A Weekend in Shrewsbury

We were recently invited by Original Shrewsbury to come and spend a weekend exploring this quaint English town on the River Severn, I was really excited as it's been somewhere I have passed through many times on our travels from Cardiff up north but had never had the chance to stop and explore. Even more exciting was that our visit was during the Darwin Festival, with so many fantastic pop-up events happening across this town as Charles Darwin is one of the most notable residents of Shrewsbury and one of the most important thinkers of our time, it made the visit that much more interesting.

The drive from South Wales was smooth and we made good time arriving well before our planned river cruise on The Sabrina which takes you along the River Severn and gives you the chance to see Shrewsbury from a different perspective and is great for families as my boys throughly enjoyed the experience. The staff on the boats were fantastic and ran a simple table service of hot drinks, wine and nibbles. They run throughout Spring to early Autumn and also have themed trips and ours came with a Darwin twist as a historian joined us to offer up some interesting facts about the Darwin and his life story.

My youngest and I enjoying cruising down the River Severn

The boat cruise was the perfect way to start our trip and despite it being pretty nippy the sunshine was out so after checking into the very chic Lion & Pheasant Townhouse Hotel (separate review coming) we headed straight back out to explore this medieval town. I am a lover of architecture and interiors and Shrewsbury is a dream for that with so many original Tudor and timber framed houses and over 660 listed buildings! One of these beautiful buildings is the Music Hall next to the Old Market Hall and houses Shrewsbury's Museum and Art Gallery.

One of the pop-up exhibitions currently running at the museum until the 15th April is "A Journey through history in Lego" and as my boys love Lego is was an obvious decision to check this out and it was such a fun and interactive exhibition with some real lego masterpieces on display as well as opportunities for children to get creative with Lego, I recommend checking it out if your in the area. We also explored the more permanent exhibitions and took part in the fun Maximo Mouse trail and Tudor Gallery which had a real life knight and Squire taking the kids through all the different kinds of chain mail and amour they wore.

After a culture filled day we headed back to the boutique hotel and our accommodation which was self contained in a converted stable and fantastic as it offered up tons of space with two double bedrooms and a large open planned living room and kitchen. We didn't really take advantage of the self catering facilities as we were off for a meal at The Armoury, a vibrant city style pub housed in a stunning Georgian building over looking the River Severn. I often get a little nervous about taking the kids somewhere new that is as nice as The Armoury but there really wasn't anything to worry about as it's really family friendly but doesn't compromise on a stylish interior and fresh and modern menu. I decided to have a slightly lighter main of portobello mushrooms, spinach and Shropshire blue cheese on toasted sourdough bread and it was one of the most delicious dishes I have had all year, I paired this up with a mixed salad and a glass of Prosecco for the perfect evening meal. 

Delicious Portobello mushrooms, spinach and Shropshire blue cheese on toasted sourdough

After what was a pretty action packed day we settle down for the night before another day in Shrewsbury. The next morning we enjoyed a breakfast in the main part of the hotel and my eggs florentine really hit the spot. As the hotel was near the Shrewsbury Abbey we thought we would take a morning stroll across The English Bridge and see if we could go inside. Even though we are not religious in any way you cannot help but be taken by the abbey with it's impressive interior, stained glass windows and large organ. The Abbey is also steeped in history including the burial of one of William the Conquerors principal counsellors Roger de Montgomerie.   

As we came to Shrewbury for The Darwin Festival we also wanted to make sure to find the statue of the man himself before leaving. It's located outside the impressive Library and opposite Shrewsbury Castle and Regimental Museum which were unfortunately closed but the kids still enjoyed running around the castle gates. After a spot of lunch we decided to head back home but easily could of spent another day in this beautiful town as there was still plenty to see and do such as The Quarry which is an open parkland with The Dingle, a sunken garden designed by famed Gardner Percy Thrower as well as the original town wall and tower but thats whats great about staycations in the UK there is just so much see and do and you can always go back and revisit somewhere which I am sure we will do with Shrewsbury. 

Thanks to Original Shrewsbury for inviting us to come and explore this wonderful place.