Welcome to the Ironbridge Gorge
Birthplace of the Industrial Revolution
Here, in Ironbridge, along the most spectacular stretch of the River Severn,
are six square miles that changed the world.
Although nature has now softened the landscape and reclaimed her riverbanks, it still seems faintly shocking that so beautiful - so quiet - a county should have given birth to all things industrial in the world.
But it was here, within the dramatic gorge of the River Severn, that the great Ironmaster Abraham Darby perfected the secret of smelting iron with cheap and plentiful coke, instead of expensive and less efficient charcoal. Britain, and the world, would never be the same again.
So: Shropshire, birthplace of heavy industry. Who'd have thought it?
The worlds first iron bridge was built in Shropshire, in 1779 and still stands testament to his industry. And throughout the town which now proudly bears the name ironbridge, ten astonishing 'hands-on', world class museum's celebrate those early pioneers.
 The Iron Bridge |
Take Blists Hill Victorian Town, for example. It's not so much a museum as a living, breathing insight into life in Victorian Shropshire. An army of performers in period dress bring those times alive: change your money back into the real stuff at the bank (remember pounds, shillings and pence?), then visit their shops, pub fair workshops and cottages.
You can even join in their special events - weddings, steam days and vintage cycle rallies - which are held throughout the year. Unforgettable.
The Victorian industry is brought bang up date at Enginuity, their newest mueseum. Here you get to ply with an incredible collection of interactive machinery and a vast array of activities including testing your speed and accuracy against a robot; generating power from water; pulling a locomotive by hand. There's even stuff to keep the kids amused while you're doing it.
And for a history of early iron making and decorative castings, visit the Museum of Iron, which tells the story of iron Smelting up to the Great Exhibition of 1851, where the Coalbrookdale Co. showed off its finest work.
For a history of the gorge itself, see the Museum of the Gorge. It houses an impressive 40ft scale model of the town as it was in 1796.
There's also the curious Tar Tunnel; the (now tobacco-free) Broseley Pipeworks; and Darby House. So why not make the most of it? A Passport ticket grants access to them all. Great Value.
Shropshire is a diverse county of Historic market towns like, Bishops Castle, Bridgnorth, Church Stretton, Cleobury Mortimer, Clun, Craven Arms, Ellesmere, Ironbridge, Ludlow, Market Drayton, Much Wenlock, Oswestry, Shrewsbury, Telford, Wem and Whitchurch.
For more information on the rest of Shropshire, please use the link to visit the Shropshire Tourism web site.