Travel Accommodation UK logo England button Scotland button Wales button Ireland button
 

Airport hotels link

Self catering link

Travel link

 

Shropshire

You are here map

Back to Heart of England

 

Home > English Tourist Information > Heart of England > Shropshire

 

Places to visit in Shropshire

 

Hotel accommodation in Shropshire

 

English Heritage

National Trust

 

 
 

Acton Burnell Castle - English Heritage.The red sandstone shell of a semi-fortified tower house, built in 1284-93 by Bishop Burnell, Edwards I's Lord Chancellor. Parliaments were twice held here, in 1283 and 1285

 

 

 

©NTPL/David Levenson

Attingham Park, Shrewsbury, Shropshire SY4 4TP   Nat Trust
Telephone: 01743 708123 (Infoline)
Elegant 18th-century mansion with Regency interiors and deer park

 

 

 

Photo: Recreating a period table setting in the Dining Room at Attingham Park, Shrewsbury, Shropshire.

   
  ©NTPL/Derek Croucher Cronkhill, Attingham Park , Atcham, Shrewsbury, Shropshire SY5 6JP    Nat Trust
Telephone: 01743 708123 (Infoline)
First and best-known example of John Nash's Italianate villa designs, built in 1805
Visitors are reminded that the contents of the property belong to the tenants and should not be touched

 

Photo: View of Cronkhill house on Attingham Park estate,
Shropshire

   
 

Bridgnorth Castle

The remains of Bridgnoth Castle are set on a cliff by the side of the River Severn. the castle is little more than a ruin with only f a 70 foot tall, 12th century Norman tower and some other small stonework built in the time of Henry II. Left.
   
Benthall Hall, Broseley, Shropshire TF12 5RX   Nat Trust
Telephone: 01952 882159
Handsome 16th-century house and restored garden
Benthall Hall is the home of Edward and Sally Benthall

 

Photo: Irises in the foreground of the Rose Garden, with the wall and dovecote clothed in Rosa "Easlea's Golden Rambler" at Benthall Hall, Shropshire. This area of the garden was established by Robert Bateman in a romantic Arts & Crafts design.
©NTPL/Brian & Nina Chapple

   
©NTPL/Andy Williams Carding Mill Valley and the Shropshire Hills, Chalet Pavilion, Carding Mill Valley, Church Stretton, Shropshire
SY6 6JG
Telephone: 01694 723068
Extensive and beautiful area of upland heath

 

Photo: A tumbling stream in the Carding Mill Valley, Shropshire

   
 

Chirk Castle - National Trust. Magnificent medieval fortress of the Welsh Marches.The last Edward I Welsh castle still lived in today.

700 years of history on one site. Award-winning gardens with thatched 'Hawk House', shrub garden, lime tree avenue and yew topiary. Circular woodland walk through the medieval hunting park

Stunning location with views over nine counties

Chirk, Wrexham LL14 5AF

Tel: 01691 777701

   
  Clun Castle is a ruined castle in the small town of Clun, Shropshire  It is owned by the Duke of Norfolk (who also holds the title of Baron Clun) and is managed by English Heritage.  Clun castle was built in the motte and bailey style around the 1100’s by the Norman, Robert de Say
   
Ludlow - pic thanks to freefoto.com  

 

Ludlow was described by John Betjeman as the loveliest town in England.
 

 

 

 

Ludlow Castle the finest of medieval ruined castles, set in glorious Shropshire countryside, at the heart of this superb, bustling black & white market town. The Castle, firstly a Norman Fortress and extended over the centuries to become a fortified Royal Palace, has ensured Ludlow's place in English history - originally built to hold back unconquered Welsh, passing through generations of the de Lacy and Mortimer families to Richard Plantagenet, Duke of York. It became Crown property in 1461 and remained a royal castle for the next 350 years, during which time the Council of the Marches was formed with responsibility for the Government of Wales and the border counties. Abandoned in 1689 the castle quickly fell into ruin, described as 'the very perfection of decay' by Daniel Defoe
   
Dudmaston, Quatt, nr Bridgnorth, Shropshire WV15 6QN
Telephone: 01746 780866
Late 17th-century mansion with art collection, lakeside garden
and estate

 

 

Photo: The Brew House, now a private house and NT shop, viewed
from the west. A large fir tree stands in front of the building.
©NTPL/Michael Caldwell

   
  Moreton Corbet Castle - English Heritage. The ruins of the medieval castle and Tudor manor house of the Corbets are dominated by the theatrical shell of an ambitious Elizabethan mansion wing in Italianate style, which was devastated during the Civil War. Fine Corbet monuments fill the adjacent church.
   

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

©NTPL/David Dixon

Morville Hall, nr Bridgnorth, Shropshire WV16 5NB   Nat Trust
Telephone: 01746 780838
Stone-built house of Elizabethan origin
All visits by guided tour

 

 

Photo: An impressive parterre at Morville Hall made up of common Box (Buxus sempervirens) in gravel with banks of Red & White Valerian (Centranthus ruber)

   
 

Powis Castle & Garden (Powys ) - National Trust

Medieval castle rising dramatically above the celebrated garden. Built by Welsh princes and now home to the Earls of Powis. World famous garden with Italianate terraces. One of the finest collections of paintings and furniture in Wales. Beautiful collection of treasures from India displayed in the Clive Museum.

Welshpool, Powys SY21 8RF

Tel: 01938 551929

   
Shrewsbury Castle The oldest parts of the Castle were built between 1066 and 1074, during the reign of William the Conqueror. There were additions over several centuries. Later, in the late 18th century, Thomas Telford remodelled the interior as a private house. The Castle was acquired by the Corporation of Shrewsbury in 1924 through the generosity of Shropshire Horticultural Society. The Castle houses the spectacular collections of the Shropshire Regimental Museum Trust including pictures, uniforms, medals, weapons and other equipment from the 18th Century to the present day.
   
  Stokesay Castle - English Heritage - is the finest and best preserved 13th century fortified manor house in England. It offers visitors a unique glimpse into a distant age, when strength and elegance were combined. Set amid peaceful countryside near the Welsh border, Stokesay Castle forms an outstandingly picturesque group with its timber-framed gatehouse and the parish church. Lawrence of Ludlow, who made his fortune as a wool merchant and set up as a country gentleman, acquired the manor in 1281. Extensive recent tree-ring dating confirms that he had completed virtually the whole of the still-surviving buildings by 1291, the date of his ‘licence to crenellate’ from Edward I. An audio tour will help you to imagine Stokesay as the centre of medieval life. Its grounds include cottage-style gardens, a tearoom open from April to October, and a gift shop
   

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

©NTPL/John Blake

Sunnycroft, 200 Holyhead Road, Wellington, Telford, Shropshire TF1 2DR    Nat Trust
Telephone: 01952 242884
Edwardian gentleman's suburban villa


Photo: Conservatory and rose garden at the late Victorian gentleman's villa in Shropshire.

   
  Town Walls Tower, Shrewsbury, Shropshire SY1 1TN  
Telephone: 01743 708162
Shrewsbury's last remaining watchtower
Visit By written appointment only with the tenant
See  web
   
  Whittington Castle is very picturesque, & situated in the heart of Whittington village. There are not many remains to Whittington Castle but the gatehouse towers are still standing near the clear water of the moat. Whittington Castle looks lovely when floodlit with the light reflected in the water of the moat.
   

 

 

 

 

 

 

©NTPL/David Noton

Wilderhope Manor, Longville, Much Wenlock, Shropshire TF13 6EG   Nat Trust
Telephone: 0870 770 6090 (Hostel Warden YHA
Elizabethan gabled manor house, unfurnished but with fine interior architectural features
The manor is used as a youth hostel so access to some occupied rooms may be restricted

Photo: A view across the countryside to Wilderhope Manor; the house was built of limestone c.1586 and unaltered with C17th plaster ceilings, it was given to the National Trust in 1936.

   
Other  
  Buildwas Abbey  - English Heritage - Impressive ruins of a Cistercian abbey, including its unusually unaltered 12th-century church, beautiful vaulted and tile-floored chapter house, and recently re-opened crypt chapel. In a wooded Severn-side setting, not far from the Iron Bridge and Wenlock Priory.
   
Burford House Gardens  Uniquely situated where three counties meet, the 7 acres of lawn and stunning borders of Burford House Gardens sweep along the banks of the picturesque River Teme.

 

 

   
  Coalbrookdale Museum of Iron Explore the site and the remains of the water powered blast furnace where Abraham Darby I perfected the smelting of iron with coke instead of charcoal. It was the secret that helped make iron the essential material of the Industrial Revolution.
   
  Daniels Mill, Eardington, Bridgnorth
Picturesque working water mill with 38ft cast iron waterwheel producing wholemeal flour traditionally. Family owned for 200 years. Guided tours for all visitors
Tel: 01746 762753
   
  Erddig Hall - National Trust - Wrexham LL13 0YT
A unique insight into servants' life in the 18th and 19th century.  A completely furnished 18th-century large country house. One of the last surviving 18th-century gardens with a large walled garden and Victorian parterre. Extensive designed parkland and 13 miles of footpaths. Authentic demonstrations of restored historic machines.  Horse-drawn carriage rides around the estate
Telephone: 01978 355314
   
  Hack Green one of the nations most secret defence sites. Hack Green has played a central role in the defence of Britain for almost sixty years. As you approach Hack Green over the picturesque farmland and rolling Cheshire countryside, it's hard to imagine a more peaceful location, but it was not always like this!
   
  Haughmond Abbey - English Heritage -  The extensive remains of an Augustinian abbey, including its abbots’ quarters, refectory and cloister. The substantially surviving chapter house has a frontage richly bedecked with 12th- and 14th-century carving and statuary, and a fine timber roof of c. 1500. New pictorial interpretation boards guide the visitor, and an introductory exhibition displays archaeological finds. Picnic area and light refreshments available. Haughmond Abbey Located 3 miles NE of Shrewsbury off B5062
   
Iron Bridge - pic thanks to freefoto.com Iron Bridge The world's first cast iron bridge was built over the River Severn at Coalbrookdale in 1779. Not only iron founders and industrial spies flocked to see this wondrous bridge, but also artists and travellers. The Bridge had a far reaching impact: on local society and the economy, on bridge design and on the use of cast iron in building. An icon of the Industrial Revolution the Iron Bridge crosses the River Severn at the Ironbridge Gorge, by the village of Ironbridge. It was the first bridge of its size to be made out of cast iron. The bridge was opened on New Year's Day 1781.
The area is described as the ‘Birthplace of the Industrial Revolution’ because it is near the place where Abraham Darby I perfected the technique of smelting iron with coke, making a much cheaper production of iron.
   
Shrewsbury - pic thanks to feefoto.com Shrewsbury.  The county town of Shropshire first mentioned in a charter of 901. Shrewsbury is a pretty historic town with over 660 listed buildings including a Norman Abbey dating back to 1083, a medieval castle,  museum and art gallery, St Chad's Church.  Charles Darwin was born and educated in Shrewsbury. 

Close by you can see Attingham Park an elegant 18th-century mansion and the Roman Vineyard at Wroxeter  and the Wroxeter Roman City   Shrewsbury is home to a number of events and Festivals including its famous Flower Show held annually in August.

   
  Wroxeter (or ‘Viroconium’ ) English Heritage - was the fourth largest city in Roman Britain. It began as a legionary fortress and later developed into a thriving civilian city, populated by retired soldiers and traders. Though much still remains below ground, today the most impressive features are the 2nd century municipal baths, and the remains of the huge wall dividing them from the exercise hall in the heart of the city.
The site museum and audio tour reveal how Wroxeter worked in its heyday, and the health and beauty practices of its 5,000 citizens. Dramatic archaeological discoveries provide a glimpse of the last years of the Roman city, and its possible conversion into the headquarters of a 5th-century British or Irish warlord. Located at Wroxeter, 5 miles E of Shrewsbury on B4380.
   
  Wenlock Priory - English Heritage -  Picturesque ruins of a large priory of Cluniac monks, whose love of decoration is reflected in the glorious carving of its 12th-century chapter house and rare ‘lavabo’ – a tiered washing fountain in a topiary-bedecked cloister garden.
Parts of the great church also stand, against the backdrop of the full-height infirmary wing. Set on the fringe of beautiful Much Wenlock, not far from Buildwas Abbey and the Iron Bridge
English Heritage

National Trust

 

 

Site map