From secret hills to super-sleuths, to iron bridges, china roses and more – it’s all here.
Over 4500 million years ago, Shropshire was under the ocean, at the Equator – over time, it moved slowly northwards, finally emerging where we find it today. But only about 18,000 years ago, the glaciers of the last Ice Age reached as far south as Telford, and when they retreated, over the following 3000 years, they left Ironbridge Gorge and two rivers which combined to form the River Severn. Around 300 years ago, the people, processes and products of this gorge helped drive the Industrial Revolution. It wasn’t just heavy engineering which started here, though, because at about the time that the Iron Bridge was being built, Coalport china also began to be made nearby. Add to this slice of industrial history, ancient bustling market towns, which include Shrewsbury, Bridgnorth and Ludlow, and here you have a county with plenty to interest everyone.