The delights of Shrewsbury

The Severn River, Shrewsbury

On this third and final post on my Shropshire holiday I'd like to tell you about what else you can find and see in Shrewsbury once you've completed the Charles Darwin Trail.

Shrewsbury has a lot to offer. Like I said there are 600 listed buildings and history surrounds you everywhere you turn. The town is like an island with the River Servern sweeping in a horseshoe shape around it between the English Bridge and the Welsh Bridge. There is an Abbey where the TV series Brother Cadfael was set. The books (written by Ellis Peters) are on sale inside the Abbey, and for those who like a bit of fun the old Prison runs tours, plus there is an escape room for those who like their fun a bit more scary!

Bear Steps

Shrewsbury Abbey

Outside Pret a Manger

The Roman Catholic Cathedral is situated opposite the remaining town walls and Town Wall Tower is the last one of those. The town has an abundant of old pubs and churches. St Mary's is the oldest and for me had that wow factor. I fell in love with it. There are three shopping malls, including the Darwin Shopping Centre, as well as lots of independent shops. There are plenty of places to eat - the usual franchises, but also restaurants, tea shops and pubs. In Pret a Manger there is the remains of an old 13th century building, and the town has many narrow lanes and passages (once called shuts) with wonderful names like Peacock Passage, Coffee House Passage, Gullet Passage, Butcher's Row, Fish Street and Grope Lane. The Bear Steps are the oldest steps and also boasts the oldest building above it.

RC Cathedral

The river walks are beautiful and there are many bridges to cross back and forth over. On our last day we took a 45 minute boat trip between the big bridges (Welsh and English) on the Sabrina, named after the Goddess of the river. A statute to her is found in the fountain in The Dingle gardens designed by Percy Thrower. The gardens are breathtaking and we spent a while sitting there in the sunshine (I nearly fell asleep!). There is also a great children's playground nearby with a kiosk selling food, drink and ice cream!

The Dingle designed by Percy Thrower

The Market Hall has two floors of shops selling everything from farm foods, vinyl records, clothes, second hand books and clothes, and so much in between. On the second floor is The Buffet where they serve an all day breakfast, and hot and cold food at reasonable prices.

In The Square is the statue of Clive of India. I'd never heard of him, but my husband had. Here is the Market Hall where the local cinema is, and behind that is the Tourist Information Centre, Cafe and Museum & Art Gallery. Across the Welsh Bridge on the riverside is the theatre which also boasts a cafe. If you cross the Greyfriars Bridge you can find the Coleham Pumping Station which is open to public on some days. You'd need to check. We didn't actually get there.

Not far from the station is the Castle and Shrewsbury Regimental Museum. While we walked the walls and gardens we didn't visit the museum.