Church Stretton began to grow in the wide valley between the Long Mynd and Caer Caradoc, as a market town, and later a spa.

The cards were wooden blocks with handles and covered in metal spikes, which were angled, (to make it easier to untangle) and set in leather.

The Long Mynd Hotel in Church Stretton was built in 1901, originally as the Hydro, at a time when the town was popular as a spa.

North, one can see as far as Cheshire; west commands views over the Stiperstones, and into Wales; the Cambrian Mountains in Powys, notably the Berwyn range and as far as Snowdonia on clear days.

They include: Long Mynd is part of the Shropshire Hills National Landscape (or AONB) and is a popular tourist destination, particularly due to the many footpaths, varied terrain and impressive scenery and views.

The Long Mynd's open spaces make it a popular place for horse riding and mountain biking[6] on the bridleways.

In 2015 snow gates were installed at various points of access onto the Long Mynd, to deter motorists planning to use the routes in wintry conditions.

[9] Cycle racing's British National Hill Climb Championship was held on the Burway, the road ascending the Long Mynd from Church Stretton, in 1989.

The Long Mynd has been home to the Midland Gliding Club since 1934, utilising the slope of the ground in a Westerly wind for gliders to continue flight (for many hours if required) in the rising air over and above the ridge, before "catching a thermal" (rising air under a cumulus cloud) and flying elsewhere, before returning to the Mynd at the end of the day so that a "road retrieve" of the glider is not required.

It runs residential training courses and offers members of the public trial lesson flights, see Midland Gliding Club.

The Long Mynd features in literature in the poetry of A. E. Housman, the novels of Mary Webb (in particular Gone to Earth), Malcolm Saville's Lone Pine series for children, and Sheena Porter's The Knockers (1965).