Holidays & Travel:
Shropshire – England’s Forgotten County
By David Carter
Shropshire is England’s forgotten county but it is well worth making the effort to get there. It is only three hours by train from London and there is plenty to see and do. It is primarily a rural county steeped in history bordering as it does mid Wales from Oswestry in the northwest to Ludlow and the Hereford border in the south.
Consider staying in Shrewsbury, the capital of the county. Shrewsbury is a growing mediaeval town with a large mixture of places to stay and lots of things to see. It straddles the mighty Severn River, one of Britain’s longest rivers. The river twists and turns and revisits the town in several places. It can and does still flood some of the city and the effects of global warming have persuaded the town council to beef up the flood defences.
On a mild balmy day with the river low and sleepy it seems hard to believe that the river could ever offer a threat, but when it is angry and running, it does. Visit the castle set beside the Victorian railway station. Shrewsbury is also the home of Charles Darwin and there are reminders of their famous son throughout the town. Consider too the half timbered and ancient Rowley’s museum. To the north of the town is an area called Battle, named after the Battle of the Roses fought there in 1400 when men were slaughtered. Do visit the church just north of the battlefield site where a permanent memorial is on display.
But Shropshire has much more to offer than simply the county town. In the south Ludlow is a fascinating ancient town. Katherine of Aragon was imprisoned there in the castle after Henry the eight turned his attention elsewhere. The castle is still in surprisingly good condition and is open most days.
Bridgnorth is a town split in two. The lower level beside the River Severn and the high town, which commands views along the river. Take the old Steam powered Severn Valley railway, scene of countless films and TV series, from there south towards Kidderminster over the border in Worcestershire.
In the north of the county Ellesmere in the Shropshire Lakeland is a small town well worth a visit. Check out the canal where Thomas Telford’s masterpiece, built in 1760 runs through the town before wending its way over the border and into Wales and on to Llangollen. Oswestry in the northwest is a bustling market town and on market day you are likely to hear Welsh being spoken as often as English.
Another small town well worth a visit is Much Wenlock, located on Wenlock edge, a cliff face that runs diagonally across the county. There is an ancient monastery there and quaint buildings aplenty. In the far south of the county Ludlow is a must. Narrow streets with many half-timbered buildings always have something to offer. Check out the Feathers Hotel in Ludlow for olde England history and charm.
For the more energetic walking holidays across the moorland of the Long Mynd offers surprising taste of wilderness. Lastly, if you still have time, try and visit Telford at Ironbridge where Thomas Telford’s bridge still stands, the first metal bridge ever built anywhere and the harbinger of the industrial revolution
Shropshire is still undiscovered, especially for the international traveller, but it has much to commend it. The people are gentle and friendly and it is well worth the effort to get there. You can access thousands of holidays villas and cottages worldwide can be checked out on the website www.pebblebeachmedia.co.uk. Enjoy travelling!
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HOLIDAY HOMES WITH A DIFFERENCE
by Simon Heptinstall, March 2004 from VisitBritain
An apparently normal family will arrive by open boat at a rented holiday cottage in Britain to find there is no hot water or electricity... and the only lighting is a box of candles. Amazingly, they’ll be delighted. Meanwhile a happy group will be settling down for a quiet weekend in disused arsenic mine... and a love-struck couple will be setting off for their romantic break in a railway station ticket office.
All over Britain, wonderful, quirky structures such as these are finding a new lease of life as self-catering holiday homes for those who want something different from a normal country holiday cottage. Visitors can now stay in rooms in a royal palace, find home comforts in a disused water tower or rent a whole fort. If you prefer, sleep in a lighthouse, an oast house (where beer-making hops were once dried) or a windmill. There’s even a pineapple to rent for the weekend!
They may not have satellite TVs nor air-conditioning - but they offer an unforgettable experience. By way of a taster, here are just a few of the unusual holiday homes on offer in Britain…
Scotland: the Pineapple
A 200-year-old folly in Stirlingshire, central Scotland, is topped by a 75-foot stone pineapple.
The 4th Earl of Dunmore built this strange pavilion in 1777 after returning from the New World. While Governor of Virginia he’d heard that sailors would put a pineapple on a gatepost to announce their return home. Back in Scotland, Dunmore copied the custom with enthusiasm.
The Pineapple has no internal doors, which means you have to go outside to get from one room to another. The Pineapple sleeps four and costs from £185 for a four-night break.
It is just one of 200 restored historic properties rented by the Landmark Trust, a building conservation charity which rents out its properties. They include a former arsenic mine in Cornwall, apartments in the royal Hampton Court Palace near London, a turret in the city walls of Caernarfon, North Wales, a radio hut on the island of Lundy, an old railway station in Staffordshire and a water tower in Norfolk.
Website: www.landmarktrust.co.uk
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