Bridgnorth has one in every of England’s oldest cliff railways, a vacation cottage with a hidden cave and a tower that leans greater than Pisa’s. However I’ve been drawn to south-east Shropshire by the prospect of bracing winter hikes, pleasant pubs and a visit to the sights of Shrewsbury. I arrive in Bridgnorth by bus from Wolverhampton (£3.90). The steep, atmospheric cliff railway (£2 return) carries me as much as the Excessive City simply as a rainbow arcs throughout the valley under.
There are views throughout the River Severn to wooded pink cliffs from close by Fortress Stroll, which ends up in the 18th-century church of Saint Mary Magdalen, designed by bridge-builder and engineer Thomas Telford. The sandstone citadel subsequent to it was blown up by Roundheads and now leans at 15 levels – 4 instances the angle of the tower of Pisa – amongst shiny beds of begonias.
The impression of color and eccentric angles continues as I step off steep, curving Railway Road into the Alice-in-Wonderland sitting room of Dracup’s Cottage, the place I’m staying. There’s a patchwork couch, a crooked mirror and a clock that runs backwards, however this room is merely quirky. The remainder of the cottage is a masterclass in idiosyncrasy, from the steampunk lavatory to the surreal murals in a single upstairs room: it’s a Hieronymus-Bosch-style Bridgnorth panorama with contortionists, bare hot-air ballooners and an enormous carnivorous chameleon.
The artist Antony Dracup lived on this outdated railway cottage for many years; Karolina and Jason Harte purchased it in 2019 and have spent two years doing it up. I open a door behind the cottage to seek out medieval music taking part in in a gothic pillared vault lit by flickering candles. Dracup chiselled this area out of the sandstone hillside and used the excavated sand to create bricks for the supporting arches.
The station-themed kitchen is impressed by the Severn Valley Railway, a couple of steps down the hill. The complete-size, largely steam-hauled line runs for 16 miles between Bridgnorth and Kidderminster. It’s nice for linear walks alongside the long-distance Severn Manner. I’ve hit a seasonal lull within the prepare timetable so catch bus 297 as an alternative, passing via the woods round Dudmaston Corridor. I get off within the village of Alveley and stroll down Chapel Lane into the Severn Valley nation park.
There are clear views of the Clee Hills, together with Shropshire’s highest peaks, topped with iron age forts or radar scanners. Till 1969, the park was a mine, producing 300,000 tons of coal a yr at its top. A brand new historical past path, opened in 2020, passes traces of ropeways, spoil heaps and miners’ cottages. As we speak the wooded paths are thick with birds and berries: I spot a rust-red-slate-grey chaffinch and a flock of long-tailed tits. There are wreaths of orange bryony twisted via yellow hedges spangled with neon-pink spindle berries. I observe the paths to a footbridge over the rain-swollen Severn.
Bridgnorth is eight miles upstream and the riverside path is grassy and alluring, with mossy hawthorn timber and large gaggles of mallards. There are indicators of fierce flooding: bundles of reeds are lodged in higher branches, and snagged and ragged sheets of polythene flap within the racing present like Halloween ghosts. On the hamlet of Decrease Forge, midway to Bridgnorth, you may go away the river and catch bus 125, passing Eardington nature reserve, as soon as a sand and gravel quarry, and Daniel’s Mill, a working 18th-century watermill close to the Severn Valley Railway viaduct.
For supper, I am going to the Royle, a half-timbered pub and restaurant on Bridgnorth’s Excessive Road. It’s a weeknight however the place is buzzing. Landlords Chris and Anna Walsh constructed up a following throughout their years on the King’s Head over the highway. On the Royle, Chris is each affable pub landlord and knowledgable restaurant host. The meals is tough to fault: three crisp and delicate bhajis underneath cucumber ribbons and coriander leaves and a wealthy salmon wellington with a layer of shallots and mushrooms.
Bridgnorth’s friendliness is outstanding. As I’m having breakfast outdoors Espresso at d’Arcy’s subsequent morning, a number of passing strangers say howdy. I meet Sally Themans, founding father of group group Love Bridgnorth, to speak concerning the city’s thriving excessive road. She’s simply come from the opening of a brand new artisan jewelry store. The streets close by are fizzing with eco-friendly, unbiased outlets: you may fill your personal pot with nuts or lentils at Room for Refills, or head to Roobarb over the highway for a bobble hat with its fleecy lining recycled from outdated plastic bottles.
I catch bus 436 to A lot Wenlock (£2.70 single) and spend the day striding on historic stony tracks alongside the limestone cliff of Wenlock Edge via flaming gold beeches and yellowing hazel timber. The identical bus, subsequent morning, carries me all the best way to Shrewsbury previous views of the remoted Wrekin. Shropshire’s river-circled county city has plenty of choices for all-weather sightseeing, together with a superb market. You'll be able to stash baggage on the Premier Inn close to the station for £6.
Simon Jenkins names three Shrewsbury church buildings in his England’s Thousand Greatest Church buildings and I duly admire the octagonal tower and round nave of Georgian Saint Chads and the Norman doorway of the pink sandstone abbey with its mixture of home windows above. “Seven lights rise to Perpendicular panel tracery, fracturing into Embellished reticulation,” Jenkins writes. Certain, however is there a restaurant? Saint Mary’s, a hovering town-centre magnificence, caters for each soul and physique. I've a espresso and watch multicoloured mild pour via six centuries of stained glass on to Victorian flooring tiles underneath a carved oak ceiling.
Subsequent up is the city’s free museum and artwork gallery, a neoclassical former live performance corridor that counts Telford’s measuring wheel amongst its treasures. Pure pictures recur via the millennia: flowers on a silver Roman mirror, ravens on a carved Tudor four-poster, butterflies on advantageous Caughley porcelain. Close by Okra, a vegan cafe opened in October 2019, does salads and noodle bowls. My heat flatbread (£7) is sliced via, revealing a contemporary rainbow of inexperienced leaves, carrot, pink cabbage, roasted aubergine, chickpeas and chutney.
After lunch, I stroll via the Dingle, a bench-lined backyard in a former quarry, down an avenue of lime timber, and over the disconcertingly bouncy Port Hill suspension footbridge. The Boathouse pub, on the far aspect of the Severn, serves Darwin’s Origin copper ale from the Salopian Brewery. (Charles Darwin was born in Shrewsbury). It takes quarter-hour to stagger from right here alongside the river to the station, previous a Darwin-inspired riverside archway referred to as Quantum Leap. The trains house run easily whereas a pink sundown glows and fades to black outdoors the home windows.
Practice journey to Wolverhampton was offered by Avanti West Coast (advance tickets from £10.80). Lodging was offered by Dracup’s Cottage (sleeps two from £125 an evening, two-nights minimal, dracupscottage.co.uk). Extra data at visitshropshire.co.uk
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