The River Teme - approaching the Shrophire Hills in one of the most picturesque areas of the West Midlands
Offa's Dyke Path - one of Shropshire's best walks
Ludlow Castle - just one of many impressive historical sites around ShropshireBirthplace of Charles Darwin, the study of geology and the modern Olympic Games, Shropshire is England's great undiscovered Welsh/English borderland county containing beautiful medieval market towns, dramatic castles and central jewel the Shropshire Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. Local produce in Shropshire features strongly across the region available in the superb choice of Shropshire markets, specialist shops and award winning restaurants. Shropshire is also home to spectacular World Heritage Site the Ironbridge Gorge south of Telford.
» Find Accommodation in Shropshire
Perfect for walking and outdoor activity holidays in the West Midlands, the Shropshire Way walking trail weaves around the central Shropshire Hills and the Severn Way pushes up through the county from Bridgnorth to Shrewsbury. Accommodation in Shropshire includes everything from great family caravan and camping parks in the Shropshire Hills to beautiful luxury historic hotels and B&Bs in Ludlow and Shrewsbury. Shropshire boasts excellent rail links with a fast rail service connecting Shrewsbury and Telford to Birmingham, Birmingham Airport and London. A central rail network serves the Shropshire Hills centres including Ludlow, Craven Arms and Church Stretton linking them to the North West, Hereford and Wales. The M54 motorway arm off the M6 offers convenient fast road access into Shropshire.
The beautiful borderland county of Shropshire is where the young Charles Darwin drew his early influences along the banks of the River Severn at Shrewsbury and across the fossil rich Wenlock Edge of the Shropshire Hills. One of Britain's magnificent World Heritage Sites, the spectacular Ironbridge Gorge is in Shropshire near Telford and the county features stunning market towns awash with black and white timber-framed buildings, dramatic castles and the finest local produce in Shropshire's outstanding choice of specialist shopping centres, markets, farm shops and farmers markets.
North Shropshire's cultural and heritage heart Shrewsbury is Charles Darwin's birthplace. The town celebrates its famous son annually during the Darwin Festival and features a fascinating Darwin town tour alongside a magnificent castle and abbey and great specialist shopping and arts scene. Telford and Ironbridge offer a superb mix of the modern and the historic with contemporary Telford containing cutting edge conference and leisure facilities and Ironbridge home to the first iconic iron bridge ever built. The Iron bridge across the River Severn, and the smelting process behind it, revolutionised industry and technology and is one of Britain's most famous iconic structures of the industrial revolution.
Across North Shropshire are picture-postcard historic market towns like Wem, Whitchurch and Market Drayton all offering best Shropshire local produce markets, farmers markets and specialist shops. Shropshire is a rich farming region in England offering a wealth of local produce from Shropshire cheeses and wines from the county's choice of vineyards to the famous Shropshire Clive Pies and fine gingerbread both heralding from Market Drayton in North Shropshire. Fantastic Shropshire walking holiday locations like Oswestry sit close to the Welsh mountains and the Saxon ditch border trail the Offa's Dyke Path. Idyllic medieval town Much Wenlock is a gateway into the great limestone escarpment of the Shropshire Hills, Wenlock Edge. Popular north east Shropshire holiday town Bridgnorth is a unique town of two halves split by the River Severn into a High and Low town which are connected by the famous Victorian Bridgnorth Cliff Railway, the oldest and steepest inland funicular railway in existence. Shropshire canals also feature strongly around North Shropshire including the historic Shropshire Union Canal and the Llangollen Canal which weave around North Shropshire centres including Ellesmere, Whitchurch and Market Drayton.
Ludlow is South Shropshire's beautiful historic medieval market town and gateway to the Shropshire Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. In Ludlow are the spectacular medieval ruins of Ludlow Castle and a best choice of fine specialist shops, local produce markets and luxury historic hotels and B&Bs. The annual Ludlow Festival in June/July is one of England's best arts festivals. Sweeping north of Ludlow are the sublime Shropshire Hills, a truly spectacular borderland countryside in England containing beautiful market towns perfect for walking holidays like Craven Arms, Church Stretton and Bishop's Castle. Shropshire castles and stately home estates, ancient iron age hill forts and a huge choice of walking, cycling and horse riding trails feature in the Shropshire Hills. The Shropshire Way links the market towns and villages in the Shropshire Hills and walkers will find a superb choice of Shropshire Hills market towns which are part of the 'Walkers are Welcome' network.
River Teme image contributed by Tim Heaton. Offa's Dyke Path, Knighton image contributed by John Spivey. Ludlow Castle image contributed by Stephen Boisvert. All images are copyrighted but licensed for further reuse under the Creative Commons License.
