We were ever hopeful to wake up to brilliant sunshine on Sunday morning however it wasn’t to be…it was a Bank Holiday weekend after all! Not deterred and after having a hearty breakfast we went off in search of the infamous Ironbridge in Shropshire from our base in Telford.
^^Said Iron bridge
We parked the car and walked off in the direction of the bridge, popping into the cute little shops on the side of the road selling all kinds of wares to tempt you to part with your hard earned cash and a number trying to sell you sweet cakes….
…then admiring way too many doors along the way…
…and I mean…
…a lot! G didn’t moan about me taking photos…he was probably more upset by the fact that I was forcing him to walk more than 500 metres!
Even though the weather was playing funny buggers with us, we still managed to see a teeny bit of spring in the shape of beautiful magnolia trees.
There were some cute little alleyways close to the Ironbridge which we snuck down to have a little snoop…
…one last door porn photo I promise!
The stroll up to the bridge was a short but wet and windy one but it was worth it to see the first iron bridge ever built and to think that this was where the industrial revolution started. Getting closer…
…closer…
…closer!
I forced G to take a million and one photos of me…it was probably only 10 but he felt the strain of me yelling at him…don’t make me look pregnant (the full English breakfast helped me with that look!)...make sure you only get three chins at the most…if you can make it look like I brushed my hair, that would be great also…he wasn’t under any pressure whatsoever!
^^We will give him 5/10…there’s room for improvement! P.S. I’m wearing sunnies as I hate getting rain in my eyes…am I the only weirdo out there that does this?!?!
The views over the gorge are just stunning from the bridge, the River Severn just looks so calm and serene…
…it’s rather quite easy to fall in love with Shropshire.
I loved the table of tolls…not even the Royal Family were exempt!
After walking about 300 steps (it was maybe a few more than 300…maybe 600!)…I decided it was time to eat some gluten free cake…G didn’t indulge as he was still full up from brekkie hence I had that guilty feeling for all about 2 seconds until I saw all the gluten free cake options and to be fair…I was in Shropshire to do some gluten free research (which you can read all about here).
The cafe is tucked inside the Ironbridge Antiques, Arts & Crafts Centre which is overseen by a large scary dog called….
…Alfie! He’s available for cuddles (there’s a sign saying that and I now seriously want a cavapoo!)...and I was prepared to make a run for it back to Bedfordshire with Alfie in the back seat as he was just too darn cute for his own good…or I was prepared to swap Alfie for G…the latter was probably the better of the two plans.
We didn’t spend a huge amount of time exploring the Iron Gorge, mainly as we didn’t have enough time and due to the inclement weather (goodness I love the word inclement!). As one of my Shropshire followers told me on twitter, you need a good day to do the Ironbridge Gorge justice and he was right…we didn’t do the place justice and there is so much to see and do in the area.
I think it’s fair to say that I totally underestimated Shropshire…there’s so much to see in this county that I know I didn’t even scratch the surface; especially with my visit to Ironbridge and Shrewsbury.
Travel Tips for Ironbridge
- There are plenty of Park and Display car parks dotted around the Gorge near the different museums.
- Wear sensible shoes as I found the footpath to be a bit slippery.
- There are plenty of cafes offering bacon butties and cakes around so make sure you go and support local businesses in the area
- Make sure you allow yourself a whole day to really discover the Iron Gorge as it’s not something that you can do in a few hours. G and I just wanted to see the bridge as we’ve watched numerous documentaries over the years about the history of this area (and I love a good bridge documentary…I’m a nerd!)
- There is an annual pass which allows a full year access to all the museums / attractions in the gorge for £25pp (or cheaper if you buy online here)
Have you visited Shropshire before? What’s your favourite spot in the county?
xx
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