WHERE ARE WE?

SHREWSBURY Whether your pronounce it Shroosebury or Shrozebury (nobody can confirm which is correct!) Shropshire's county town is stunningly beautiful. Known as the Town of Flowers, it lives up to its name, especially during the annual flower show each August. With the town centre almost surrounded by a loop of the River Severn and home to some 98,000 people, Shrewsbury's narrow streets are filled with classic black-and-white timbered Tudor buildings. The 12th century castle is open to visitors and so is the abbey - famous around the world as home to the fictional medieval sleuth Brother Cadfael.

TELFORD, a 20th century creation, is home to nearly 150,000 people, brought together under the new name when the Shropshire coalfield was transformed into a new town and christened after the county's first County Surveyor, Thomas Telford. Thomas Telford became famous for several feats of engineering, including building the London to Holyhead road, still known locally as the A5.

IRONBRIDGE, part of the Telford conurbation, is known as the birthplace of the Industrial Revolution, created when Abraham Darby discovered how to smelt iron with coke in 1709. In a gorge carved out of the landscape 15,000 years ago, Ironbridge is where the first iron bridge and the first iron boat were built and the town was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1986.

WELLINGTON is an historic market town overlooked by the 1,335-foot Wrekin, said to have been created when a giant dropped a shovel full of earth……

OSWESTRY lies on the Shropshire-Welsh border, home to a population of nearly 35,000, has a busy weekly market dating back to 1190 and numerous ancient buildings, many timber-framed, including its first school, opened in 1407 and now a heritage centre. An important agricultural centre, Oswestry has always been a focal point for travellers and trade.